About a month ago, The New York Times published a lengthy feature piece on Republican Rep. Don Bacon, a few weeks before the Nebraska congressman announced his retirement. The headline probably gave readers the impression that the five-term GOP lawmaker was one of the more sensible and responsible members of his party: “Breaking With Trump, Bacon Says He Won’t Follow His Party ‘Off the Cliff.’”
After noting a handful of instances in which Bacon broke with party orthodoxy in recent months, the Times’ report added:
Mr. Bacon’s willingness to publicly disagree with the president make him an anomaly in the tribal House Republican Conference, where members tend to fall in line behind Mr. Trump’s agenda and actively seek out ways to demonstrate their loyalty to him. In a Republican-led Congress that has been reluctant to challenge Mr. Trump on almost anything, the Nebraskan is among the last of a disappearing breed in his party.
A month later, Bacon linked arms with his right-wing brethren and supported his party’s domestic policy megabill, the inaptly named One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In fact, the Nebraskan wasn’t even one of the GOP holdouts who needed some arm-twisting ahead of the final vote.
The larger context makes the vote even tougher to defend: Given that the incumbent is retiring at the end of his term, Bacon didn’t have to fear a possible primary challenge. He could simply vote his conscience. Indeed, he could’ve voted against it, knowing that it would’ve passed anyway, even without his support.
But Bacon nevertheless thought the most regressive bill in a generation was worthy of his support.
In fact, reviewing all of the major legislative proposals that have reached the House floor this year, in how many instances did Bacon break ranks and reject his party’s agenda? Literally zero times.
So much for “among the last of a disappearing breed in his party.”
The point, however, isn’t to pick on one member of Congress — because Bacon is a symptom of a broader problem, not the problem itself.
A couple of years ago, an unnamed GOP lawmaker told an NBC News reporter, “Moderates always cave. A tale as old as time.” That’s largely true, though it also raises related questions that are too often overlooked: If “moderates” effectively always vote the same way as their far-right colleagues, then are they actually “moderates”? Or does it make more sense for the political world to pause, reassess and come to terms with the apparent fact that the “moderate” Republican wing simply doesn’t exist?
I’m reminded of a point The Atlantic’s Jonathan Chait made in 2023, when he was still at New York magazine:
‘Moderate’ Republicans, as the media has absurdly taken to labeling conservative Republicans who have qualms about seizing power through non-electoral means, have shown through the last few weeks precisely how serious they are about their principles. They are willing to fight for them, for a short period of time, before arriving at the same position as their right-wing coalition partners.
That assessment remains valid two years later.
What’s striking about this dynamic is that these Republicans actually have incredible leverage, especially in light of the party’s tiny majority. What’s more, they have a very compelling excuse they can bring to House Speaker Mike Johnson and other party leaders: As the prevailing political winds start to turn against Republicans, and with historical trends favoring Democrats next year, these GOP members from competitive districts can plausibly tell their own party, “Look, if I go along with a radical, far-right agenda, I’ll lose; Democrats will take my seat; and we’ll end up in the minority.”
But they don’t use that leverage — perhaps because they’re too weak, perhaps because they’re too scared, or perhaps because their genuine political beliefs aren’t nearly as “centrist” as they like to pretend.
The House Freedom Caucus was humiliated last week after it caved once again and backed the party’s reconciliation package after trashing it. But as the dust settles, at least the far-right still exists — which is more than we can say about the GOP’s alleged “moderate” wing on Capitol Hill.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com