John Oliver pointed out that Republicans are in the state that they are in because they spent years not keeping their extremists in check, and now those extremists want to destroy them.
Oliver said:
The point is this sort of chaotic Republican infighting is now a firmly entrenched pattern. Back in Washington, Jim Jordan was nominated to be speaker on Friday, but… Most people think he’s unlikely to get the necessary votes either, meaning we are left without a speaker, a position absolutely vital to a functioning government.
But I guess this is what happens when a party for years simply refuses to keep its extremist factions in check. The sad fact is many current Republicans at every level don’t seem to want to serve in government at all, they just want to dismantle it and stand atop the rubble for a TV hit.
The host of Last Week Tonight on HBO showed that the same infighting that has paralyzed the House is also taking place in state and local Republican parties around the country.
The Republicans allowed their extremists who want to destroy the government to run wild, and now they seem surprised that those extremists also want to destroy the very party that they call home.
Extremist Republicans don’t want to govern, and they don’t care about their party.
These Republicans only want to get famous by destroying institutions. The extremists existed long before Donald Trump came along, but the former president took them out of the shadows and rewarded them with power.
The Republican self-destruction is not a Democratic problem. Democrats are not responsible for the political crisis provoked by the far right.
It is not the job of Democrats to put an end to it.
Republicans created this problem. Republicans emboldened this problem, and they have to solve it.
Video:
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.politicususa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/jason.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1)
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association