It’s not too surprising that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said nothing about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s support for a “a national divorce,” in which “red states and blue states” are kept “separate.” After all, the California Republican feels indebted to the right-wing Georgian, so it wasn’t realistic to think he’d scramble to denounce the latest example of her radicalism.
But it was easy to imagine McCarthy privately reaching out to the GOP congresswoman, asking her to maybe dial back her rhetoric about the dissolution of the United States, since it’s the sort of thing that doesn’t do anyone — Greene, her party, her country, et al. — any favors.
All of which leaves us with a handful of possibilities. Either McCarthy didn’t bother to ask the extremist lawmaker to tone down her latest nonsense, or he did and she’s ignoring him. HuffPost reported overnight:
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has clarified how her proposed “national divorce” might look, and it’s as disturbing as it sounds. … In Greene’s estimation, a so-called national divorce would not bring a civil war but would instead give states more power to govern themselves. Under this system, Greene suggested, red states could temporarily strip Americans who move from blue states of the right to vote and could implement laws to openly discriminate against LGBTQ people.
All things considered, it’s probably best not to invest too much time and energy into considering the merits of Greene’s bonkers vision. It’s not a serious proposal; she’s not a serious policymaker; and no one in positions of authority will subject her “plan” to serious scrutiny.
But that doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant.
First, we’re still waiting for GOP officeholders to make clear that they have no use for such madness. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox condemned Greene’s rhetoric as “evil” this week, and Sen. Mitt Romney, a fellow Utahan, made related comments yesterday, describing her vision as “insanity.” But among prominent GOP officials, Cox and Romney were the exception, not the rule, and the party’s position thus far has been to simply look the other way.
If there were a radical, left-wing Democratic member of Congress pushing a similar line, I have a strong hunch Republicans wouldn’t be silent.
Second, it was easier to dismiss Greene as a marginal clown before House GOP leaders rewarded her radicalism with roles on the House Oversight Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee. When a Republican lawmaker in a position of influence talks up the idea on unraveling our national union, it’s tough to simply shrug and move on. But let’s also not skip past the remarkable fact that Greene simply won’t stop talking. After repeatedly pushing the “national divorce” line via social media, the right-wing Georgian started making appearances in conservative media, including a prime-time appearance on Fox News last night, during which Sean Hannity presented her “plan” as if it were credible. Indeed, Greene told the Fox host that her extremist proposal is in line with the Founding Fathers’ vision — which is ridiculous — before raising the specter of another American civil war. The longer Republican leaders tolerate such madness and keep her on the House Homeland Security Committee, the more it will appear that they’re comfortable with Greene’s extremist pitch.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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