Marjorie Taylor Greene, supreme hobgoblin of 2022: Her year of culture-war lowlights

I used to be employed as Salon’s nights and weekends editor in February of 2022. Earlier than that, the little I knew of Marjorie Taylor Greene led me to lump her into the identical class as Kanye West or Elon Musk, to quote two different people very a lot within the information this previous 12 months. I knew little about her politics, however Greene registered as one other public determine who had been afforded each alternative and useful resource on the earth to make a optimistic influence however who had opted as an alternative to make as loud of a fuss and as large of a multitude as doable.

After almost a full calendar 12 months following Greene’s profession as an particularly aggressive Republican member of Congress from Georgia — and the conservative motion’s greatest star, apart from a man named Donald One thing-or-Different — I am unable to say that my preliminary opinion of her has modified a lot. However I consider I’ve acquired some keener perception into the place she’s coming from and the place she’s doubtless headed.

Donald Trump loves Greene and has typically referred to her as his “warrior.” Which may be how she sees herself, however true  warriors aren’t as needy as Greene appears to be. do not want as a lot as Greene does. Judging by her appearances over the previous 12 months, it is clear that saying no matter bonkers factor involves thoughts, with the objective of guaranteeing that she’ll land on the high of stories protection the next morning, takes priority over any legit motion plan. Rising up, I used to be taught to not discuss doing issues however simply to do them. That is how a robust lady ought to be, and the way a warrior ought to act. I am not a warrior by any means — however neither is she. 

My background is in writing about tradition and celebrities, and I seen Greene by means of that lens as I watched her spend 2022 nuzzling as much as the twice-impeached ex-president, attacking weak folks, encouraging violence and dehumanizing the LGBTQ neighborhood at each alternative. In different phrases, I do know her as a villain, and as a lover of movie, tv and literature, I additionally know that villains are sometimes probably the most compelling, even irresistible characters. 

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In each nightmare I’ve had since I used to be a toddler, if there is a monster or some such factor coming after me I do not try and run away from it, I attempt to be a part of with it, intuiting, even in a dream, that preventing from the within relatively than from the surface is the higher transfer. You get near a villain so you may maintain observe of the place they’re and what they’re doing. You get near a villain so that you’re able to carry them down when a possibility presents itself. How good would it not be if this ended up being Marjorie Taylor Greene’s destiny? (Admittedly, it will not be me who pulls this off.) 

Oscar Wilde as soon as stated, “At all times forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them a lot.” It is no drawback for me personally to forgive the blonde hellion from Georgia for making a platform out of kickin’ and stompin’ and screaming into the ignorant abyss to the big detriment of this nation and its folks. Nevertheless it’s a lot more durable to get previous all of the chaos she created this 12 months. Herewith, just some of her most poorly chosen “warrior” moments. 

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks at a information convention with the Home Freedom Caucus on Capitol Hill September 15, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Photos)

Nothing supplies proof that an grownup doesn’t, in truth, have their s**t collectively than resorting to bodily violence. In September, when requested by a gaggle of younger activists to elucidate how the Second Modification can stop gun violence, Greene selected to kick certainly one of them at the back of the leg relatively than provide a rational response. To make issues worse, the particular person she kicked was 18-year-old Marianna Pecora, deputy communications director for Voters of Tomorrow, who was in D.C. on the time to foyer for youth rights. When Pecora and her colleague Santiago Mayer, the group’s government director, shared video of the alternate on Twitter, clearly displaying the kick, Greene really retweeted it, calling the younger activists “silly cowards.” 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) as U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union tackle within the U.S. Capitol’s Home Chamber, March 01, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Photos)

Greene is clearly not a giant fan of President Biden, so when he made the announcement in August that he deliberate to clear as much as $10,000 in PPP loans for college kids battling monetary debt, she seized alternative to let all of it hang around. However as is commonly the case with Greene and her ilk, these efforts to disgrace the president backfired and it was revealed that Greene had herself acquired $183,504 in PPP loans. In a tweet from late August, Greene deflected, saying to Biden: “I do not respect you for leaving our border broad open permitting an invasion & lethal medication in day by day, arming the Taliban, wrecking our economic system, killing our power independence, & supporting killing the unborn & genital mutilation of kids. Go to hell Joe.” That is what an onlooker like me would consult with as being “butt-hurt.” 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) mentioned her laws the Shield Kids’s Innocence Act on Capitol Hill September 20, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Photos)

