There was a time when Democrats and Republicans disagreed on policy and appealed to voters who supported one political ideology over another. When the GOP’s policies began to appear more geared toward harming the most vulnerable Americans and bolstering the most wealthy, those positions became unpopular with voters, prompting a new response. Now, Trump-voting Republican supporters simply call Democrats evil pedophiles who drink the blood of children and call for their execution.
Breaking News: Senator Mitch McConnell on Monday denounced the “loony lies and conspiracy theories” embraced by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, calling them a “cancer” on the Republican Party. https://t.co/C46YJ5xGhx
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 2, 2021
While Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), now the Senate Minority Leader, has largely stuck to wildly unpopular ideological debates, he’s had little to say in the past about the turn in Republican voters’ rhetoric. On Tuesday, he spoke up about the growing sickness in the GOP that comes from the spread of conspiracy theories by lawmakers like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
‘Somebody who’s suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.’s airplane is not living in reality. This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party.’
I am retweeting this video of Marjorie Taylor Greene without comment. The video speaks for itself.
I also note that Rep Greene continues to be a Member in good standing with the House Republican Caucus.
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) February 1, 2021
Despite evidence that Greene has supported calls for the execution of the people who are now her colleagues, that she harassed teenaged survivors of a school shooting, that she dismissed the pain of hundreds of American families who lost loved ones during those shootings, and recorded videos spouting white supremacist rhetoric about people of color, there have been no apologies. Apparently, Greene intends to just become more combative as calls for her ouster grow.
‘Ms. Greene offered her own retort in response to Mr. McConnell on Twitter, saying “the real cancer” on the party was “weak Republicans who only know how to lose gracefully.”’
SCOOP: Dems are giving the GOP an ultimatum on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: Either Rs move to strip her off committees within 72 hours, or Dems will do it themselves on the floor
w/ @heatherscope @MZanonahttps://t.co/dIPaiszOJH
— Sarah Ferris (@sarahnferris) February 1, 2021
Members of the Republican Party in the House have insisted that retaliation against Greene, which involves nothing more than holding her accountable for her actions and words, is a form of censorship meant to silence individuals with beliefs outside the mainstream. Those same members are arguing that Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WI) should be stripped of her committee assignments for her vote to impeach President Trump for inciting a riot that left five people, including two police officers, dead.
‘House Republican leaders in the past week have been mostly silent as pressure mounted to respond to the cascade of Ms. Greene’s problematic social media posts and videos that have surfaced in the past week, in which she endorsed a seemingly endless array of conspiracy theories and violent behavior, including executing Democratic leaders. At the same time, they are weighing calls within their ranks by loyalists of former President Donald J. Trump to strip Representative Liz Cheney, the No. 3 Republican, of her leadership post as punishment for her vote to impeach Mr. Trump.’
“…the re-emergence of posts and videos from Marjorie Taylor Greene that have somehow revealed the QAnon-promoting congresswoman to be even more despicable and unhinged than she already appeared.” https://t.co/U5LxHzNRI3
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 1, 2021
