We Have a Five-Year Old Representing GA-14

With apologies to five-year olds everywhere. You have to hand it to Georgia’s resident crank U.S. House member, Marjorie Taylor Greene. She has dabbled in QAnon and other conspiracy theories, antisemitic rhetoric, become a useful idiot for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and hung out with white nationalists and, then, defended doing so. Greene slams calls Democrats “communists,” “fascists,” and “Nazis. The irony is that she doesn’t realize she, a self-described “Christian nationalist” is also a collectivist.

Greene also doesn’t know history, even the history of historic landmarks in the district she represents. Or how to use Google, apparently. On Tuesday, Greene posted on ex-President Donald Trump’s Truth Social about a visit to the Wilder Brigade Monument in Chickamauga. She wrote, “Tonight, I stopped at the Wilder Monument in Chickamuaga, GA, which honors the Confederate soldiers of the Wilder Brigade.” She added, “I will always defend our nation’s history!” (The screenshot is below.)

Uh, no, the Wilder Brigade Monument honors Union soldiers. Led by Col. John Wilder, the brigade (also known as the “Lightning Brigade” and the “Hatchet Brigade”) was a mounted infantry from the Army of the Cumberland, originally known as the “Army of the Ohio,” which was based in Ohio but included soldiers from other Union states. Notably, Ohio wasn’t part of the Confederacy. (See also Sherman, William Tecumseh.) The brigade led the Chickamauga campaign, which included battles in Chattanooga, Ringgold, and Chickamauga.

Now, Greene has edited her post since being called out over her very notable error. The post now reads, “Tonight, I stopped at the Wilder Monument in Chickamuaga, GA, which honors the soldiers of the Wilder Brigade. I will always defend our nation’s history!”

Greene strikes me as the type of person who got upset when Georgia changed its flag from the 1956 state flag that included the Confederate battle flag in 2001 and adopted a new flag in 2003 not realizing that the flag that was adopted is based on the first national Confederate flag.

Look, my ancestry is based in Georgia, and it has the baggage that comes with that. I’m not proud of that baggage, and I continue to learn as much as I can about the past, but I don’t have to praise or honor my ancestors who were, frankly, on the wrong side of history. This is why I’ve supported the removal of monuments, including when I lived in Covington, from town squares so that they can be moved elsewhere.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Greene is the worst representative for the causes in which she claims to believe. This is just another example of that. Greene, in her position as an elected official in the Republican Party, just continues the stereotypes that are so easy to make about her party.