Marjorie Taylor Greene is having a very bad day
Kevin McCarthy lost big on Tuesday when he was removed as Speaker of the House. It’s historically humiliating for him, but he still get to remain a member of Congress. Matt Gaetz is in line to be the biggest loser in all of this, given that McCarthy’s allies have leaked that they plan to expel him. But Majorie Taylor Greene is also a major loser in all of this.
Greene famously backed McCarthy in his bid to become Speaker to begin with, in exchange for assurances that Greene would get to have significant influence over McCarthy’s decision making. But time and again, McCarthy sided with the House Republicans in toss-up districts. Greene wanted a shutdown in May, a shutdown in September, and a formal voted-upon impeachment inquiry. But McCarthy didn’t give her any of that.
Greene sold out her own influence over her right wing lunatic constituents in the hope of becoming a power broker, and in the end it got her nothing. Greene is now married politically to McCarthy in the eyes of the public, to the point that Greene felt compelled to vote to save McCarthy today – but it wasn’t enough.
It was Gaetz who wanted McCarthy gone, and he got his way on that, but now Gaetz may end up gone as well. Greene didn’t get her way at all. She’ll survive this, given the far right nature of her district. But her influence is now significantly weakened going forward. And if the Democrats win the House majority in 2024, she’ll be made even more irrelevant.
People like Greene and Gaetz are political novices who never took the time to learn how anything in politics actually works, and thus quickly got in way over their heads. They appear to believe that political influence comes from yelling around in public. Anyone who’s been in politics for awhile comes to understand that actual political influence takes place behind the scenes. Greene and Gaetz were too busy mugging for the cameras to ever figure out how to actually succeed. Now Greene has egg all over her face, and Gaetz is in line for expulsion.
