By Clare Buchanan
Image via Forbes
The latest conservative in Congress to cause a commotion is Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. She represents Georgia’s 14th district north of Atlanta, and is known for her right wing conspiracy theories. Greene is not the first extremist in Congress to raise eyebrows this year, and she will not be the last. Newly elected and fired up, Greene is a strong supporter of the second amendment and conspiracy theory site, QAnon. Greene made her political debut in 2020 in a bold ad campaign, preaching to “Save America and Stop Socialism.” Her ad is a cliche of the typical Republican running for office, as she is seen hopping out of an army vehicle while carrying an automatic rifle, shooting at targets labeled gun control, open borders, and the Green New Deal. Her irrational behavior is played off as authentic and patriotic, which is what makes her so appealing to Republican Georgia voters.
During Greene’s campaign, her opponents immediately recognized red flags regarding her social media past. For example, she has liked posts calling for the assassination of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Videos of Green questioning 9/11 and accusing Vice President Harris and President Biden of being a part of a sex trafficking ring that worships Satan, have also resurfaced. In the past, Greene has supported the unreliable conspiracy site, QAnon, as well as blaming California wildfires on Jewish space lasers. A video of her leaked showed her chasing a Parkland shooting survivor, saying the shooting was a hoax and calling for gun reinforcement across the country’s schools. She has continued in her first days in office to back former President Trump’s lies regarding the 2020 election, helping fuel the insurrection. These are some instances showcasing how her behavior is unprecedented, extreme, ignorant, and deranged.
This led the House of Representatives to hold a hearing, to decide whether or not to strip Greene of her committee duties. Representative Steny Hoyer from Maryland went viral for showing members of the House a poster board with one of Greene’s Facebook posts plastered to it. The post showed Greene holding an AR-15 rifle up against three members of Congress; Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib. Hoyer asked his fellow members if this was the type of person that should be making decisions regarding American youth’s education. Congresswoman Cori Bush from St. Louis also played an important role in Greene’s hearing. Greene and Bush had neighboring offices, and Bush mentioning how Greene would harass her without a mask, led to Bush being forced to move offices. In a heated and powerful speech, Bush passionately noted that, “We cannot built an equitable and anti-racist education system if a seated House Education and Labor Committee member incites violence through the perpetuation of racist lies in an attempt to overturn an election. We cannot build an equitable and anti-racist society if a member of Congress endorsses white supremacy.” These demonstrations led 11 House Republicans to vote against Greene, stripping her of her duties on the Education Committee.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is not the first Congressperson to incite lies and spread paranoia. The first woman to be sworn into the Senate, Rebecca Latimer Felton, was known for spreading racist lies about the “Black Rapist” epidemic that was infecting white women in her home state of Georgia. She is the main instigator in the lynching phase that rampaged through the South in the 1920’s and 1930s. Senator Joseph McCarthy was responsible for inciting the Red Scare, naming multiple colleagues and American citizens to be alleged communists and blacklisting them, thus ruining their lives and careers. Extremism is a dangerous force the Republican party has historically used to spread fear to the white working classes of America. While Greene might be stripped of her committee duties, she is still a member of Congress. Her outlandish phenomenon will spread like a wildfire to fellow Republicans and social media followers, unless Congress takes a final stand to defend intelligence and truth in American government.
Written by writer Clare Buchanan
Comments