Jasmine Crockett versus Marjorie Taylor Greene
Ladies and gentlemen!!! Welcome to the Thursday Night House Oversight Committee Fights.
The MAIN EVENT on tonight’s card… in the red corner, from the Peach State, ULTRA MAGA REPUBLICAN AND MEAN GIRL WITH A RICH FATHER, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, known for her grade school insults and headline-grabbing stunts including her recent failed and embarassing attempt to remove the Republican Speaker of the House… and in the blue corner, from the lone star state, that STALWART DEFENDER OF LIBERTY AND AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett, known for her fierce, no nonsense, opposition to Republican extremists!
And the referee tonight, one of the most incompetent and hearing-impaired (even with hearing aids) committee chairs, Republican from the Great State of Kentucky, James Comer. Assisting Referee Comer tonight is that former law school professor and cancer survivor, Democrat from the great state of Maryland, ranking committee member, Jamie Raskin.
As the clock struck 8 PM on Thursday night, the ring was set with opposing members of House Oversight Committee in their respective corners. Chairman / Referee Comer called the meeting to order … Ladies and Gentlemen, Let’s Get Ready To Rumble!!!
This was no ordinary legislative session; it was an all-out verbal melee reminiscent of the Jerry Springer Show, the air thick with anticipation and, rumor has it, the smell of alcohol smuggled into the chamber by spectators in the gallery and, possibly, even a few members on the floor.
The ostensible purpose of tonight’s match? A grave deliberation on whether to cite Attorney General Merrick B. Garland with contempt of Congress for refusing to release privileged presidential communications. But, some members of the committee exhausted from a day of defending the twice impeached, multiple indicted former president during his criminal trial in New York City, the main event began in prime time at 8:00 pm rather than the normal 11:00 am with an exchange of verbal jabs between Greene and Crockett, quickly escalating as Greene made a personal insult, low blow (even for her), targeting Crockett’s appearance. “I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you’re reading,” punched Greene, sparking immediate outrage across the aisle.
The air was electric with accusations flying back and forth, of racism and misogyny. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York lept into the fray, demanding Greene’s vile words be stricken from the record – an official censure that would silence Greene for the remainder of the bout/committee meeting. “How dare you attack the physical appearance of another person?” Ocasio-Cortez challenged, her voice echoing through the chamber. Greene, undeterred and resolute, responded defiantly, “I am not apologizing.” “Why don’t you debate me?” Greene threw down the gauntlet to Ocasio-Cortez, who coolly replied, “I think it’s self-evident.” Not missing a beat, Greene retorted, “Yeah, you don’t have enough intelligence,” a barb that drew immediate howls from the Democrats and a suggestion by Ranking Member Raskin to adjourn the meeting before violence ensued.
Following a failed vote to take down Green’s personal insults from the Congressional records, insults flew like a flurry of fists with Crockett and Greene trading jabs and haymakers. The crowd roared with cries for decorum – ignoring Greene’s previous display of pornographic pictures during a committee meeting. But the fight was too enthralling to ignore – like watching a car wreck. As the debate spiraled down to even lower lows of decorum, Chairman/Referee Comer could not rein in the combatants and the committee room echoed with the sounds of a political battle royale.
Crockett was not about to let Greene’s insults pass without response. Cleverly disguising her counter punch as a point of order, Crockett asked Comer, “I’m just curious, just to better understand your ruling. If someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody’s bleach-blonde, bad-built, butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?”
This was met by another roar from the Republican crowd although few members actually stepped up to defend Greene. Later, Greene’s boyfriend and one time drag performer, Brian Glenn, came to her defense like a modern-day Rocky Balboa, attesting to the quality of her physical attributes.
Through it all, Chairman/Referee Comer could barely keep up, the room often devolving into a cacophony of shouts and accusations, making it nearly impossible to discern who was speaking. “I’m just glad the chairs are too big to throw,” quipped one lawmaker amid the tumult.
This wasn’t just a committee meeting. It was a spectacle of political combat, where every insult was a punch and every rebuke a counter punch. This meeting of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee was a display of the now widespread political pugilism reflective of the basic lack of civility much less courtesy, empathy, or politeness which permeates the entire 118th Congress, the least productive in history. Gone are the days when politicians would be held accountable for their public misbehavior. Now, heckling the President of the United States during the State of the Union address or insulting and name calling colleagues across the aisle – is rewarded with increased fund raising and even election to the highest office.
Behavior has consequences, elections have consequences. Voters need to hold their representatives accountable for their actions.