Nothing New: The Latest Episode of Craziness in the House

In the past, I've described the U.S. House as the Jerry Springer Show. Today, I'm apologizing to the Jerry Springer Show.

Sen. John Fetterman D-PA on social media last Friday

Yeah, it got pretty undignified Thursday night during a House Oversight Committee session. The meeting, which was trying to decide whether, or not to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, was being held late because some of the GOP members attended the Trump hush money trial in New York earlier in the day. The whole affair descended into such chaos rumors immediately flew that some of the people involved might have been drinking before, or during the proceedings. 

Whether that conjecture is true, or not will probably remain unknown. However, what most people do understand is one of the parties involved, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has never needed alcohol, or any other questionable substance to fuel her sadistic buffoonery. In other words, to paraphrase Hunter Thompson, Marjorie Taylor Greene on acid is redundant.

It started this way. Greene was arguing with democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, of Texas who accused Greene of, "not knowing what you're here for."  The Gentlewoman from Georgia snapped back, "I don't think you know what you're here for." Crockett tried to respond, but Greene cut her off, saying," I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you're reading."

As some committee members audibly groaned, Congresswomen, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, visibly outraged, said to Greene," That is absolutely unacceptable. How dare you attack the physical appearance of another person." She then demanded Greene's words be stricken from the record as they were a violation of Committee rules against personal attacks on another member. Greene immediately insulted Ocasio-Cortez in response. The exchange ignited an uncontrolled shouting match during which Ocasio-Cortez referred to Greene as, "Baby girl" and Greene claimed Ocasio-Cortez wasn't, "intelligent enough," to debate. Before it ended the only things missing from the scene were flying chairs and Geraldo Rivera's broken nose. 

The Committee Chair refused to strike Greene's insult because apparently whatever Marjorie wants Marjorie gets--at least most of the time. That caused Crockett to ask him, "To better understand your ruling., so you're saying if a member of this committee addresses someone's bleached blonde, badly built, butch body, that's not a personal attack, right?" The Chair's response, 'Uh...uh, what now?" 

Fetterman was right.

Of course, Congress has long history insanity infesting its genetic makeup. In 1856 South Carolina Congressman, Preston Brooks used his walking cane to beat Massachusetts Senator, Charles Sumner to the verge of death. Sumner was an abolitionist and Brooks was, well, let's say, not. Historians consider the act a direct precursor to the American Civil War, which began five years later. Sumner, after years of recovering, finally returned to the Senate. The House tried to expel Brooks after a D.C. court fined him $300, but the motion failed. He would be re-elected, but died later that same year of The Croup.

Proving bat shit craziness isn't just confined to the House, more recently, Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin had to be ordered to, "Sit Down!" after he rose to fight a labor leader outside of a committee meeting room. Before that Oklahoma Senator, Jim Inhofe heaved a half-melted snowball on the Senate floor to prove his contention that global warming is a myth.

Then there was Senator Joe McCarthy, R-WI who terrorized practically everybody for a couple of years during the early 1950's. But you get the point. Marjorie Taylor Greene is simply the latest in a long line of crackpots and savage fools who have wandered the halls of the Capitol Building for generations. Her presence there is probably more of an indictment of the voters in Georgia's 14th Congressional District than it is of her.

After all, who is more frightening, a crude unqualified bully, or the people who put her in Congress--twice?    

5-20-24