More evidence that famous people often have little connection to intelligence, judgment

Our politics have been heading toward "all performance, all the time" in recent years, with few substantive debates or even conversations about issues that might benefit Americans who need some support or some options.

That Trump is all in on being a performance artist is so established that we hardly flinch when he calls for "terminating" part or all of the U.S. Constitution. That's a real issue for us all, as his bizarre authoritarianism has become normalized. Normalizing hate and bigotry and assorted specialties of Trumpism is the gateway to disaster.

But his acolytes don't want to be left out of the public eye for long, and here is the lead to today's report in the Washington Post on the reactions to a Angry White People Party representative:

The White House on Monday strongly condemned the claim from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) that she and former Trump aide Stephen K. Bannon would have executed a successful attack on Jan. 6, 2021, if they had organized the storming of the U.S. Capitol and they would have “been armed.”

The divisive Republican pushed back on theories that she was a ringleader of the violent incident that left more than 100 law enforcement officers injured. “I want to tell you something, if Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won. Not to mention, we would’ve been armed,” Greene said Saturday at a dinner hosted by the New York Young Republican Club, according to the New York Post.

Deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates said the comments were a “slap in the face” to the law enforcement officers who risked their lives to keep Greene and other lawmakers safe from the violent mob seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and stop Congress from counting the electoral votes for Joe Biden’s win over President Donald Trump.

Two thoughts about the wacko Greene: she was playing to the crowd at the Young Republicans Club -- I am certain they cheered wildly -- and she reminds us that boasting without any need to actually DO anything is not limited to males.

Here's a stat I read just this morning: over the past few years the country has added over 15 MILLION AR-15 style weapons to our personal stockpiles of guns. So, yes, she and Bannon likely could have brought together many militant revolutionaries, each armed with a death-spewing semi-automatic weapon. 

Next time, they likely will.

I'm not sure if Bannon is delighted to be lumped in with Greene, but it hardly matters. 

If Greene represents even a tiny percentage of the Republican Party, that percentage is too large and quite frightening. She wants power and she holds out the promise of power to lots of depressed and lonely and aggrieved followers.

Her misuse of her position and her extreme positions add to the classroom teacher's job to encourage rational debate and argument. And there are many others just like her (but less obsessed with the spotlight).

And there's Sinema, of course, so Dems can't claim to be immune to longing for publicity at all costs.

And the country's level of discourse continues to plunge.