If there's one thing I will be thankful for this year, it is the fact that Republicans are increasingly "in disarray." More and more, the various factions within the party are at each other's throats, which should just prove to make it that much easier for Democrats to wrest back control in next year's midterm elections. For which I am thankful.

There has been much speculation about why all of these rifts (which are beginning to show with more frequency) are happening now, because (especially after the 2025 elections) Republicans are beginning to wake up and realize that in three years, Donald Trump will be gone -- but they still want to be around. Personally, I'm not entirely sure that the GOP is really envisioning the post-Trump era quite yet, but for whatever reason, the cracks seem to be getting wider by the day.

One of these stories is a slapfest between Mitch McConnell and JD Vance, over the recent proposal to end the war in Ukraine. Trump's proposal was roundly denounced by most of the rest of the world, as well as everyone in Congress (from both parties) who still cares about fighting Russian aggression.

Marco Rubio, who is completely out of his depth, tried to explain in a closed-door meeting with some Republican senators last weekend that the plan was actually proposed by Russia (which, after the senators told this to the media, Rubio had to try to walk back). The New Republic even speculated (based on certain words and phrases) that the whole plan looked suspiciously like it had been translated from Russian into English.

Then McConnell stuck his two cents in. He posted on social media:

Putin has spent the entire year trying to play President Trump for a fool. If Administration officials are more concerned with appeasing Putin than securing real peace, then the President ought to find new advisors. Rewarding Russian butchery would be disastrous to America's interests. And a capitulation like Biden's abandonment of Afghanistan would be catastrophic to a legacy of peace through strength.

Vance then eagerly jumped into the fray. He posted a long list of problems the country faces (none of which Trump has solved) and then added:

But you know what really fires up the beltway GOP? Not any of the above. Instead, the political class is really angry that the Trump administration may finally bring a four year conflict in Eastern Europe to a close.

I'm not even talking about the substance of their views. Much of what these people have said about the Ukraine war has been proven wrong, but whatever. We can agree to disagree.

But the level of passion over this one issue when your own country has serious problems is bonkers.

It disgusts me. Show some passion for your own country.

The only problem is, McConnell's not the only Republican who is instead disgusted at seeing Trump act as Putin's puppet, once again.

This isn't the only spat in MAGAville going on, however. Marjorie Taylor Greene stunned many last week by announcing that she will retire from her House seat a year early, in the first week of January (which is conveniently two days after she vests her full retirement benefits). The big showdown Greene had with Trump was over the discharge petition to release all the Epstein files, where she absolutely refused to back down (she was one of four Republicans who signed the petition, which forced the vote). But there was a secondary disagreement as well that didn't get as much attention.

Greene showed she has more populist credibility than Trump, in a very personal way. During the government shutdown (about two weeks into it), she essentially conceded that Democrats had a valid point and it was indeed worth fighting for. She posted her own long screed on social media -- where she tried mightily to have it both ways and (as is normal for her) had lots to say about all kinds of crazy things, but where she also essentially endorsed the Democrats' position (Note: this is with all the nonsense removed):

I'm going to go against everyone [in the Republican Party] on this issue because when the tax credits expire this year my own adult children's insurance premiums for 2026 are going to DOUBLE, along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district.

. . .

I'm absolutely disgusted that health insurance premiums will DOUBLE if the tax credits expire this year.

. . .

Not a single Republican in leadership talked to us about this or has given us a plan to help Americans deal with their health insurance premiums DOUBLING!!!

. . .

It is absolutely shameful, disgusting, and traitorous, that our laws and policies screw the American people so much that the government is shut down right now fighting over basic issues like this.

A month later, Trump was calling her a traitor for refusing his order to back down on the Epstein files. So she threw in the towel and announced that she not only wouldn't be running for re-election but that she was stepping down a whole year early. She even used the term "battered wife" (in the 11-minute video she put out to explain her resignation) to describe her relationship to Trump. She seems much more aware of the affordability crisis out there than most of the rest of the Republicans (who are content to let Trump try to gaslight the issue and stick his head in the sand). But my guess is she won't be the only one to strongly break with Trump over affordability in the next few months. Because there are indeed Republicans left who are smart enough to know that the economy and inflation might doom them in the midterms.

Meanwhile, there's another intra-GOP struggle going on, over healthcare. Greene's not the only one in the party who is willing to extend the Obamacare subsidies, and even Trump was reportedly ready to get on board a two-year extension this week, but then he got pushback from within.

This isn't too surprising, since Donald Trump is infamous for promising that he's got a wonderful plan to replace Obamacare that will make insurance cheaper and better for everyone -- but then never actually producing such a plan. Republicans, for over a decade, have had nothing. No plan, no proposal, nothing. They swore up and down they would "repeal and replace" Obamacare, but while they did indeed hold some votes on repealing it, they never came up with any comprehensive plan about how to replace it -- with anything.

The fight that's happening now is just one reason they've never gotten their act together. Trump was reportedly about to announce some sort of plan that added his own idea to what Democrats and Republicans in Congress seem to be nearing agreement on (the two-year extension plan). But then the abortion hardliners in his party apparently threw a hissy fit, so Trump never made any announcement. Which leaves the Republicans divided and bickering, while the Democrats are united over what they want and can accept.

Add to all of this a big ideological fight that is happening under a lot of people's radar -- one that pits (I cannot believe I am writing this) Nazi-friendly and Hitler-approving antisemites against those on the right who are still strong enough to denounce such things as being unacceptable in their party. This has been a huge fracas, stemming from Tucker Carlson giving a fawning interview to one of the biggest White supremacists around.

But seriously -- the Republican Party even has to have this argument?!? That's jaw-dropping on its own, at least to me.

So yes, I am thankful for all of this. I am thankful every time I see some Republican faction prevent the rest of them from getting anything done. I am thankful every time I see an elementary-school playground fight break out on social media (the more vicious the better!). I am thankful when I see even the craziest MAGA Republicans throw up their hands and walk away from Trump. Because the more chaotic the Republicans get -- and the more fights they get into with Trump and his administration -- the easier a job it is going to be next year for Democrats to soundly beat them at the ballot box.

Please pass the schadenfreude, would you? I'd like another big helping...

[Have a happy turkey day, everyone! See you back here Monday...]

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant