Herschel Walker’s political aspirations haven’t been as well-received as his former athletic career.
Recently, he decided not to attend an upcoming rally that Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) is hosting after she chose to appear at a white nationalist event.
However, dropping out of the event only further embroils his political legacy in contradictions.
https://twitter.com/Holly_4Congress/status/1498713823376719879?s=20&t=6YHBMy5IfH3NiwI_lKbwZw
Walker’s Next Stand
On Tuesday, Walker’s campaign told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he was opting out of Greene’s “Second Amendment and Freedom Rally” in Rome, Georgia, on Saturday.
According to multiple reports, Greene had attended a white nationalist rally, replete with cheers for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is currently invading Ukraine.
Having only served as the U.S. representative for Georgia’s 14th congressional district since 2021, Greene has been a lightning rod of controversial hot takes. Greene has insinuated or directly stated her opinion that 9/11 was a hoax, former President Barack Obama was a Muslim and not American, and Bill and Hillary Clinton were guilty of murder.
Herschel Walker just pulled out of an event that was being hosted Marjorie Taylor Greene.
So he's totally fine with all of the other white supremacists in his party but he draws the line at the ones with three toes?
— 𝐁𝐞𝐤𝐬 (@antifaoperative) March 1, 2022
The MTG Effect
Still, she represents a constituency that feels unheard and is diminishing as the numbers of minorities and cultural standards of America are evolving daily.
As a result, Walker, the current frontrunner for the GOP nomination for Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock’s seat, is in an interesting position.
As conservatives, both Greene and Walker share the same audience. However, along with the issue of nationalist ideology, the two are different but not necessarily their audiences.
.@HerschelWalker will fight with all that he has to keep the American Dream alive for future generations. I'm proud to endorse him – he will always champion American values in the @CAV_PAC Cavalry. pic.twitter.com/7k5ZOMPVw6
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) March 2, 2022
Motley Crew
Greene’s other rally guests are a lineup of neo-Republican royalty.
From Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to former White House chief strategist and Breitbart editor Steve Bannon and former Georgia senator and current gubernatorial candidate David Perdue, Greene’s lineup is like a cornucopia of far-right organizational ties.
With former President Donald Trump stoking the embers of white fear while making white guilt feel irrational to the right wing with his Make America Great Again campaigning, the Republican party is on the verge of a split.
Well that just goes to show you…..No self respecting Black person is supporting Herschel Walker. A picture is worth a thousand words.
— Jewel Juno (@JewelJuno) March 2, 2022
“Walk” The Line
However, Walker’s campaign and the man himself have walked a fine line between two conservative worlds. From rallying for Trump during his eventual loss for a second presidential bid to becoming the athletic poster boy for Republican polling and fundraising, the 59-year-old is endorsed by both Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell.
During a time when even McConnell was forced to say in a statement that “There’s no place in the Republican Party for white supremacists or anti-Semitism,” Walker now has to pick a side.
It is no longer enough to be the pleasant stand-up athletic figure that the party needs. Now, as a wave of upstarts is rebranding his party as the neo-white supremacy validators, Walker must decide if being down with the Republicans is enough or separating himself from the Marjorie Greenes of the world is worth the risk of losing a percentage of Georgia constituents.
I'm not surprised by Lauren Boebert's or Marjorie Taylor Greene's behavior because this is why they were endorsed by the Republican party.Herschel Walker's another example that the GOP is deliberately endorsing unstable people.Everyone should be concerned by this. #BLUEWAVE2022 pic.twitter.com/a7Ccki9yGS
— Democracy Is On The Ballot (@BlueWave22_24) March 2, 2022
No Turning Back
Greene is taking these shows of non-compliance with her constituents personally.
“The Pharisees in the Republican Party may attack me for being willing to break barriers and speak to a lost generation of young people who are desperate for love and leadership,” she said in the statement. “But I won’t abandon these young men and women, because I believe we need to do better by them.”
Will Mr. Walker be able to step out of the middle lane of going along to get along and into the more polarized roux of old-school conservatism where its white nationalists don’t use a bullhorn to espouse their true beliefs?
Time will tell, but it will take more than an offensive field strategy’s Xs and Os to navigate these landmines.
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