In her second term in the House Marjorie Taylor Greene is a GOP leader

Today I want to apologize to Marjorie Taylor Greene. In past columns, I have cited her and her conspiracy theories as a joke. I was wrong.

     The combative representative from Georgia, in only her second term in the House, has become one of the most influential members. And I used her as a laugh line. She is no laughing matter.

     She was instrumental in selection of Kevin McCarthy for House speaker, sticking with him as the slim Republican majority struggled through 15 ballots to pick a speaker. She had Donald Trump on her phone to plead with members for support of McCarthy.

     “If you’re going to be in a fight, you want Marjorie in your foxhole,” McCarthy said. I apologize. I never wrote about the advisability of being in a foxhole with Marjorie Taylor Greene.

     Greene now is a leading spokesperson in setting the Republican congressional agenda, moving it toward opposition to coronavirus vaccines, questioning funding for Ukraine in its war with Russia and presenting a story of a peaceful Jan. 6 protest. McCarthy, not wanting her to leave the foxhole and dump him as speaker, as she could do, has appointed her to powerful committees.

     Again, my apologies. It never seemed to me that Greene would ever become a top national spokesperson for Republicans. I was wrong.

      Heck, I thought it was proper in the prior session for Democrats to knock her off committees for such things as questioning whether school shootings and Sept. 11 terrorist attacks really happened, embracing QAnon conspiracy claims, delivering racist and anti-Semitic rants and promoting violence against Democratic officials in social media posts.

     After all, many Republicans as well as Democrats were appalled by her conduct.

    Eleven Republicans joined in the vote to strip her of committee assignments.  Many more than that stressed that they weren’t  endorsing her conduct, just rejecting a Democratic power grab in voting to let her keep committee assignments.

     In the Senate, Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, issued a scathing rebuke of the “loony lies and conspiracy theories” embraced by Greene. He called her a cancer on the Republican Party.

      Indiana’s Sen. Todd Young said at the time that Greene was “nutty” and “an embarrassment to our party.” Young added: “There’s no place for her in the Republican Party. There ought not to be.”

     I apologize for quoting Young on this in past columns. I thought he was right that there was no place for Greene in the GOP. I was wrong.

     The rise of Greene to national prominence was authenticated by her recent appearance on the oft-acclaimed CBS program “60 Minutes.”  She did very well on the program, with attention-getting claims and charges.

     When asked if she stood by a contention that “Democrats are a party of pedophiles,” Greene replied: “I would definitely say so. They support grooming children.” She added: “Democrats support, even Joe Biden, the president himself, supports children being sexualized and having transgender surgeries. Sexualizing children is what pedophiles do to children.”

     As questioner Lesley Stahl was overwhelmed, Greene did what she sought, solidifying her strength with QAnon followers and the Trump vote base and upsetting only the Democrats and moderate Republicans she enjoys antagonizing. She counts on their cries of outrage to boost her highly successful fundraising.

     I thought in the past that her future was dim.  I was wrong. And I apologize for that.

     Greene appeared with Trump at Mar-a-Lago right after his indictment proceedings and received high praise from the former president. He encouraged her to think of running for the Senate.

     Maybe she will think of even higher office. Greene is mentioned in social media as a possible vice-presidential running mate for Trump in 2024. I don’t think that will happen. But I sure was wrong before about Greene.

Jack Colwell is a columnist for The Tribune. Write to him in care of The Tribune or by email at jcolwell@comcast.net.