Is MTG for real?
As we say in the south, I was born at night, but I wasn’t born *last* night. In my dictionary, if you look up the word “whackjob,” you’ll see a picture of Marjorie Taylor Greene.
So what to make of MTG’s apostacy over the Epstein files and Trump’s attacks on her? So far, I’ve seen this as classic Trump kayfabe. But I have great respect for Josh Marshall, and here’s his take:
“If Greene was really a true believer in the whole Q-Anon world, which transmigrated pretty seamlessly into the Epstein story, maybe seeing Trump turn on his heels and insist that the world move on and never talk about it again simply shook her at a basic level that most of us can’t quite imagine. If you recall, when we first heard of Greene as a candidate, she was as the first actual Q-Anon supporter running for Congress.
“Here’s where I want to remind you, that this all seems a bit too novelistic, a bit too just right. But why exactly? For most of us, Trump is a serial liar and abuser of women. He has a very public history of ‘dating’ women who were 19 or 20 years old when he was well into middle age. Trump’s audacity in doing his epic record scratch moment, shifting from the man who would clean the stables of Epsteinian elite corruption to the guy who closed the stables, might take us aback a bit. But the idea that he might have something to hide is hardly shocking. But again, if you’re a true believer, it might be pretty shocking. In fact, it could be the kind of thing that upends your whole worldview in pretty dramatic and unpredictable ways.”
It’s not a strong case, but it got my attention.
Who is the real Marjorie Taylor Greene?
So what to make of MTG’s apostacy over the Epstein files and Trump’s attacks on her? So far, I’ve seen this as classic Trump kayfabe. But I have great respect for Josh Marshall, and here’s his take:
“If Greene was really a true believer in the whole Q-Anon world, which transmigrated pretty seamlessly into the Epstein story, maybe seeing Trump turn on his heels and insist that the world move on and never talk about it again simply shook her at a basic level that most of us can’t quite imagine. If you recall, when we first heard of Greene as a candidate, she was as the first actual Q-Anon supporter running for Congress.
“Here’s where I want to remind you, that this all seems a bit too novelistic, a bit too just right. But why exactly? For most of us, Trump is a serial liar and abuser of women. He has a very public history of ‘dating’ women who were 19 or 20 years old when he was well into middle age. Trump’s audacity in doing his epic record scratch moment, shifting from the man who would clean the stables of Epsteinian elite corruption to the guy who closed the stables, might take us aback a bit. But the idea that he might have something to hide is hardly shocking. But again, if you’re a true believer, it might be pretty shocking. In fact, it could be the kind of thing that upends your whole worldview in pretty dramatic and unpredictable ways.”
It’s not a strong case, but it got my attention.
Who is the real Marjorie Taylor Greene?
She’s running for pretendident …
1. MTG went on the View and was explicitly asked about her Qanon beliefs, and she responded that she had been “sucked in” to it. I don’t believe she’s QAnon anymore.
2. There is a widespread belief that she was raped by a Catholic priest when she was 14, for what it’s worth – I keep running into it as a partial explanation for her hard line on Epstein (and, TBH, it may have made it easier for her to get sucked into a belief system somewhat anchored around powerful pedophiles.)
3. Her apology for her past actions on CNN looked genuine to me, also FWIW.
4. Epstein isn’t the only point of departure for her; she’s championed extending the Obamacare subsidies very strongly for a while now, has been against our support of Israel, calling their actions “genocide”, and has been against Trump’s Venezuelan “activities”.
TBH, with the positions she’s taken publicly, she’d likely be a much better president than Trump, but I’d still greatly prefer a generic Democrat!
@John,
While I’m a big believer in the church of the second chance, she was recently quoted as saying she is a big supporter of Trump’s agenda. Why do you suppose MTG supported Trump after the Access Hollywood tape?
She’s a big supporter of the “America First” and anti-immigration policies, to be sure. I think she’s had somewhat of a change of heart on things since the Access Hollywood tape, though, which, after all, was a decade ago – roughly 1/3 of her adult life. Also, you can support a scumbag if he’s *your* scumbag; see JFK (although I know a lot of his scumbaggery was drug-induced.)
I’m not saying she’s become a good person, just a significantly less bad person. She’s still white supremacist-adjacent, AFAICT, at the very least..
@John,
I see where MTG has said there should be disciplinary action taken against Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) who has been accused of domestic abuse, threatening to share revenge porn. Good on her.