Yesterday, House Democrats – joined by 11 misguided Republicans – voted to strip freshman Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments.
The move came after the House Republican caucus refused to take disciplinary action against Rep. Greene for controversial comments she made before being elected to office.
To call this move unprecedented would be an absolute understatement. What Democrats did wasn’t simply unprecedented, what they did was open a pandora’s box of partisan warfare.
The only question is, will House Republicans have the guts to make them pay for it?
A fiercely divided House has tossed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off both her committees, an unprecedented punishment that Democrats said she’d earned by spreading hateful and violent conspiracy theories. https://t.co/8MIPh3mInR
— WKBT News 8 (@news8news) February 5, 2021
RELATED: Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Out Media As Dems Prepare To Kick Her Off Congressional Committees
Greene’s Views Were Well Known
To be clear, if I lived in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, I probably wouldn’t have voted for Greene in the primary. While I appreciate her vocal support for President Trump, she simply came with too much QAnon baggage for my tastes.
That having been said, the Republicans of the 14th Congressional District did select Greene, and then she won the general election (easily, I might add – winning almost 75% of the vote).
Greene’s views were no secret and neither were her history of making outrageous statements. Indeed, those views were widely broadcast by the mainstream media.
Here is how Business Insider covered her win in the Georgia 14th Republican primary run-off:
Greene, a construction executive and a staunch Trump supporter, has come under scrutiny since securing a spot in the runoff not just for her far-right beliefs, but for repeatedly making racist, anti-Semitic, and Islamophobic comments in social media live streams and postings, and expressing support for the QAnon conspiracy, which posits that there is a cabal of Satanic, evil “Deep State” elites intent on bringing Trump down.
She will now almost certainly be the first person to publicly express belief in the conspiracy to serve in Congress.
The move by House Democrats to strip Greene of her committee assignments isn’t based on anything the Congresswoman has done or said since taking office.
Democrats Are Drunk On Power
Indeed, on the House floor Greene apologized for many of the outlandish things she had said in the past.
The punishment wielded by House Democrats was based entirely on things she said – things that were well known to the voters who elected her – before her election to Congress.
Marjorie Taylor Greene NUKES Haters Who Removed Her From Committee Assignments https://t.co/IHEIqs0zta
— ?️?Drabdavilab?????️? (@drabdavilab) February 5, 2021
The role of Congress is not to serve as a check on voters. It is not empowered to substitute their judgment for the voters of Georgia’s 14th Congressional district – or any other district.
It doesn’t exist to expel or reprimand members duly elected by the voters of a Congressional district just because that member holds views others – rightfully or wrongfully so – find repugnant.
Alas, House Democrats are so drunk on power (which is hilarious given their razor thin margins) that they are willing to disregard hundreds of years of precedent and proceed to open Pandora’s box anyways.
RELATED: Rashida Tlaib: Any Republicans Who Support Marjorie Taylor Greene Support White Supremacy
Now The Kicker: They Must Pay
Republicans MUST make them pay.
If Rep. Greene can be stripped of her committee assignments for things she said before she was elected, then Republicans must pledge to use the same standard when, and if, they regain the majority in 2022.
Republicans should make it clear that they will move to remove current House Financial Services Chair and long-time conspiracy theorist Maxine Waters (D-CA) for encouraging violence against members of the Trump administration and promoting debunked conspiracy theories like that the CIA was secretly distributing crack cocaine in LA and other urban areas.
JUST IN: House fails to remove Maxine Waters for encouraging violence and spreading racist conspiracy theories. https://t.co/LehNmkqxoo
— Chris Barron ?? (@ChrisRBarron) February 5, 2021
Republicans should also move to strip Rep. Eric Swallwell (D-CA) of his committee assignments for promoting the Russia hoax conspiracy theory and jeopardizing the American intelligence community through his ties to a Chinese communist spy.
Republicans should also move to strip Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) of her committee assignments for a long history of anti-Semitic remarks and pushing conspiracy theories that Jewish money was used to buy votes in Congress.
Indeed, a group of House Republicans are already making this push.
Those three would be a good start, but by all means they don’t have to be the end.
Rashid Tlaib (D-MI), AOC (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) are all guilty of the exact same behavior they claim Greene committed.
Cool, as soon as the GOP takes control @RepMaxineWaters should immediately be stripped of her committee assignments. Play with fire and get burned. https://t.co/BEnm8M3pLO
— Chris Barron ?? (@ChrisRBarron) February 4, 2021
There will be those in the establishment that will urge that Republicans not engage in a tit-for-tat with Democrats.
Those people are absolutely wrong.
Democrats have proven again and again that they will use whatever tactics they can to impress their political will in Washington, DC and across the country.
The only way we can prevent further offenses is to make them pay.
As Democrats are so wont to say these days, no unity without accountability.
