This week, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) ignored Donald Trump's endorsement of Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) as House speaker and announced plans to try to oust him. One can only assume that he is making that attempt to get attention, because he seems doomed to fail in the House. Democrats have already pledged to support Johnson, and he has the backing of much of the Republican caucus.
opinion columnist
LZ Granderson
LZ Granderson writes about culture, politics, sports, and living life in America.
As you may recall, Greene and the rest of the Freedom Caucus were the reason it took 15 rounds for former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) to get enough votes to win the presidency. The caucus is also the reason why He was fired last October, after less than a year. He resigned from the House late last year.
And now Greene, who infamously blamed secret Jewish space lasers for the wildfires and compared mask mandates to the Holocaust – is making another play for the spotlight. This time it happened to be the same week as the House passed its Anti-Semitism Awareness Actan unnecessary bill that at best appears be doing something At a time when pro-Palestinian and humanitarian aid demonstrations are spreading across university campuses, the law would target dangerous anti-Jewish speech… but the nation already has relevant laws against hate crimes and certain types of speech.
The juxtaposition of Greene's trick seems rich, doesn't it? Does the ruling party in the House condemn anti-Jewish hate speech or amplify it? Do Republicans defend order or chaos?
The legislation passed 320-91. There were 70 Democrats who voted against it. Greene was among 21 Republicans who opposed it. Much of the concern of the no's focused on defining anti-Semitism. Some critics feared the move would violate freedom of expression.
What does Greene hope to achieve with her no vote? Or with his campaign to overthrow Johnson? It's a mystery. Two years ago, she spoke at a white nationalist conference, and she was still re-elected. Maybe she is exactly what her constituents want from her. She is not at all what House Republican leaders want right now.
For those House Republicans who don't hang out with white nationalists or say anti-Semitic things, but who have coddled Greene and the Freedom Caucus, the brewing storm looks a lot like karma. You can't adopt a platform based on anti-intellectualism and half-truths and then get angry when someone does something stupid.
Announcing her intention to force Johnson out of the presidency because he worked with Democrats to pass aid to Ukraine, Greene said, “I can't wait to see my Republican conference show its cards and show who we are.” Giving us his best Joan of Arc, he added: “Are they really willing to fight? Or will they just move on to get along?
The challenge Greene represents has nothing to do with policy differences. This is what is required in a democracy. We are a flawed nation working toward a more perfect union. But we will never get there if we continue to allow the most immature among us to get away with it. And forcing the House to search for a third speaker in a single term would be incredibly immature.
And here's the thing: The rot within the Republican Party causes damage far beyond Congress. Members of the Freedom Caucus have behaved like spiteful children since 2015 by obstructing the government and, as a result, have normalized tantrums. Now, as the nation debates what to do about humanitarian aid in Gaza and the protests on our college campuses, the serious conversations we need to have are constantly being hijacked by political theater, including the House anti-Semitism bill and the recent parade of hearings. to question university officials.
Domestic politics should not distract us from why so many people are protesting. Last month, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution calling for Israel to be investigated and held responsible for possible war crimes. Many of the weapons he uses in his war against Hamas are American. Everyone in America should be concerned about Israel's war and the safety of the people in both Gaza and Israel.
Many students I have spoken to focus on hostages and civilian casualties. Meanwhile, some leaders in Washington are obsessed with political theater or trying to micromanage universities or unseat the last House speaker. There is chaos on both fronts and unfortunately also immaturity.
