Which is worse – the extremist or the people who voted her in?
If you thought President Trump was bad, wait till you hear some of the twisted opinions of Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene
FOR four years, American politics was in complete disarray as ringmaster Donald Trump, created a circus-like atmosphere around the White House. Spurred on by his coterie of sycophants, his estimated 30,000 false or misleading claims made during his presidency, permeated throughout the halls of power and ultimately culminated in a deadly attack on America’s sanctum of democracy when his supporters stormed the US Capitol last month, after he lied to his goons, telling them November’s election had been stolen from him.
It was one of many baseless conspiracy theories supported by Trump, but his antics today seem like child’s play compared to the newly elected breed of a US politician.
Although the king may be dead (for now), others have not only picked up his crown but have taken it to a level that should worry us all.
Step forward, Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Usually, such politicians would never trouble this column, but her shocking behaviour as an elected official in the world’s most powerful country should not go unnoticed.
When the Founding Fathers set out the American constitution, they ensured no one, no matter where they came from, would be barred from representing the people.
Other than that they have to be older than 25 and have been a US citizen for at least seven years, they made sure it allowed even the witless, foolish, delusional and rabble-rousing to run for office.
When Greene, tipped as a “future Republican Star” and “a real WINNER” by Trump, won her seat in Georgia, few even knew her name.
Move forward a few weeks and she is now the talk of US politics. Why? Because her views are so witless, foolish, delusional and rabblerousing that even her own party bosses want her gone. Greene is a mess.
She subscribes to or has promoted an appalling group of ideas and positions, so irrational and absurd, it is hard to imagine just who voted for her.
Fuelled by the disproven and discredited far-right conspiracy theory site Qanon, the list of her claims are not only delusional but dangerous.
She has even supported claims of a global paedophile scheme involving top US political figures and Hollywood stars.
In one Facebook post, she promoted the false “Frazzledrip” claim about Hillary Clinton and a top aide supposedly engaged in a satanic ritual involving the murder and mutilation of a child.
Greene has hounded survivors of mass school shootings, calling one pupil who became a gun-control activist “little Hitler”. She has also claimed such incidents as the Sandy Hook and Parkland massacres were “staged”.
But, despite mocking the killing of children, she has been deemed fit enough to be put on an education committee.
It’s a little like putting Dracula in charge of a blood bank.
More recently, Greene compared Black Lives Matter activists to neo-nazis and the Ku Klux Klan, and appeared to indicate support for Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s execution. On social media she ‘liked’ a comment on a discussion of how to remove Pelosi, which said “a bullet to the head would be quicker”.
She even believed the California wildfires were started by a giant Jewish-funded space laser. All that is just for starters. Greene has said many more ugly and stupid things. As her Republican party now realises they have a lunatic in their midst, the defence of her beliefs is arguably worse.
Greene has suggested the comments weren’t actually from her, claiming she had “teams” of people who managed her Facebook account.
She has also said the thoughts expressed are irrelevant because they were made before she ran for office last year.
However, many of her sickest comments were made just two years ago – not decades ago.
People here hope Greene, and those like her, will clean up their act for the good of the country.
But they would do well to remember all those years people waited for Trump to become presidential.
He didn’t and she won’t. I’m not sure, though, what should be more concerning, Greene’s behaviour or that enough people supported her views to vote her in.
She is, after all, now someone who shapes US law.
God need not bless America, but God help it.