Freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is in the headlines now, though I’m not sure she should be. I’ll expand on that idea in a minute, but first, you can check out Jeff Charles’ piece to understand exactly why Greene poses a problem for Republicans (see Marjorie Taylor Greene has Become an Albatross Around the GOP’s Neck)

What’s the deal with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)?

Even before she took office, the newly-elected lawmaker received criticism for her support of the QAnon conspiracy movement and comments she made on social media and in video footage before she was elected. While it is a given that the Democrats and their activist media allies will routinely create deceptive narratives about high-profile conservatives, Rep. Greene’s behavior has caused more harm to the Republican Party than good.

In light of that article, I don’t actually disagree with any of Jeff’s criticisms. Just because the left hates someone, that does not automatically make them an ally or worth defending. One of the bedrocks of the right is not playing victim all the time, and Greene isn’t a victim here. She’s legitimately crazy and has to own her words, down to her blaming Jews for shooting blue laser beams to start forest fires. There’s nothing endearing about this woman. She’s your crazy aunt that subsists off of conspiracy theory chain emails and Facebook.

Yet, I think Republicans are once again standing on the precipice of making a mistake by allowing the left to define the narrative when they shouldn’t be allowed to. Greene is inconsequential as a politician and within the party. She should not be at the top of the news, and the only reason she’s appearing there is because the left see her as a tool to wield. If they can pump her profile up and make her the “face” of the GOP, they can make political hay out of that. We shouldn’t let that happen.

That means you aren’t obligated to support Greene, but you also aren’t obligated to own her idiocy. There’s another, much more effective option: Simply don’t play the game.

There is no requirement to engage in the left’s bad faith arguments. Like with the “alt-right” and QAnon, there is no logical reason to elevate Greene above what she is, which is nothing at all. That’s precisely what the media and Democrats want. They want the “alt-right,” QAnon, and Greene being talked about. In reality, she’s her constituents’ problem, and they can deal with her as they see fit in 2022. Do Democrats rush to condemn or talk about expelling Ilhan Omar when she makes an anti-Semitic statement? They don’t, and that’s because they are smart enough to not hand their opposition unearned fodder. We shouldn’t either.

Democrats attempting to classify Trump supporters as insurrectionists, saying GOP members of Congress are terrorist killers, and wanting to expel them—so of course, the conservative chattering class is consumed with how awful Taylor Greene’s old tweets and Facebook posts are. https://t.co/MgCdZvUF3s

— David Reaboi (@davereaboi) January 29, 2021

What Greene said before taking office may be nuts, but the voters chose her with that stuff in full view. Attempting to expel or force out members over past conspiracy theories is not a path anyone should venture down. That doesn’t mean I agree with or will waste one minute of my time defending Greene’s stupidity. It does mean I’m not going to get behind this idea that she needs to be the focus of the Republican Party and continually denounced. Don’t play the game. Ignore her and let the left stew.