American default? No biggie, per MTG.

A Peach State Lady Macbeth has the Speaker's ear.

Anyone who has been following the debt crisis knows by now that Marjorie Taylor Greene had become an outsized – and willfully ignorant – influence on negotiations. 

“No one is concerned about the debt default,” asserted Greene, overlooking the opinions of American and global economists, including Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen.

But the bachelor of business administration (‘96) whose only work experience was in the family construction business may not be the best judge of what’s best for the economy, by her own past admission.

A CFO who wasn’t good at business
It’s instructive to remember that for a short while Greene worked as the “Chief Financial Officer” (CFO) of Taylor Construction her then-husband Perry ran as president.  It was her first and only full-time job before being elected to Congress
in 2020.

Yet, as reported in the January/February issue of theAtlantic, Greene was largely a no-show company officer.  

Perhaps this disinterest led Greene to overlook paying the firm’s state and county taxes, incurring liens against Taylor Construction, and then admit she wasn’t cut out to handle money. 

According to theAtlantic’s “Why Is Marjorie Taylor Greene Like This?” Greene admitted she wasn’t “very good at business.” Her now ex-husband who was and remains to this day the company’s president apparently agreed. Shortly after the company’s tax non-payments problems, Greene was no longer listed as CFO on the firm’s website, and the future Georgia congresswoman was teaching Crossfit classes at a local gym. 

Transformation (?)
Nevertheless, Greene has apparently reassessed her financial savvy, making assertions about the national and world economy in her new position of having Speaker McCarthy’s ear.

Debt Crisis? “Like, whatever…”
In an interview on the Steve Bannon podcast, Greene elaborated on the debt ceiling event, proclaiming:
“No one is concerned about this mystery date that Janet Yellen has thrown out, like it’s actually going to crash America. 

“Let’s be real,” Greene added. “Regular Americans living their lives day in and day out don’t worry about the government shutting down.” 

Let’s be real : the facts
Even though those everyday Americans Greene may know might not pay attention to the debt crisis, those outside the Georgia congresswoman's immediate circle
apparently do. 

A Washington Post/ABC poll found that only 28 percent of respondents want President Biden to agree to spending cuts in return for Republicans allowing the federal government to pay its debts. 

The poll also found a large majority – 59 percent – wanting spending cuts and debt ceiling issues to be addressed separately, the Democrats’ position. Only 28 percent wanted Democrats to agree to spending cuts in return for the GOP’s allowing the federal government to pay its debts.

Brookings even cited a Republican pollster, David Winston, who found that 57 percent of those polled feared the consequences to them personally, calling them “catastrophic” if the ceiling were not raised, connecting the outcome to higher interest rates and increasingly higher inflation (brookings.edu 5.15.2023). 

Georgia on his mind
It’s frightening someone who has the ear of Kevin McCarthy, second in line to the presidency, is so willing to accept laughingly specious information as facts.

But it’s also not surprising, as Greene has publicly made gaffe after ill-informed gaffe while serving on her various House committees without so much as saying “I’m sorry,” or “I was misinformed,” as TRG has reported on since the beginning of this year. 

Greene: $5B for a grade school
One of the most famous occurred in February in a House Oversight Committee hearing when Greene insisted to the U.S. Comptroller that the Government had given $5B to one Illinois elementary school to develop “CRT” programs.

What Greene didn’t realize is that Illinois had received a $5B federal payout as part of the third wave of federal funding to help K-12 schools throughout the state’s 852 school districts recover from Covid shutdowns and remote learning. 

The Government also nationally assisted schools trying to bounce back from remote learning and high absenteeism that plagued American education throughout
the disease. 

More disrespect and ignorance, Greene style
In addition to Greene’s committee preparation challenges, Greene’s lack of civility was on display in a March 6 Congressional hearing in front of the “Election Integrity Caucus.” 

Greene asserted to Georgia Republican voting official Gabe Sterling there was “massive voter fraud in Georgia, and you know it!” – without taking the opportunity to explain why her 2022 reelection was valid and other voter selections were not. 

Greene yelled at Sterling throughout the interrogation, giving him no real chance to respond that the state’s voter tallies had held up after multiple recounts and court findings. Unconvinced, at least for the cameras and having gotten the soundbites she needed, Greene huffily stalked out.

Of show trials and fox holes
In spite of Greene’s refusal to do her homework, widely-publicized gaffes, and uncivil behavior more akin to Stalin show trials than traditional hearings before Congress, House Speaker McCarthy has made friends with Greene, crediting her for helping him become Speaker. 

“If you’re going to be in a fight, you want Marjorie Taylor Greene in your foxhole,” McCarthy said following the 15-vote ordeal in January that elected him Speaker of the House.

A Lady Macbeth for the ages
Whether because McCarthy respects Greene’s viewpoints on issues (unlikely), is intimidated by her fund-raising prowess (getting warmer), or has surrendered his manhood to Greene and the few Republicans who have given him his slim four-vote majority (bingo!), McCarthy has found a Lady Macbeth to help win and keep his job.

Just like the Scottish queen, Greene breaks all barriers of decorum, collegiality, and competence that used to govern Congress that Republicans have now fully abandoned as the no-longer-relevant trappings of the past.

Dagger of the mind
So far, Greene has not been seen walking the halls of Congress trying feverishly to wash off imaginary blood stains, saying,“Out, out damned spot!” But she resembles Macbeth’s spouse in terms of a “whatever it takes—for me” ethos better suited for medieval Scotland than a 21st century global leader struggling to save democracy. The viability of that democracy, financial and otherwise, is threatened by the vaulting ambition—and ignorance—of Marjorie Taylor Greene.

–trg