'Very scary': Former RNC staffer dishes on the more terrifying members of GOP's right-wing

Many of the most far-right House Republicans truly believe the propaganda and extremism that they promote – in stark contrast to others for whom it's just an act to get votes, a former RNC researcher said Thursday.

In an interview on the Aaron Rupar Show, Justin Higgans argued the true far-right believers — who have lately been causing fractures and divisions among GOP power caucuses — often end up tanking their own careers with their own inability to compromise.

"A lot of Tea Party members, a lot of House Freedom Caucus members — that includes Ron DeSantis, he was one of those folks — don't believe what they're saying," Higgans told Rupar.

"So they will use these issues and, specifically, the two examples that come to mind are Mick Mulvaney and Mark Meadows. They use these talking points, they use the grassroots energy to advance themselves. Jim Jordan being a third. They advance themselves up the ranks, up the cable news shows, sometimes they become Chief of Staff of the White House."

On the other hand, Higgans said, "There are some people that actually believe the crazy s--t that they say. And that is Tim Huelskamp, that is Paul Gosar. So they do have more integrity. However, they are very scary."

As an example, Higgans pointed to Huelskamp, who was ousted in 2016 from his Kansas district by doctor and businessman Roger Marshall, who later went on to be elected to the Senate.

"Huelskamp actually believed in cutting government spending, so he voted against the interests in his district, which is agriculture," said Higgans. "So time and time again, he voted against providing subsidies to agriculture companies, despite that being the overwhelming industry in his district.

"And as a result, nobody cared about any of the things that he said about immigration or the misogyny or the LGBTQ+ hatred. They only cared when the rubber met the road, it was only when he went against their financial interests, and a large enough coalition was able to come together and remove him for Roger Marshall. Guess what? Roger Marshall does not go against those interests. So it's all a kind of Kabuki theater, almost."

Listen to the full interview below.