South County's new member of Congress, Michelle Steel, and her House colleague, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, share considerable common ground: First, they both are Republican first-term lawmakers; second, they both voted not to impeach Donald Trump; and third, they both have been appointed to the House Education and Labor Committee.
All of this serves as an important backdrop to what's happening in Washington these days. With impeachment looking dimmer by the day, some say the Senate should vote to censure Donald Trump instead. I'm not sure how that would work now that the former president is a private citizen, but I do know how it should work when it comes to a current member of the House.
After winning election in November, Taylor Greene told her constituents she would introduce articles of impeachment against Joe Biden on his first day in office. On Jan. 21st, the QAnon-leaning lawmaker made good on her promise.
Her publicity stunt was covered by the national media, but fell on deaf ears in Congress. Even the GOP House Minority Leader, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, turned his back on the idea but this isn't why Taylor Greene deserves to be censured.
CNN, the Washington Post and other sources have now confirmed citizen Taylor Greene endorsed or "liked" social media posts calling for the execution of Democratic lawmakers back in 2018 and 2019 (the timing of which coincided with entertainer Ted Nugent urging his followers to shoot Democrats like rabid coyotes). High on the list of posts Taylor Greene supported was the murder of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Was anyone surprised when the Speaker recently called out Taylor Greene, who carries a gun and believes the school shootings at Sandy Hook and Parkland were a hoax, as an enemy from within?
When is enough more than enough? I'm asking this question because our politics don't simply seem polarized, they appear to be rapidly becoming weaponized. If you were paying attention to what happened in Michigan last fall, where a handful of home-grown militia forces planned to kidnap the governor, or witnessed hundreds of armed rioters breaking into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, you know what I mean.
Private citizen Marjorie Taylor Greene had every right to express herself two or three years ago, but elected Rep. Taylor Greene must be held to a higher standard. If it comes to a vote to censure the Georgia lawmaker, I wonder how Congresswoman Steel will vote?
-DF