The Marjorie Taylor Greene effect

Is the controversial congresswoman quietly becoming the most effective member of Congress?

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene walks through the Capitol tunnel (Getty)
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Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s congressional tenure seemed doomed to fail before it began. Democrats and nearly a dozen Republicans voted to strip her of committee assignments because of her past social media posts engaging in conspiracy theories. She’s been widely dismissed as a toxic figure.

Greene, however, tells The Spectator that losing her committee seats only spurred her on to learn new ways of being influential in Congress.

‘I found out you can do a lot of things on the House floor. And so thankfully my staff, my [legislative director] and I, we got to work…

Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s congressional tenure seemed doomed to fail before it began. Democrats and nearly a dozen Republicans voted to strip her of committee assignments because of her past social media posts engaging in conspiracy theories. She’s been widely dismissed as a toxic figure.

Greene, however, tells The Spectator that losing her committee seats only spurred her on to learn new ways of being influential in Congress.

‘I found out you can do a lot of things on the House floor. And so thankfully my staff, my [legislative director] and I, we got to work and learned floor procedure…pretty quickly,’ Greene said during an interview Tuesday. ‘I love a challenge.’

This education came in handy this week. Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, a Democrat, introduced an amendment to HR 1, the Democrats’ ‘voting rights’ boondoggle, which would give people currently in prison the right to vote. The amendment initially passed by a voice vote.

‘Something I want for Americans to understand is that most of the time in the House chamber, there’s very few members of Congress,’ Greene said. ‘I stood up and I called for a roll call vote, which means that every member of Congress actually has to come to the chamber and vote…which is what we should be doing, right?’

The amendment ultimately failed by a vote of 328-97 and Greene successfully exploited another area of division within the Democratic party between the progressives and the establishment. Members of the Squad have argued that preventing incarcerated individuals from voting is another tool of white supremacy.

‘For the first time ever, the House took a vote on whether or not to end the cruelty of denying incarcerated people their right to vote. Our amendment didn’t pass, but 97 Democrats voted with us,’ Bush tweeted after the vote. She later retweeted an ACLU lawyer who shamed other Democrats for voting against the provision, writing, ‘Here is the state of the Democratic party today: a whopping 119 DEMOCRATS just voted AGAINST restoring voting rights to people in prison. Congress Member Cori Bush heroically tried to add this provision to HR 1. Her own party failed her.’

Greene was visibly excited when talking about how she forced the vote: ‘I’m celebrating big. I’m really happy because even though they’re trying to push me small, I refuse to do that. I’m representing my district.’

Greene’s demand for the roll call vote was by no means revolutionary, but it provided an important win for Republicans who have little control over the passage of HR 1 in the Democratic-controlled House. It also demonstrated her intention to be an active congresswoman that pays attention to proceedings.

Forcing the vote, Greene said, compelled politicians to ‘leave their lunch or their Zoom call…or whatever they’re doing.’

That’s not all Greene has been doing. She printed out flyers summarizing provisions in HR 1280 — the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which Greene has subtly renamed the ‘Democrats “Hate The Police” Act’ — and passed them out to Capitol Police officers stationed around the building. The flyers warn that the Democrats’ bill will eliminate qualified immunity, create a national database of complaints against police officers, and other measures that could hamstring cops who have to make split-second decisions about whether or not to use deadly force against a suspect.

No matter what you may think of Greene, there’s no denying that she is a savvy communicator and determined to win. She will be one to watch closely during this session of Congress.