All eyes are on House members, as Speaker Mike Johnson attempts to pass a package of foreign aid bills through the House, including significant aid to Ukraine. marjorie taylor greenThreat to expel him. So far, only Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has supported her efforts, but on Thursday other far-right lawmakers surrounded Johnson on the House floor to voice their opposition. .
Greene and her fellow ideologues might want to tread carefully. There is a growing backlash from the Christian right against the move to oust Prime Minister Johnson. While Ms. Greene’s MAGA influencer antics have garnered significant media attention, long-time influential figures in the evangelical political sphere, including Ms. Johnson herself, have been quiet about her in Christian media. They are waging a brutal war. The Republican evangelical base, vital to Republican hopes in the fall, has seen Greene baselessly attack a pious figure, jeopardizing the party’s electoral chances, thus (in Johnson’s words) I hear that the Democratic Party’s “crazy woke policy” is close to becoming a reality.
Johnson himself struck first, appearing on the Christian Broadcasting Network with David Brody, a popular evangelical reporter known for catching newsworthy interviews with Washington insiders. Speakers pushed back against Mr. Greene’s attacks on his faith. Riots at XGreene blasted Johnson’s allegedly unchristian capitulation to massive government spending, writing, “@SpeakerJohnson you can’t follow Christ and fund full-term abortion clinics.” Never mind that there is no federal funding for abortion or that there is no such thing as a “full-term abortion.” Mr. Greene’s aim was to surpass Mr. Johnson as the most ardent Christian patriot in the room.
Fully aware that Brody’s viewers know of his long track record as a faithful foot soldier in the fight for a Christian nation, Johnson reminded CBN viewers of his Christian faithfulness. I let it happen. “I try to follow every commandment in the Bible every day,” Johnson said. “One of them says, “Bless those who persecute you.” I’m practicing a lot now, “A kind word turns away anger.”
A few days after the CBN interview, Johnson appeared on the first episode of “This Week on the Hill,” a new show on the right-wing Salem News Network hosted by Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. Initially, Johnson and Perkins, one of the most influential evangelical figures within Belt and Road, spent considerable time attacking President Biden and the Democratic Party. But then they looked inside the Republican caucus.
Although Mr. Perkins and Mr. Johnson did not directly mention Ms. Greene by name, the implication was clear, as was their concern that her theatrics could hurt the Republican Party on Election Day. Perkins began by criticizing “some members of Congress” who are “here to build their own brand rather than to govern and lead the country.” Johnson insisted that “I’m not talking about anyone individually,” but went on to urge Republicans to “make sure that the people who come here don’t just come here to be famous, they come here to govern.” “You should,” he advised. But when Perkins brought up Greene’s eviction motion, the two blasted the motion and her threat to shut down the government, concluding it would only come back to bite them in November. “This is a dangerous ploy,” Johnson concluded. “We have to keep the trains on the tracks, and this doesn’t help.”
Perkins also interviewed Greene’s fellow Georgia Republican Rich McCormick. Not coincidentally, he supports U.S. aid to Ukraine. Mr. Perkins, Mr. Johnson and Mr. McCormick did not directly address the aid bill, but Mr. McCormick offered his opinion to Mr. Greene. “There’s no thought process to this,” he said of his ejection motion, likening it to tackling your own team’s quarterback. In case McCormick’s message wasn’t clear enough, he added that Johnson is a “proven conservative” and “God’s chosen.”
It’s not just men who attack prominent female members of the Republican caucus. Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America, another influential Christian right group with a strong presence on Capitol Hill, published an op-ed in Newsweek earlier this month calling Greene “nonsensical. ” I called on them to stop trying. “Her attacks have become more shrill and conspiratorial by the day. She has questioned Mr. Johnson’s faith, claimed that Mr. Johnson has surrendered to the Democratic Party, and even suggested that he is being blackmailed.” wrote Nance. “Will such opponents be satisfied, or are they more interested in the 15 minutes of fame they can get by bashing their leaders?” Like Perkins and Johnson, Nance also questioned Green’s motivations. and warned that her stunt could damage the party in November. “Republicans currently running against Mr. Johnson may need a reminder that the election is only seven months away,” she wrote.
The far-right wing of the Republican Party is still agitating about Johnson’s departure. But veterans of the Christian Right know better than anyone that the electoral landscape is already tough for the Trump party and anti-abortion. The Freedom Caucus’ showdown with Abu sends an unmistakable signal that they fear losing in November. They also signaled to Ms. Greene and others who would join her that if Ms. Greene pulled the trigger to unseat Mr. Johnson, they already knew who would be responsible for the accident. I’m sending it.
This article originally appeared on MSNBC.com
