I’m not sure how I feel about the effort to expel Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from Congress. I’m clear that she shouldn’t be serving in the Capitol, but that’s true about a lot of congresspeople, including several Democrats. The resolution was introduced on Friday by Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California:

“I believe some of my Republican colleagues, and one in particular, wish harm upon this legislative body. And I’m not saying this for shock value. It’s the conclusion I drew after a member of Congress advocated violence against our peers, the Speaker and our government,” Gomez said on the House floor.

“I take no joy in introducing this resolution,” Gomez continued. “But any member who incites political violence and threatens our lives must be expelled. And I’ll do everything I can in my power to protect our democracy and keep all my colleagues safe.”

The evidence against Greene is that she ‘liked’ a post on Facebook in 2019 that said “a bullet to the head would be [a] quicker” way to remove Pelosi from office, that she once accused Nancy Pelosi of treason and mentioned that the death penalty is the penalty for treason, and that she once made a comment on Facebook that suggested that “the stage is being set” to hang Pelosi.

That’s inexcusable behavior, for sure, but removing a member is a serious matter and I’m not sure hot-headed social media posts are sufficient cause, especially when they pre-date a member’s candidacy for office. She’s already been stripped of her committee assignments, and there is an investigation ongoing to see what role she (and other Republican lawmakers) may have played in the January 6 insurrection. That move was made in response to her unhinged embrace of conspiracy theories, including 9/11 Trutherism and skepticism about school shootings, as well as racist and anti-Semitic remarks she’s made in the past. I suppose this all part of one big picture, but the expulsion would be a second punishment for these transgressions.

For me, I’d wait for further provocation or at least for evidence that she had direct links to the insurrection. Her constituents elected her knowing much of her record, and while I think they made an irresponsible decision, I won’t advocate lightly removing their representative from office. It’s not really about her, but more about the precedent it sets.

I’m fairly confident that she’ll make the case for her removal stronger if we just wait. I note that Twitter just suspended her account again (allegedly by mistake), and she’s alienating more of her Republican colleagues every day with her shenanigans. She’s a 24/7 shitstorm, so patience is probably a virtue in this case.