OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A group of voters has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to ban Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from being elected again.
The challenge was filed last week with Georgia’s secretary of state office and argues that she is not eligible under the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution because, allegedly, “before, on, and after January 6, 2021, Greene voluntarily aided and engaged in an insurrection to obstruct the peaceful transfer of presidential power, disqualifying her from serving as a Member of Congress,” USA Today reported.
The 14th Amendment of the Constitution reads that no member of Congress “who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress . . . to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.”
“While private citizens discussing the overthrow of the government over a few beers does not amount to engaging in insurrection, when a Member of Congress publicly encourages her supporters to engage in insurrection, as the evidence shows Greene did, she has provided ‘useful’ support to the insurrection and therefore engaged in insurrection,” the lawsuit said.
The representative spoke out against the lawsuit.
“This is the same evil playbook the dishonest Communist Democrats use against President Trump and his family. Now they are using it on me, because they know I’m effective and will not bow to the DC machine,” she said.
“As I’ve said many times before, I’m vehemently opposed to all forms of political violence,” she said. “I’ve never encouraged political violence and never will.”
The group that filed the lawsuit, Free Speech for People, an election and campaign finance reform organization, filed a similar lawsuit against Rep. Madison Cawthorn which was blocked by a federal judge.
In the lawsuit against Rep. Cawthorn, the same group argued that he “was involved in efforts to intimidate Congress and the Vice President into rejecting valid electoral votes and subvert the essential constitutional function of an orderly and peaceful transition of power.”
Federal Judge Richard Myers, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, issued a temporary injunction against the lawsuit.
“This ruling, by Chief Judge Richard Myers II, a Trump appointee, is wrong on the law and would block the State Board of Elections from determining whether Cawthorn is ineligible under the Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause of the US Constitution. The ruling must be reversed on appeal, and the right of voters to bring this challenge to Cawthorn’s eligibility must be preserved,” Rob Fein, the legal director of Free Speech For People, said.
And Reps. Greene and Cathorn have also faced hits from their own side in the form of Senate Minority Leader and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell who called them “lonely voices” when he appeared on “Face The Nation” with host Margaret Brennan to talk about aid to Ukraine.
“You are very clear in your language there, but others in your party have not been. Congresswoman Liz Cheney has said there’s actually a Putin wing of the Republican Party these days. Think she’s referring to Congressman Cawthorn, who called Zelenskyy a thug? Marjorie Taylor Greene said the U.S. should not fund a war the Ukrainians cannot possibly win. Is there any room in the Republican Party for this rhetoric and why isn’t there more discipline?” she said.
The Senate Minority Leader went on to call those Republicans “lonely voices.”
“Well, there are some lonely voices out there that are in a different place, but looking at Senate Republicans, I can tell you that I would have had I been the Majority Leader put this Ukraine supplemental up by itself. I think virtually every one of my members would have voted for it. The vast majority of the Republican Party writ large, both in Congress and across the country, are totally behind the Ukrainians and urging the president to do- take these steps quicker. Yeah, to be bolder. So, there may be a few lonely voices off the side. I wouldn’t pay much attention to them,” he said.
