Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) has proposed the removal of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from the House Republican conference over her comparison of wearing face masks to the Holocaust. Taking that step would apparently leave Greene essentially close to on her own in Congress, without the formal support of the relevant Republican Party organization.
Greene has refused to acknowledge any issue with her remarks, having claimed that a push for members of Congress to wear masks or get vaccinated against COVID-19 is “exactly the type of abuse” that was perpetrated by Nazis, which is obviously just utterly false in terms of the basic logic of the situation. What’s next — Greene saying that mandates for restaurant employees to wash their hands at work are also reflections of Nazism? Where’s the line? Is there any mild inconvenience that Greene is unwilling to ignorantly compare to Nazi terror?
Speaking as part of a POLITICO event, Kinzinger commented as follows:
‘You can’t stop somebody from calling themselves a Republican. What we can do as a party is take a stand and say you don’t belong in our conference. That’s what I think we should do. I think we should kick her out of the conference, prevent her from coming to conference meetings, benefiting from conference materials.’
Kinzinger added that he’d have to look into the details of how to take such a step, but he also said that “we’re going to be looking at what we can do.” Although Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) hasn’t proposed any disciplinary action against Greene, the House Republican leader did condemn her remarks this week, calling them “appalling.” Greene has just doubled down. Just this Tuesday, she said that Democrats’ “attempts to shame, ostracize, and brand Americans who choose not to get vaccinated or wear a mask are reminiscent of the great tyrants of history who did the same to those who would not comply.” No Democratic leader is attempting to “brand” Americans who won’t “comply,” as Greene explains it. She’s just not credible.
Greene has yet to face any systematic pushback from within the GOP for her theatrics. There’s a difference between a public statement from McCarthy and meaningful action to hold Greene reasonably accountable for her actions.
