I have been enjoying the latest edition of the Capitol Hill Citizen, and I am grateful for the work the people over there put in to make this necessary publication possible. While reading through, I couldn’t help but feel compelled to write in concerning a quoted Tweet (Xeet?) from Glenn Greenwald where he attempts to disparage Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) by suggesting that Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) is actually more compatible with progressives on the issue of the Israel-Palestine conflict and is willing to make personal sacrifices in her principled stance against Israel (page 17). To be clear right at the start, both AOC and MTG have been critical of Israel, and both have backed up that criticism in their actions as legislators. There is a key, difference, however, and it’s not that MTG has been more consistent or resolute than AOC. The key difference is that MTG is motivated by her racist worldview and antisemitism. MTG’s generally racist remarks are well-documents, along with her specific antisemitic statements (e.g., Jewish space lasers). She also identifies with and stands alongside likewise racist and antisemitic individuals such as Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes, going so far as to appear as a speaker at Fuentes’ America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC) alongside the likes of Paul Gosar and Steve King.
In other words, to give praise to MTG for her criticism of Israel while ignoring the very clear and abhorrent motives for that criticism is, frankly, dangerous. While praising MTG for “risking her political career” by condemning Republican leaders she disagrees with, Greenwald curiously fails to mention that MTGs opposition to Trump and Republican leaders almost exclusively concerns issues that are relevant in the racist circles she associates with. Again, the AFPAC/groyper crowd along with the likes of Tucker Carlson dislike Israel due to their conspiratorial beliefs concerning Jewish control of American media and politics, and, of course, Israel’s protection of pedophiles. Hence she also broke with Trump and other Republicans on the issue of the alleged Epstein files. Naturally, she has openly speculated that Israel was behind Trump’s refusal to release said files.
AOC, by contrast, has made her motives clear concerning her criticism of Israel. Namely, it’s motivated by humanitarian considerations in Gaza. MTG is motivated by racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories and AOC is motivated by humanitarian considerations. As Greenwald would put it, “Big substantive difference.” Yet somehow Greenwald, who acknowledges that MTG committed political self-immolation due to her tactless conduct within her own party, somehow believes “MTG only cares about results and outcomes…” So apparently engaging in antisemitic conspiracy theories and not engaging with her own party to make legislative headway means MTG cares about results and outcomes. AOC, who works within the Democratic Party and, yes, does make concessions and compromises at times to make legislative headway in areas that progressives care about, really “only cares about posturing and her political branding,” though. In reality, MTG is a political outsider who has fully embraced the worst of American politics, and AOC is a sitting Congresswoman who has vowed to vote against sending any military aid to Israel. One has been and continues to be useful in pushing progressive issues in Congress while the other hasn’t. It’s quite simple, really.
Greenwald’s attempt to smear AOC and launder the reputation of MTG is about the sort of content I’d expect to come out of the cesspool that is Twitter.