The Gaetz playbook: vacate the Speaker

Matt Gaetz ran for Congress to become a household name. But he soon discovered that authoring legislation or performing oversight was not getting him the media attention he coveted. 

So, he decided that leading a band of congressional mutineers to vacate Speaker Kevin McCarthy might do the trick. It worked. That mutiny made Gaetz the most famous Republican in Congress. It also made him the most hated member.

But Gaetz couldn’t be happier. He’s now a household name. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) hated Gaetz for ousting McCarthy. McCarthy was her congressional Sugar Daddy, after all. Despite her obvious lack of qualification or interest, he gave her plum committee assignments. And he indulged her attention-seeking stunts—each more unbecoming of a member of Congress than the one before. 

However, what MTG hated most was Gaetz sucking up the media attention she coveted. Because, if he’s the king of the chaos, attention-seeking caucus, she’s the queen. 

Each caucus member wakes up every day thinking only of ways to “own the libs” or throw monkey wrenches in legislative works. They know that’s all it takes to become a trending topic on social media – constituent services or the national welfare be damned. 

But their political stunts have turned the Republican-controlled Congress into a three-ring circus. Indeed, they have infected Congress with such toxic dysfunction that an unprecedented number of members aren’t even bothering to wait for the end of the session to quit. 

Ousting Johnson for media attention

In short, do-nothing, grandstanding members are running Congress. That’s why MTG’s latest stunt came as no surprise. She decided that doing to Speaker Mike Johnson what Gaetz did to McCarthy was the best thing she could do for America. 

Except hanging with McCarthy cost her a lot of chaos cred. So, when MTG decided to lead her band of congressional mutineers, nobody followed. That forced her to quell her own rebellion, but it still got her much of the attention she sought.

House Republicans are lashing out at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) over her surprise bid to remove Speaker Mike Johnson(R-La.) from power, warning that it threatens to divide an already warring GOP conference ahead of elections when the House is up for grabs.

Greene told reporters she is not bringing her motion to vacate resolution to the floor immediately — ‘I don’t have a timeline’ — but the mere idea of removing another Speaker has infuriated many fellow Republicans, who are aiming their fire at Greene.

(The Hill, March 22, 2024)

Media complicity in Greene’s publicity stunts

Again, her mission was not ousting Johnson so much as commanding Pavlovian media attention. Mission accomplished.

Everyone knows she contributes nothing to American politics except chaos and the dumbing down of public debate. Yet, the media outlets cover every batsh*t crazy thing she says and does as breaking news.  

That coverage has made MTG infamous. This stunt to vacate the Speaker will make her even more so.

Shame on media hounds for chasing every bone she throws. CNN’s Manu Raju and others know better than to keep feeding viewers MTG like cotton candy. But, like Greene, they have no shame.

A decade ago, journalist Tina Brown famously bemoaned that journalism is having a very, very pathetic moment. She had no idea.

Anyway, so goes the vicious circle: The more stunts she pulls, the more media coverage she gets. And the more media coverage she gets, the more infamous she becomes. And the more infamous she becomes, the more she can fundraise and grift. New stunt, repeat.

Of course, by now, that ever-descending circle of political hell should be all too familiar. Indeed, it’s no wonder MTG looms as the most suitable heir to the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, coup-plotting, attention-seeking leader of the Republican Party, Donald J. Trump.