While the Republicans reportedly behind the group — including Reps. Majorie Taylor Green (Ga.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.) — appear to have abandoned the project in the face of bipartisan criticism, their very interest has created an enormous headache for Republican leaders seeking to steer the party away from an image of racial insensitivity and appeal to a broader swath of voters, including women and minorities, in the post-Trump era. The America First Caucus, operational or not, has complicated that unifying message. “This is a modern, decaf version of the KKK — a group designed to elevate one race and ethnicity by diminishing all others. It should be summarily dismissed and condemned,” former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), a Cuban American and supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, told The Hill on Monday... The America First platform “is complete bullshit and a huge distraction,” said one GOP strategist who works on House campaigns. “It undermines the bigger and more important story here, that there is strong diversity within the Republican Party and this current freshman class is providing us a strong path forward on how to connect with and relate to an increasingly more diverse electorate.”