What’s going on with Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene?
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MTG spent her first term representing Georgia as a right-wing zealot.
As I’ve pointed out frequently for 19FortyFive, MTG was a kook and a conspiracy theorist, completely unfit for public office.
Even mainstream Republicans looked at MTG sideways with a ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ look (GOP leadership stripped MTG of a House committee assignment).
MTG was the personification of MAGA extremism, liberal America’s worst fear of where the right might be trending. But lately, MTG has been striking a different tone.
I’m not saying she’s reformed or that she is no longer a kook or a conspiracy theorist, or that she’s now fit for office – I don’t believe that. But MTG has been switching things up and acting like an establishment Republican the last few weeks.
Most notably, Marjorie Taylor Greene has stood by Kevin McCarthy in his so-far fruitless bid for the House speakership – in direct opposition to her fellow Freedom Caucus members.
Is this the new Marjorie Taylor Greene?
Unclear.
MTG is a squirrely thing, let’s monitor the situation and see how things develop.
The Old MTG
MTG made a name for herself as Congress’s zaniest member – mostly through overt support of outlandish conspiracy theories. MTG supported Pizzagate and QAnon – stating she believes there are links between Hillary Clinton, pedophilia, and human sacrifice.
Think about that for a minute. MTG, a member of Congress, believes there are links between Hillary Clinton, pedophilia, and human sacrifice…
Additionally, MTG has proposed that Clinton murdered her political rivals, people like JFK, JR. (who died in a plane crash). MTG posted on Facebook in 2012 that she agreed with Frazzledrip – a conspiracy that claims Hillary Clinton and her longtime aide Huma Abedin once murdered a child in a satanic ritual – and then killed a cop to cover up the sacrifice.
You get the idea. MTG is nutty; she’s got a conspiracy theory for everything: 9/11, the Vegas shooting, Charlottesville, RBG, Sandy Hook, Stoneman Douglas.
Like I was saying, MTG isn’t fit for office. Only now, suddenly, MTG is playing the part of responsible office holder.
The New Marjorie Taylor Greene
MTG’s break from the Freedom Caucus’s crusade to bar Kevin McCarthy from gaining the speakership is significant.
Boebert and Gaetz and that whole crew – those are usually MTG’s people. Now, as McCarthy’s quest for the speakership enters a double-digit vote count and the GOP is tearing itself apart, MTG is not standing with Boebert or Gaetz or the Freedom Caucus crowd. Instead, MTG is aligning herself with McCarthy and the 200-something other “normal” Republicans backing his bid for speaker.
So, what’s MTG up to?
“Greene is betting that backing up McCarthy in his time of dire need will pave a path to legitimacy and power if he becomes speaker,” Axios reported earlier this month. “She’s increasingly drawing herself closer to the establishment without abandoning her bombastic rhetoric and contentious ideology.”
Axios compared MTG’s new posturing to Ohio Representative Jim Jordan’s, who moved from right-wing zealot to influential House leader in just a few years.
“A decade ago, no one would have imagined that Jim Jordan would today be taking over one of the most influential committees in the House,” a GOP consultant told Axios. “What changed? He spent the last five years not just being a conservative firebrand on Fox News, but simultaneously building respect and relationships within Congress. It’s clear to me that MTG is attempting to plot a similar path to seriousness, while still retaining what made her popular to the base in the first place.”
Well, that’s a scary thought: MTG with some common-sense governing ability; MTG with the ability to navigate Congress and get what she wants.
I’m hesitant to give MTG too much credit, too soon – but then again, she did get herself elected to Congress (twice) – maybe I’m not giving her enough of the credit due.
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison lives in Oregon and listens to Dokken.
