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Marjorie Taylor Green’s call for “national divorce” (basically civil war) gets backing of Fox’s Hannity

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To paraphrase a radio comedian: Majorie Taylor Greene was born ignorant and she’s been losing ground ever since.

In the latest extremist blast from the House’s second most powerful Republican (some say the House’s most powerful Republican), Greene has called for a “national divorce” where conservative states would succeed so there would be a conservative and liberal/progressive union

Here’s the tweet that sparked a mini firestorm:

By no means has this gained widespread support. There has been bipartisan rejection of Greene’s call to formally divide America. But Fox News’ Sean Hannity, recently confirmed as knowingly truth challenged for what he said privately versus publically on Fox regarding the 2020 election results, has now come out and supported Greene’s idea.

If Hannity ahd Fox begin hyping the idea it’ll get more support from Fox News viewers. Hannity virtually endorsing it is yet a-n-o-t-h-e-r sign about how easily political norms can crumble in this age of narrowcasting for niche political beliefs. It’s hard to imagine any mainstream, legitimate news channel newsperson or commentator doing anything but repudiating the idea.

And, once again, Utah Senator Mitt Romney has become the voice of truth:

“You know, I think Abraham Lincoln dealt with that kind of insanity,” the Utah Republican told reporters during a brief press availability during his visit with lawmakers at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City.

“We’re not going to divide the country. It’s united we stand, divided we fall,” Romney said.

He went on to criticize the state of today’s political discourse, placing blame on both political parties.

“Look, there’s no question, but there are some people in my party and in the other party that say things to try to get a headline and get people to send them money, and that happens to lead in today’s loony left,” Romney said, before adding, “I should say loony right.”

Romney’s comments are the latest examples of the senator condemning extremism within his own party. The day before, another Republican politician from Utah, Gov. Spencer Cox, also condemned Greene’s comments.

“This rhetoric is destructive and wrong and — honestly — evil,” Cox tweeted. “We don’t need a divorce, we need marriage counseling. And we need elected leaders that don’t profit by tearing us apart.”

Romney’s and Cox’s comments illustrate the divide within the Republican Party. Romney, who voted to convict former President Donald Trump, and Cox have taken their lumps from conservative delegates at the state Republican Party convention as well as from conservative political commentators like Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.

Amid the outcry, Greene added more details: if an American from a blue state moved to a red state they shouldn’t allowed to be able to vote for five years. Further proof that this isn’t about principle but sheer naked political power.

The Washington Post’s Philip Bump notes that her proposal really doesn’t make sense (but then neither do a lot of things Greene says):

There are probably three reasons that the most recent iteration of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) call for a “national divorce” ginned up an unusual furor. She’s said this before, lots of times, and — as desired — spurred outrage….

..So why did it prompt such breathless, sweeping outcry? First, because calling for secession on Presidents’ Day, the holiday on which we remember Abraham Lincoln, is an interesting move. Second, because it was a holiday, people had more free time to get angry and less other news to get angry about.

But, third, Greene is in a very different position than she was when she made this claim in years past. Now, she’s part of the House majority and someone with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) ear. She is part of the Homeland Security Committee’s majority — as she advocates for the homeland splitting apart.

All of that in mind, though, it’s useful to remember that this is not a coherent argument but, instead, a mixture of troll and political attack. The representative who first gained national attention for her embrace of hyperpartisan baseless claims is not now offering a nuanced solution to America’s divisions.

Consider the practicalities here. Breezily suggesting that we “separate by red states and blue states” makes no real sense. This isn’t 1861, when the central point of contention — slavery — fell along a relatively clean, demarcated north-south divider. If we’re going to have a Bluemerica and Rednited States, if you will, then Marjorie Taylor Greene will either need to move north a few miles into Tennessee or be a sitting member of Blueamerica’s Congress. A minority member, presumably.

If we’re using 2020 results, in fact, her home state of Georgia would be an island of Bluemerica. Utah, on the other hand, would be a block of R.S. nearly surrounded by blue. If we start segmenting by counties, things get much messier much faster. Again understanding that we’re treating Greene’s unserious proposal seriously, we end up with an inevitable international conflict — or, more accurately, a civil war — regardless.

Read it in its entirety.

The White House has responded:

“Congresswoman Greene’s comments are sick, divisive, and alarming to hear from a member of the House Oversight and Homeland Security Committees,” said White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson, in a response to Greene exclusively shared with The Daily Beast.

Once a pariah in the House Republican ranks who was removed from her committee posts, Greene was instrumental in the election of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) last month. With McCarthy firmly in her corner, and with even better committee assignments, Greene is one of the most influential GOP lawmakers.

“Congressional Republicans,” Patterson said, “have an obligation to say clearly whether they agree with Congresswoman Greene’s calls to dissolve the union or condemn her vile push to further divide our nation.”

Greene is a specialist in “performative politics,” which is similar to talk radio “shock jocks.” It’s all about saying over the top things to get attention, hits, page views — and Fox News appearances. And it’s a huge success if in addition to getting to talk about it on Fox it’s getting a nod of approval by one of Fox’s top-rated hosts. And if it then becomes a key topic on other Fox News broadcasts.

A legitimate news network would never allow it. But, then Fox……

Caricature: Donkeyhotey/Flickr