In a social media post on Wednesday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) expressed openness to the idea that people should be temporarily banned from voting if they recently relocated from a Democratic-leaning state to a Republican-run one.
In her tweet, Greene shared a statement from Pedro Gonzalez, an associate editor for the right-wing Chronicles Magazine, who said that he “actively” supports “discriminating against transplants” who come from Democratic-leaning states.
“They shouldn’t be able to vote for a period, and they should have to pay a tax for their sins” of being from a liberal state, Gonzalez explained.
Greene endorsed the idea and added her own commentary.
“After Democrat voters and big donors ruin a state like California, you would think it wise to stop them from doing it to another great state like Florida,” Greene said. “Brainwashed people that move from CA and NY really need a cooling off period.”
All possible in a National Divorce scenario.
After Democrat voters and big donors ruin a state like California, you would think it wise to stop them from doing it to another great state like Florida.
Brainwashed people that move from CA and NY really need a cooling off period. https://t.co/NB2dVj7n2X— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) December 29, 2021
Greene said the idea would be especially possible “in a National Divorce scenario.” Although she didn’t elaborate on what that meant, her statement seemed to suggest that she was considering the possibility of Republican-led states seceding from the country.
Of course, Greene has been more than willing to accept campaign contributions from out of state, including from the states she derided in her tweet. Greene “has raised $179K from CA donors in the current cycle, the most of any state, per FEC,” said Seema Mehta, a political writer for the Los Angeles Times.
The Georgia congresswoman’s comments were widely disparaged on Twitter, including by lawmakers from the states she was criticizing.
“Don’t ignore this,” warned Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California). Greene’s comments demonstrate “what a GOP-run country looks like,” he went on.
“They will take your right to vote if you don’t agree with them,” the congressman said, adding that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) is “fully behind” Greene’s extremist sentiments.
The authoritarian and anti-democratic viewpoints espoused by Greene are increasingly common within the Republican Party, several historians have noted. If Republicans win in next year’s midterms or in the 2024 presidential race, some experts have warned that their leadership could push the United States toward fascism.
“This is real, this is serious and it’s frightening,” said Brian Clardy, a professor of history at Murray State University. In the next two election cycles, “democracy itself will be on trial,” he added.
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