Marjorie Taylor Greene has become the 'ideological enforcer' of House Republicans: Charlie Sykes

At first glance, the attention-grabbing headline of Charlie Sykes’ December 1 column for The Bulwark might seem like clickbait: “Speaker Marjorie Taylor Greene.” But when one reads the column, it becomes obvious that the Never Trump conservative isn’t simply going for shock value; the far-right Rep. Greene, Sykes laments, has become so influential in the House Republican Conference that Republicans might as well choose her as House speaker if they obtain a majority in the 2022 midterms.

“All political parties eventually come to a moment of choosing, when they have to clarify their values and identity,” Sykes argues. “Even clown cars need a driver, which brings us…. to the House GOP — that absurd collection of gollums, trolls, bigots, and crackpots, led by a ‘leader’ so devitalized that he’s unable to stand up to Z-list freshmen. So, here’s a modest proposal: If the GOP does take the House next year, Republicans should just say f**k it, cut out the middleman, and name Marjorie Taylor Greene speaker.”

Sykes continues, “As the Roman statesman Cicero might have said, why the f**k not? It’s not just that MTG represents the party’s id — in touch with both the base and the Orange-God-King-in-Exile — she runs the place anyway. Why not make it official? And anointing her has the added benefit of honesty. (House Minority Leader) Kevin McCarthy simply takes up space while she holds the real power.”

The frightening thing is that Sykes isn’t exaggerating. As the conservative columnist has been pointing out, McCarthy has been quick to criticize Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming — a scathing critic of former President Donald Trump — but is afraid to say anything against Greene.

In a Bulwark article published on May 26, Never Trump conservative Amanda Carpenter said of the far-right Georgia congresswoman, “Greene knows where she stands. As long as she has Trump’s support and keeps his voters in the GOP tent, she’s calling the shots. Not McCarthy.”

That comment from Carpenter, according to Sykes, is as accurate now as it was six months ago.

“MTG has moved easily into the role of ideological enforcer, demanding retribution against RINOs like Liz Cheney, (Rep.) Adam Kinzinger, and (Rep.) John Katko — but also, keeping her fellow deplorables in line,” Sykes writes. “When (Rep.) Lauren Boebert offered a tentative non-apology apology for making anti-Muslim remarks about (Rep.) Ilhan Omar, MTG brought her sharply back into line, reminding her that in the era of Trump, there are no apologies.”

Sykes notes that one conservative House Republican who isn’t afraid to call out Boebert and the “batshit crazy” Greene is Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Mace and Greene have been exchanging insults on Twitter:

McCarthy, according to Sykes, is showing how “feckless” he is while letting Greene run the show in the House Republican Conference.

“Like so many other GOP ‘leaders,’ McCarthy is under the impression that he can emasculate his way to power,” Sykes writes. “He imagines that he can surrender his testicles, put them in a lock box, and somehow reattach them when he comes to power. Who’s going to tell him?”