The downfall of Marjorie Taylor Greene
I personally hate to keep giving attention to QAnon kook Marjorie Taylor Greene. Some believe that if we are just quiet about her, she might go away, but I believe that thought flawed. Besides, if she would shut her trap, we might all be able to move on. Unfortunately, the Republicans not only decided not to punish Greene, but reports claim that several of them gave her a standing ovation. What in the world is happening when our representatives embrace a conspiracy theorist, child-stalking congresswoman? The Republican party finds itself at a crossroads. It can either support traditional conservative values or it can embrace new conservative “values” that include believing and spreading outlandish stories. It cannot have both.
Greene’s latest argument was that the media is “just as guilty” as QAnon of presenting lies, which she said while wearing a “free speech” mask. While she may be free to believe lunacy, she is not free to use that lunacy to terrorize others. Greene referred to herself as “a regular American,” though she resembles no regular Americans with whom I am acquainted. Regular Americans know that the world is round and Jewish people do not possess lasers with which they burn forests, but hey, to each her own. Greene further claimed that she embraced QAnon because of her distrust of the media and stopped believing it in 2018, which we all know is a lie. She was still openly spouting her untruths in 2019.
James McGovern (D-MA) said, “to equate the media to QAnon is beyond the pale” and further pointed out that he overheard Greene telling an interviewer that she has “only seen patriotic sentiment coming out of that source” just last August, which was obviously less than a year ago. McGovern’s take on QAnon is that it “is a dangerous, sick cult. Period.” That is an accurate description with which most will agree. While Greene neglected to mention anything about her threatening social media posts, she now claims that “school shootings are absolutely real” and “9/11 absolutely happened,” She even appeared on Thursday night local news, claiming how she “cried for days” after 9/11. Sure, she did. This woman would have said anything to keep her committee assignments, but it fortunately did not work.
While Greene said she “regretted” some of her speech of the (recent) past, McGovern made a valid point: “I did not hear an apology or denouncement for the claim. I didn’t hear any apologies or retract anti-Semitic and Islamophobic statements.” Apparently, eleven Republicans feel like McGovern, as they voted with the Democrats to remove Greene from her committees. This is a good start, though as several on Twitter said following the vote, it does not go far enough. She needs to be expelled. Unless and until more Republicans grow a backbone, that is not going to happen. In the meantime, we can be encouraged that this woman will not be making any decisions that impact us and especially our children.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years