By Dr. Harold A. Black
blackh@knoxfocus.com
haroldblackphd.com
The Congress is diverse. Not just in race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and politics but in degree of ideology with members on the far far right and some on the far far left. I have a dear friend who describes Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) as a “right-wing nut job.” Even the most loyal Republican would admit that some of her comments are a bit bizarre. But the removal of her from all committees was extreme – even for the Democrats. On the far far left is the “Squad”. When asked about one of the Squad’s members, Mondaire Jones (D-NY), after his comments following the Uvalde shootings my friend described him as a “left-wing nut job.” In case you missed it, Jones ranted at the Republicans, “You will not stop us from passing gun control. If the filibuster obstructs us, we will abolish it. If the Supreme Court objects, we will expand. We will not rest until we’ve taken weapons of war out of our communities.” Now isn’t that interesting? I can find no similar statements by him after any of the killings and increased crime in his hometown of New York City. Yet, in response to a shooting in Texas, he is willing to remake constructs of the American republic to suit his views. Jones forgets the old adage “what goes around comes around”. Recall that if Harry Reid had not gotten rid of the filibuster for federal judges in order to make it easier for Obama appointees to get through the Senate, we would not have Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Barrett on the Supreme Court.
Biden and a myriad of politicians commented on the Uvalde shootings. Biden wanted a ban on assault rifles and at a minimum an increase in the age at which the guns could be purchased. He was not interested in “hardening “the schools. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s comments on the shootings were mostly ignored by the media. Green tweeted “Joe Biden wants to ban “assault weapons” and “high capacity magazines” yet Democrats refuse to prosecute violent crimes in Democrat cities all over the country and refuse to protect your children at school with armed security. Same Democrats are protected by armed guards daily.”
Her tweet devastates Mondaire Jones, Joe Biden and the Democrats. Greene notes their hypocrisy for remaining silent while mainly black adults and kids are wounded and killed daily in our major cities. Last year Houston had 473 homicides, Philadelphia had 559, New York, 488, and in Chicago there have been 1,184 people shot as of June 1. Where is the outrage? The silence from the Democrats shows that they do not care one whit about shootings and their victims. What they care about is gun control. As Shelby Steele notes, “The left gets power from fighting white evil not black despair.”
Greene’s second point is brilliant. If Joe Biden does not see the benefit in hardening our schools, then he should remove the barriers in front of the White House. Gone should be the concrete structures that are there to prevent a vehicle from entering the White House grounds with a bomb. All metal detectors should be removed from the doors and the Secret Service personnel should be disarmed. The same is true for the security accorded congressional Democrats. As Greene points out “Same Democrats are protected by armed guards daily.” I think that many people feel that at a minimum, our children deserve the same protection as our politicians.
Redistricting is likely to cost Jones his seat in Congress. On the other hand, Greene, who is constantly ridiculed by the mainstream media won her primary by over 70 percent of the vote. Apparently, her constituents do not care if she is a “right-wing nut job.”
Lastly, I would love to see a debate between the “right-wing nut jobs” and the “left-wing nut jobs”. Wouldn’t Greene, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar and Thomas Massie versus AOC, Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush and Mondaire Jones be great theatre?
