Dan Crenshaw takes aim at own party’s “woke right” for stoking division

Offering a scorching rebuke of what he referred to as the “woke right,” U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, continued to distance himself from some firebrand conservatives, accusing them of serving to to sow manufactured division within the get together.

In an interview with The New York Times’ Jonathan Martin for The Texas Tribune Festival, the two-term congressman admonished “alt-right” politicians and their supporters for wanting “to wear a jersey and just scream at the other side.”

“They remind me of the far left more than anything,” Crenshaw mentioned. “If the first words out of their mouths are ‘RINO’ and ‘establishment’ and ‘globalist,’ rest assured they are not very thoughtful and they are probably about to lie to you. I’m just sick of it.”

Despite what he mentioned had been inauthentic divisions within the get together, Crenshaw mentioned conservatives “have never been more aligned ideologically.”

While Crenshaw stopped in need of pointing fingers at particular members of his get together, Martin recommended provocative Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, whom Crenshaw has feuded with up to now, for instance of the reactionary Republicans the congressman was dinging within the interview.

While lawmakers like Greene proceed to be “contrarian,” Crenshaw mentioned, House management has fewer and fewer methods to include them. Instead, he mentioned, the phantasm of a controlling GOP equipment is exaggerated.

“They don’t have many tools, there is no establishment,” Crenshaw mentioned. “It is a myth perpetuated by people like her.”

Crenshaw mentioned social media performs a pivotal position in how these politicians are capable of struggle for and preserve the eye of voters and the media.

“They don’t write any actual legislation, they won’t negotiate anything,” Crenshaw mentioned. “It’s just fire and brimstone all of the time. You’re incentivized by extra clicks, and you get extra clicks by engaging in rank dishonesty and conspiracy.”

To the extent there’s real division amongst Republicans, Crenshaw mentioned these variations have bled into how folks within the get together view former President Donald Trump and his potential bid for election in 2024.

“I think there’s just mixed feelings,” Crenshaw mentioned. “I hear from voters and donors and activists all of the time — they really love Trump. But they won’t necessarily say they want him to run again.”

For his half, Crenshaw mentioned he welcomes each Republican who desires to run within the 2024 major and took his identify out of the hat for each the White House and Senate, saying he wouldn’t run for both in two years.

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