August was a giant month for Greene. On Aug. 18, throughout an look on Tucker Carlson’s primetime Fox Information present, Greene gave viewers a sneak peek on the large endeavor she unveil the next day, the Protect Children’s Innocence Act. Grasp of “saying the quiet half out loud,” Greene used her popularity for emphatic opposition to gender-affirming take care of trans youth to springboard this invoice that, in her phrases, “would instantly make it a felony to topic youngsters to puberty blockers or horrific intercourse change genital surgical procedures.” Kids, in fact, are usually not eligible for the “horrific” genital surgical procedures that Greene mentions — the usual minimal age requirement for such surgical procedure is 17 — however that hasn’t slowed her down. She informed Carlson she seen gender-affirming care as “disgusting and appalling,” describing it as “baby abuse.” As a 2022 info sheet from the Division of Health and Human Services places it, “gender-affirming care improves the psychological well being and total well-being of gender various youngsters and adolescents.” However positive, “defend the youngsters,” I assume. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., cheers in the course of the America First Coverage Institute’s America First Agenda Summit on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Name, Inc by way of Getty Photos)

Throughout a July 23 interview on the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Florida, Greene let her religious-bigot flag fly. Throughout an interview with Taylor Hanson of the right-wing Subsequent Information Community, Greene stated “We should be the occasion of nationalism, and I am a Christian. And I say it proudly: We ought to be Christian nationalists.” Just a few weeks later, Greene gave one other interview, elaborating on her Turning Level views. On this later interview, which Forbes famous in a YouTube clip, she smirkingly outlined Christian nationalism as nothing greater than a matter of “Christianity and loving our nation.” When the reporter within the clip politely pushes again, reminding Greene that the definition of the time period carries different connotations, Greene stated her interpretation was the one one she was aware of, telling the Black feminine reporter that she did not know what she was speaking about.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks to the media outdoors the Supreme Courtroom after the overturning of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Photos)

In June, Greene gave a press release outdoors the Supreme Courtroom constructing shortly after the Dobbs choice was handed down, overturning Roe v. Wade and girls’s constitutional proper to decide on abortion. She was psyched. “I’m so glad. It is a blessing. It is a miracle,” Greene stated, whereas swarms of gathered protesters screamed at her, calling her a traitor. Months later, throughout a information phase in October, a lady referred to as in to talk in opposition to Greene’s views saying “My physique is my physique and I do not need the federal government telling me what I can do with my physique.” In response to Vanity Fair, Greene insulted the lady saying, “I do not assume you are having youngsters any time quickly.” The implication was that, primarily based on the lady’s voice alone, she was too previous to have an opinion on abortion rights. 

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks throughout a court docket listening to on April 22, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (John Bazemore-Pool/Getty Photos)

Like different Republicans who use faith as a blunt instrument, Greene bends her definition of what actual faith is to go well with her present speaking factors. In April, she gave an interview to the far-right Catholic information group Church Militant by which she advised that Devil was controlling the Catholic Church. After Catholic League president Invoice Donohue took difficulty together with her feedback, Greene launched a 700-word statement clapping again at some size. Donohue had accused her of “slandering Catholics and Catholicism in an interview I gave to Michael Voris at Church Militant,” Greene wrote. “Nothing might be farther from the reality, and he should apologize promptly and publicly for these phrases… It is the church management I used to be referring to after I invoked the Satan. The bishops know that, however had their loyal lapdog fake I used to be being disrespectful in regards to the religion.” A bit additional on, Greene does a bit extra revising, saying, “Simply so we’re clear, bishops, after I stated ‘managed by Devil,’ I wasn’t speaking in regards to the Catholic Church. I used to be speaking about you.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks to supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump on March 26, 2022 in Commerce, Georgia. (Megan Varner/Getty Photos)

Within the earlier months of 2022, Greene gave full assist to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ notorious “Do not Say Homosexual” invoice and turned her focus towards crafting the same invoice for Georgia. In an look on Alex Jones’ Infowars, Greene stated “I’ll meet with my crew proper after this interview and we’ll work on it, Alex, as a result of I’ll do something I can to guard children.” As you may anticipate, in December Greene voted in opposition to the Marriage Safety Act, which on the very least ensured persevering with nationwide marriage rights for same-sex {couples}.