Republicans and getting played go hand-in-hand. It’s basically a core tenant of the party. We’ve seen that illustrated in weeks past in regards to the so-called “January 6th commission,” where 35 House Republicans voted to hand their opposition the knife they will now be stabbed with (see 35 Republicans Vote to Walk Into a Partisan Buzzsaw). The commission, which only exists as a partisan bludgeon going into 2022, is completely unnecessary, but there are some in the GOP who just can’t resist virtue signaling at every opportunity.

The same dynamic was at play this week after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene made a dumb Holocaust comparison, citing the 20th-century atrocity as being comparable to House members having to wear masks.

On the merits of Greene’s comparison, I’m as anti-mask as it gets and have written extensively on the data that shows they don’t work to stop the spread of COVID-19, but stupid analogies are still stupid analogies. I get that some people are going to read that and get mad at me, but Greene’s insistence on being a moron does not help anyone. In fact, she does things that are so stupid that I sometimes question whose side she’s really on. Yes, “she fights,” but so does a raccoon. That doesn’t mean I want one representing my political party. Greene is not Donald Trump no matter how much she tries to piggy-back off his movement.

Regardless, there was a way to respond to Greene’s comment as a Republican in Congress, and that involved understanding that nuance exists. What she said was stupid, but it wasn’t anti-Semitic nor was it worthy of obsession (which is why this is the first article I’m even bothering to write on it). A simple “I don’t agree with that comparison” would have sufficed.

Of course, Republicans have the political savvy of a cucumber, thus you got multitudes of GOP Congressional members rushing to virtue signal, thereby providing cover for anti-Semites like Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Ilhan Omar. These GOP members played right into the hands of Democrats and allowed them to change the narrative.

Now, the Democrats are planning to spring the second part of their trap, and it’s just ridiculous that Republicans have still not learned anything from past experience.

House Dems are reportedly drafting a resolution condemning Rep. MTG for comparing mask mandates to the Holocaust.

Maybe they should also include … @AOC? After all, distasteful Holocaust analogies are kind of her stock-in-trade. pic.twitter.com/9XO0lgNVFE

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) May 26, 2021

Here’s what will happen now: Democrats, because they are smart, will put forward the resolution mentioned above and force Republicans to either vote to condemn Greene or be called hypocrites. When that resolution passes, it will be another black eye on the GOP while at the same time reaffirming Tlaib, AOC, and Omar because their anti-Semitism will go unpunished.

Meanwhile, that resolution Republicans threatened against Maxine Waters never materialized, even on a partisan level, within the House. There will be no resolution condemning AOC’s terrible Holocaust comparisons either. Democrats will get off scot-free while Republicans play the fool again.

This is getting old. As an elected Republican, you either understand the game that is being played or you don’t, and if you don’t, then you shouldn’t be an elected Republican. Yeah, I realize Greene should stop saying stupid stuff, but you aren’t going to be able to control her. She’s a publicity hound, and the more attention you give her, the more powerful she will get. You’d think Republicans who claim to want to stop her rise would get that and react accordingly. Instead, they are walking right into the trap laid by Democrats.

They don’t call the GOP the “stupid party” for nothing, I suppose.