Easy being Greene

Congress is back after a two-week break. That means Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia is doing what she does best: creating chaos.

Upon returning to Washington, D.C., she immediately escalated her attack on House Speaker Mike Johnson, whom she helped elect. After helping turn out the last guy from the office.

“I think who can replace him is someone that’s going to stand up against the Biden administration,” she told Axios, in her peculiar phraseology, “not pass the Biden agenda so easily, not pass bills that require Democrat support.”

(With a 218-213 GOP lead in her chamber, she wants to pass bills that require no Democratic votes.)

“I think we have a lot of talented people that are capable of doing that,” she added.

When asked about specific names of people who could do that, she said she didn’t have those, exactly.

Why would she do this?

Work with Democrats and you’re fired? Yes, that was Speaker Johnson’s sin. He got Democratic votes in order to pass bills to keep the government open. He might be forced to ask for Democrats to help pass a bill to send weaponry to Ukraine in its fight against Russia. But if Washington worked,

Representative Greene wouldn’t get on television as much, so she’ll be an “agin” vote on almost anything useful.

“Today, I sent a letter to my colleagues explaining exactly why I filed a motion to vacate against Speaker Johnson,” Representative Greene said on social media the other day. In stark terms, she warned Johnson not to reach across the aisle to Democrats for votes he needs to pass pending legislation that a few Republicans oppose, particularly the aforementioned aid to Ukraine.

“I will not tolerate this type of Republican ‘leadership,’” wrote Representative Greene.

Partnering between the two major political parties is about the only way bills can be passed. That’s leadership, without the scare quotes. Representative Greene just doesn’t get it.

Compromise is a word used in politics these days only when the death of it is being discussed. Her colleagues in the House, especially her fellow Republicans, would probably do a lot of good if they just let her have all the television interviews she wants, but ignore her motions, amendments and bills that are only meant to disrupt. And if she becomes nothing but a blow-hard, and becomes ineffective, well, let the voters back in Georgia take care of that problem later.

cc: Arkansas’ delegation