Though the 2022 midterm elections fell short of the promised red wave, the House has returned to GOP control and Kevin McCarthy is Speaker. But what are McCarthy’s intentions regarding one of the House’s most controversial members, Marjorie Taylor Greene?
Greene, the representative from Georgia’s 14th district, is known for her outlandish behavior. Before rising to prominence, she was a proud and open devotee of the QAnon conspiracy theory (which she has since backtracked on). In 2019, she accosted David Hogg, a school shooting survivor, calling him a coward and paid actor. She has also referred to Hogg as “#LittleHitler”. In addition, she promoted 9/11 conspiracies, claimed that no plane crashed into the Pentagon, and promoted the theory of the shooting at Sandy Hook being staged by paid actors.
Perhaps Congresswoman Greene’s most well-known conspiracy theory is regarding “#JewishSpaceLasers”. In 2018, Greene laid the blame for California wildfires on Jewish satellites deliberately projecting blue lasers in order to profit off of the fires. Greene has also embraced more common antisemitic conspiracy theories, including the idea that “Zionist supremacists have schemed to promote immigration and miscegenation”.
Not limiting her prejudices, Greene has also pushed intense anti-Muslim sentiments. From saying, “Yes, I do believe he [President Obama] is a Muslim. And, yes, Valerie Jarrett is too”, to decrying the election of Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib as “an Islamic invasion of our government”. Greene also went after the two Muslim Congresswomen for being sworn into office with a Qur’an and not a Bible. If anyone reading might think Greene limits her attacks to those individuals and not Muslims en masse, think again; she makes clear, that in her mind, “ all Muslims” want to take away women’s rights.
In addition, Greene has encouraged violence against those she deems political opponents. Before joining Congress, Greene expressed approval for murdering Democrat politicians. Recently, Greene attended an event in New York where she stated that “if Steve Bannon and I had organized [January 6th], we would have won. Not to mention, we would’ve been armed.” Last February, Greene attended and spoke at AFPAC, an openly white nationalist event started by Nick Fuentes, the Holocaust-denying neo-Nazi in the news lately hanging out with Kanye West and having dinner with Trump. The event featured praise for Putin and Hitler. This list is by no means comprehensive.
As is typical of political figures that peddle bigotry and conspiracies, those on the other side of the aisle have readily condemned Greene. However, on the right, the reaction has been far less consistent. The oft-repeating pattern with Greene and the GOP has looked something like this: Greene says something worthy of condemnation, the GOP condemns Greene, she faces absolutely no consequences, the news cycle moves on, and the GOP acts as if nothing ever happened. For example, GOP Congressmen have said the following about Rep. Greene:
“These comments are appalling, and Leader McCarthy has no tolerance for them.”
“[She] shouldn’t have a place in Congress.”
“[Her] statements would render her incapable of being an effective member of Congress.”
“For me, it was appalling and wrong. And there’s no place in our party for any of this.”
Mitch McConnell, Ronna McDaniel, Kevin McCarthy, Republicans in national leadership, and Republicans in Georgia’s state legislature have all criticized Greene. With all these strong statements of condemnation, you might think the GOP would actually have done something, especially after it has happened time and time again.
In February 2021, the House voted to strip Greene of all her committee seats. Only eleven House Republicans voted in favor of this sanction. House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy called it a “partisan power grab” by the Democrats. And now, with Republicans retaking the House, what are the GOP leadership’s plans for Greene going forward? Just before election day, McCarthy made one firm promise regarding Greene: He would restore her committee seats.
Let’s not play coy about this. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a bigot. Not in the way some on the left use the term to refer to anyone they disagree with. Greene attends neo-Nazi conferences and demonstrates genuine prejudice against Jews and Muslims. Moreover, Greene believes school shootings are false flag operations, 9/11 was an inside job, QAnon is real, and she is an active proponent of using violence to achieve her domestic political goals. If McCarthy and the GOP not only fail to punish and ostracize her but instead reward her, they make a home in the GOP for all the evil that Greene stands for.
Keegan Nazzari
Keegan is currently studying a Poli-Sci and Communications degree at The University of Western Australia. He was born and raised in Perth but hopes to relocate to the U.S. after his degree to pursue a career in political media. Other than discussing politics Keegan hopes to inform Americans about the true greatest sport in the world, Aussie Rules football.
The views expressed in this article are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Lone Conservative staff.
@Keegan_Nazzari