Flailing Republicans Pivot to a Throwback Rallying Cry: ‘Sharia Law’
There are a lot of things dividing Republicans right now. Is it really good to demand that the pope stay in his path? JD Vance thinks so. Catholics aren’t so sure. Is it really good for the president to post a photo of himself as Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Evangelicals aren’t so sure. Is there some irony in the fact that a president who campaigned against forever wars launches attacks that kill the leaders of a powerful country of 93 million people? There may be some. Are young Republicans and right-wing influencers too anti-Semitic, or, in fact, not anti-Semitic enough? Opinions among the increasingly Groyperfied class of new GOP staffers vary.
It is in this context that we have Josh Kovensky’s article this morning, which shows that Texas Republicans are making a sharp turn toward Bush II-style panics over “Sharia law” as a way to energize the base and boost turnout in the Texas Republican primaries and runoffs – and, they hope, ultimately in the midterms. With so much division among Republicans, Ken Paxton, Greg Abbott, activists across the state and beyond have found it prudent to strip their bigotry back to basics and focus on hackneyed allegations of a false Islamic threat. Texas Muslims are the collateral damage.
This article follows another related dispatch from Josh K. of Texas, examining attempts by conservative influencers to stir up panic around a growing Indian community in the Dallas area. (To further support this field journalism, become a member!)
