At what point is enough enough?
That’s the question I found myself asking as I read through the KFILE reporting on a series of Facebook posts and likes by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene that advocated for executing various Democratic leaders.
Like, is this finally the impetus for House Republicans to actually do something to sideline Greene, who despite only being in Washington for a month, has already made a name for herself as a QAnon sympathizer and someone who has expressed xenophobic, anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic sentiments in the past?
Is her having liked a comment that “a bullet to the head would be quicker” to get rid of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi enough? What about her responding to a suggestion that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton be hanged with this: “Stage is being set. Players are being put in place. We must be patient. This must be done perfectly or liberal judges would let them off.”
Over to you Kevin McCarthy, ostensibly the leader of House Republicans.
“These comments are deeply disturbing and Leader McCarthy plans to have a conversation with the Congresswoman about them,” a McCarthy spokesman told Axios on Wednesday morning.
Ooooooooh, a conversation! Look out, MTG!
The thing is, we’ve been here before.
Back in June 2020, when Greene’s racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic comments were first revealed, McCarthy’s office was quick to say just how bad they were. “These comments are appalling, and Leader McCarthy has no tolerance for them,” a spokesman told Politico.
What did McCarthy do when Greene won an August runoff, ensuring that she would be coming to Congress? Issued a statement saying that he “look[ed] forward” to her and all new members arriving in Washington. OK!
And what did McCarthy say after the November election when asked about Greene and fellow QAnon sympathizer Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado)? This:
“Our party is very diverse. You mentioned two people who are going to join our party, and both of them have denounced QAnon. So the only thing I would ask for you in the press — these are new members. Give them an opportunity before you claim what you believe they have done and what they will do.”
That is not true, as The Washington Post noted at the time – pointing out that Greene has called QAnon a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles out.” (More on the dangers of QAnon here.)
No matter how much McCarthy attempts to re-cast Greene as simply an outspoken conservative, it’s ever more clear that this is someone who represents a radical and extreme set of views that should have no business being associated with either of the two major political parties.
Which isn’t to say that Greene should be removed from Congress. While her views are noxious, they were plenty well-known by the voters of Georgia’s 14th district when they chose her as the Republican nominee.
But that doesn’t mean that the Republican Party should actively welcome Greene in their conference by providing her with committee assignments and the other benefits of being affiliated with the Republican Party. Because in so doing, they are condoning these sorts of views as somehow part of the broad spectrum of thought within the GOP.
And that is a very dangerous thing to do – if McCarthy and the rest of Republican leadership wants to have an actual national party going forward. Because a party that allows views like Greene’s to have a seat at the table isn’t one that should be taken seriously.
