” real WINNER!”
A perfect snapshot of the party circa 2020, and one of those ever more frequent moments that reminds me of Kevin Williamson’s reaction to Trump cinching the nomination in 2016. Congratulations to future Republican Star Marjorie Taylor Greene on a big Congressional primary win in Georgia against a very tough and smart opponent. Marjorie is strong on everything and never gives up – a real WINNER! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2020 The mystery, as usual, is whether Trump acted from ignorance, because he doesn’t know much about Greene or QAnon, or from malicious intent, because he *does.* I lean towards “ignorance” in this case, partly because his tweet cuts against the wishes of his buddies in the House and partly because it’s potentially destructive to the party’s chances in tight races, especially in Georgia. “There are a lot of members livid at McCarthy for sitting back and doing nothing to stop this woman from being elected while the entire Georgia delegation, Scalise and some moderates tried” to help her opponent, said one House Republican aide closely monitoring the race. A spokesman for McCarthy did not immediately respond to a request for comment… Republicans on Capitol Hill have yet to take similar action against Greene, though some did speak out against her when Politico unearthed hours of Facebook videos in which she spewed offensive remarks. In the videos, she said Black people are “held slaves to the Democratic Party” and called the election in 2018 of the first two Muslim women to Congress evidence of an “Islamic invasion of our government.” She described George Soros, the liberal investor and Holocaust survivor, as a “Nazi himself trying to continue what was not finished.” Those comments met with condemnation from Republican leaders. Emmer said he was “personally disgusted” by her rhetoric. Scalise called her comments “disgusting.” McCarthy’s office said in June he was appalled, though he did not choose a side in the primary. In fact, Greene said in a recent video interview that McCarthy remained supportive of her. Greene won the primary in Georgia’s 14th District, which is overwhelmingly red. Democrats will make great hay of her QAnon beliefs there, probably to no avail. But it’s not the 14th District they care about; they’re going to look for ways to make Greene the face of the GOP in districts that are more competitive. “Her winning the primary is the best news Democrats could ask for,” said one senior Georgia GOP official to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Greene’s victory is going to be an anchor around every Republican who is relying on votes in metro Atlanta.” The paper added that “Many Georgia Republicans will now try to distance themselves from her,” which is true — but will be a wee bit harder to do now that the genius leader of the party has promoted her nationally as a “future Republican star.” That’s attack-ad material, gift-wrapped for Dems. Even if she doesn’t cost the party any seats, as a congresswoman she’s destined to be catnip for a media eager to make her the face of the party nationally and an endless headache for McCarthy, Scalise, and Liz Cheney as she regales the press with her belief that “There’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles out, and I think we have the president to do it.
