in , ,

The GOP Just Turned On Steve Bannon—And Now They’re Letting Him Have It

Steve Bannon is, to put it mildly, a divisive figure. His efforts helped get Donald Trump elected — as head of the alt-right Breitbart News, Bannon actively stoked the flames of divisionism, and the nasty, mean, fact-twisting that defined the 2016 election (and beyond). He was rewarded for his help — and connection to Trump’s “base” — with a job as Chief Strategist in the early Trump’s administration. Bannon left the position in August and returned to Breitbart. He remained a player in Trump’s increasingly tone-deaf approach to governance.

Bannon’s most recent political activities: He actively campaigned for Roy Moore, the vest-wearing, horse-riding, woman-hating, teen-loving Republican candidate in the Alabama special election. Perhaps because he was so closely aligned with the unpopular Trump and the creepy Bannon (not to mention that whole “accused child molester” thing), Moore lost the election to democrat Doug Jones. It should be noted that Alabama hasn’t sent a democrat to the Senate since 1992 (Richard Shelby, who defected to the GOP two years later), and that the state went for Trump in 2016 by a margin of 28 points. This election was truly a moment of reckoning for the GOP, particularly the Trump/Bannon brand of Republicanism. Also, the Republican Party’s already thin 52-48 Senate majority will now fall to 51-49, which means it’s going to be even harder for Mitch McConnell and his goon squad to pass their agenda.

Republicans are, of course, very, very mad. And they’re blaming Steve Bannon for ruining everything. The gloves are off ,and prominent members of the GOP are publicly unloading their frustrations about the unsettling political operative. They’re going after his toxic politics, his tactics, and even his appearance. This is basically the political version of Mean Girls.

Josh Holmes once worked as chief of staff for Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell:

Dana Loesch, conservative talk radio host:

David French, senior fellow for the conservative National Review Institute

Mee-yow.