'Last of a disappearing breed?' Analyst shreds notion GOP lawmaker was moderate
In a new article for MSNBC, political analyst Steve Benen advised that it may finally be time to "come to terms" with the fact that the "moderate" wing of the Republican Party "simply doesn’t exist."
Benen cited the case of Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who was touted recently by The New York Times as somewhat of a unicorn in a Republican Party not afraid to tell the president, "no."
"Mr. Bacon’s willingness to publicly disagree with the president makes 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," The Times piece read. "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."
But if the Times expected Bacon to vote against Donald Trump's "regressive" megabill — even after he announced his retirement and was beholden to no one — they were sadly mistaken.
According to Benen, "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."
Benen continued, "He could simply vote his conscience. Indeed, he could’ve voted against it, knowing that it would’ve passed anyway, even without his support."
The situation caused Benen to ask, "If 'moderates' effectively always vote the same way as their far-right colleagues, then are they actually 'moderates'" at all?
It would seem not, Benen said; in 2025 America, a "moderate" Republican is a mere pipe dream.
So much for Bacon — or any Republican, for that matter — being "among the last of a disappearing breed in his party," Benen acquiesced.