Great News for Ossoff or Maybe Abrams

As if the Trump-Harris presidential matchup weren't already ample evidence that our political milieu has descended into farce, MAGA conspiracy nut Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is reportedly considering a run for Jon Ossoff's Senate seat or the Governorship of Georgia.

If nothing else, this news exposes the parlous state of the Republican Party -- which is evenly split between delusional MAGA types and cowardly traditional Republicans.

We'll look at the traditional Republicans first. To the reporter's credit and my great surprise, he managed to find a Republican officeholder who, although he is much more diplomatic than Greene deserves, at least calls out her nuttiness:

"That is a swing state that's pretty independent minded," he added. "If I was to put my political science hat on and look at all the criteria, she wouldn't be high on my list of recruits."

[Kevin] Cramer [R-ND] wrote an essay for Newsweek in 2021 that called out Greene for endorsing some of the "crazier" theories [sic] floating around in conservative circles, such as claims that the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on New York and Washington were an inside job, or that the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida was a false flag.

He also flagged her suggestion in 2018 that a deadly California wildfire was caused by laser beams from space and that it might have been part of a scheme by wealthy financiers to clear space for a high-speed train line. She later deleted her post from Facebook.

"I think she's recanted some of the crazier things she's said," Cramer acknowledged, but he insisted that "electability is one of the more important criteria in recruiting a candidate." [bold added]

Cramer may well be the bravest sane Republican left, but this is generous to a fault in terms of diplomacy. Not so long ago, it might have been easy to find a Republican who would say something like If they run her, they are out of their minds.

On the other hand... I'm no politician nor do I deal much with people like Greene. Perhaps Cramer is being diplomatic because he's afraid any sort of confrontation -- especially with facts -- will only embolden her.

Here's what one of Greene's staff had to say:

A spokesperson for Greene said that Senate Republicans are "afraid of her" and questioned whether senators poo-pooing the idea truly support Trump's MAGA agenda.

"These are likely the same Republicans refusing to confirm President Trump's nominees, like Ed Martin, because they never stood with [Trump] and still don't," the spokesperson said, referring to Trump's controversial pick [a lawyer for January 6th rioters --ed] to serve as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

...

Greene's spokesperson said she would cruise to the Senate Republican nomination if she jumps in the race.

"Polling shows Congresswoman Greene would blow out a primary. She has the same type of support President Trump has, and now he's president," the spokesperson said. "She has one of the largest digital files in all of Congress, has donors from all 50 states, and has over 11.6 million followers on her social media.

"Congresswoman Greene would be any candidate's worst nightmare," the source said. [bold added]

Of course: To a mind constantly marinating in the MAGA echo chamber, the only possible reasons someone could oppose such a luminary are betrayal to the Dear Leader or cowardice.

Given Trump's stranglehold on the GOP, she might well be any Republican candidate's worst nightmare, but hard-core Trumpists are hardly a majority of the general electorate, and Georgia is a swing state, as the article indicates repeatedly.

Should Greene run for Senate, I would expect Jon Ossoff to return to Washington, and should she run for Governor, I could see Stacey Abrams taking advantage of the chance to be the "sane" candidate.

-- CAV