Monday, June 16, 2025

Curveball

People can surprise you. Take Marjorie Taylor Greene. I never really got the liberal panic over her, but I didn't expect anything from her either. She'd spend one term in the house, maybe two, and spend all that time being ignorant and exhibitionistic. Then she'd get a commentator job at Fox or OAN or something like that, trading on her forgettable time in Washington.

Now she's doing as much as anyone in Congress to avert World War III. Not all by herself, but more than most, and very clearheaded about what's wrong with our foreign policy. Of course Congress has been abdicating its job on that front for so long that Presidents tend to get what they want by default. That deference started a long time before Trump, but it may not be sustainable anymore.

2 comments:

susan said...

I know next to nothing about Marjorie Taylor Greene but as you've described her career so far it's an easy bet she's pretty much been very self interested in her choices of activities. However, her attempt to avert WW3 (or 4 depending on how you count these events) is an admirable endeavor. I do know that MTG is a very well-known supporter of MAGA and the single issue those people are against is the US being involved in another war - the kind their sons get signed on to fight.

The last time the United States formally declared war, using specific terminology, on any nation was in 1942, when war was declared against Axis-aligned Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania, because President Franklin Roosevelt thought it was improper to engage in hostilities against a country without a formal declaration of war. Since then, every American president has used military force without a declaration of war. wiki

It would be a good thing if Congress took on this duty again.

I read an excellent article about the conflict by Sami Al-Arian on Middle East Eye today. It's probably worth a few minutes of your time:

https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israels-war-iran-has-left-it-paralysed-and-scrambling-us-rescue

Ben said...

From her Wikipedia page I've learned that she's a former CrossFit coach, which if nothing else puts her outside the usual lawyer/venture capitalist class. Judging what's in a politician's heart is a fool's errand. Most members of Congress are self-interested by definition, I think. She's made the right moves as far as I can see in terms of defying the warhawks. Of course as of now neither party shows any signs of sanity in terms of foreign policy, overall.

George W. Bush was very upfront--almost refreshingly so--in his desire to be a wartime president and have the power and prestige that goes along with it. Presidents in general seem to want that. If it can be done without formally declaring war--and evidently it can--then so much the better.

The effect of Israel's sneak attack on Iran, followed by America's bombing raid, is to make Khamenei look like a fool for not pursuing nuclear weapons. Trump's personal dedication to Bibi, to the point of pressuring the Israeli courts to drop all charges against him, is bizarre. Even if you want someone in Tel Aviv who'll smack the Palestinians around, it's not like there's any shortage of candidates.