Performative Populism

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. 

This seems to be the message we heard last week, as disgraced and disgusting former Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene teamed up with backbencher Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna to plant the seeds for a new bipartisan coalition. From The Hill: 

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Tuesday debuted their unlikely alliance in a CNN interview.

Opposing viewpoints have not deterred their professional relationship in seeking justice for victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein or voicing their opposition to the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, among other issues, Khanna told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source.”

Khanna last week said he was “game” to forming a partnership with Greene after she spoke out against President Trump’s threats against Iran. Both supported the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Khanna sponsored with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).

“Well first of all, more than the policies, I think it’s the way Rep. Greene and I treat each other,” he said. “With respect, not looking at the worst possible thing either of us has said over the last 10 years and trying to sensationalize it, but trying to actually have a dialogue to understand where the other person is coming from, where we disagree and where we could have more common ground.”

“You know, most Americans want to do that with their families, they want to do that with her neighbors,” Khanna continued. “They’re tired of us being as divided and simply looking to score political points.”

Greene said she “completely agree with Ro,” adding that voters expect lawmakers “to make their lives easier, to make their lives more affordable, and they really would like their government to come to a point where it’s seen and not necessarily heard most of the time.”

The Georgia Republican said Americans believe both parties have “fully failed” them and “they’re coming to a point where they’re saying, ‘Do we need an independent party?'” She added that “forward-thinking leaders” will drive the country forward.

Allow me to share my thoughts on this alliance through a simple five-letter acronym: 

GTFOH. 

Seriously, Ro and Marge. Fuck off. 

Nobody wants to join a new coalition with the two of you. Ro, you, sir, have managed to slip under the radar for quite some time, so I'm surprised that you're being so public now in your anti-Democratic Party stance. After all, you were first elected to Congress in 2016 when you unseated incumbent Mike Honda, in part due to your campaign manager having illegally accessed Honda's donor list, an act that forced you to fire him and agree to a data exchange via court order before the election. As if that wasn't shady enough, you were also a favorite of Peter Thiel, and you earned a hearty contribution from him during the 2016 election cycle. In representing Silicon Valley, you've cozied up to multiple Republican-supporting billionaires, including David Sacks, a venture capitalist who held a fundraiser for you in 2024 after having already been on the record as a committed supporter of J.D. Vance and Ron DeSantis, among others. Weirdly, you're calling for a new coalition that centers the "working class" when you yourself not only represent Silicon Valley but have a net worth of at least $27 million, a figure greatly enhanced by you engaging in nearly $56 million in stock trading this past year at a remarkable 112% above what the S&P had averaged during that same time. For someone wanting to speak on behalf of the common man, you certainly seem to be out of touch with everyday Americans who don't have both the access and information to make tens of millions of dollars each year through stock market trading. It's almost as if you don't even care about those your new coalition seeks to bring to the table. 

And Marge. You have and always will be a piece of shit. I don't care that it's all an act; it's a vile and vicious one that got you your government pension after five years and three days on the job. The fact that you've now "found Jesus" or whatever the hell excuse you're using to go after Trump comes far too little too late and honestly seems like it's more about you posturing yourself for a future run at office rather than any profound revelation. From verbally attacking high school students having experienced gun violence to bullying transgender congresswoman Sarah McBride to displaying lewd images of Hunter Biden during a committee hearing to shouting racist remarks at Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett during a separate committee hearing to each and every antisemitic conspiracy theory you spurted out during your time in Congress, you've been nothing but a human troll for Trumpism and the complete disregard of decency in our politics. It doesn't matter that you now oppose Trump; you helped normalize him and your party's egregious views and behavior by acting the way that you did over the past five years. Our media loves batshit crazy, and you dialed it up enough so that you always found the camera and gave a racist/homophobic/antisemitic quote on a near-weekly basis. You kept up this persona for five years, and like your new bestie, Ro, you also did quite well for yourself, with your stocks jumping nearly 500% since you joined Congress, giving you a net worth of $25 million. Not too bad for a five-year stint (acting) as a crazy woman in the halls of Congress. 

So, yeah. Count me out on the multimillionaires leading a coalition of the working class. Because while we all know a broken clock can be right twice a day, the fact that both Khanna and Greene are trying to inject themselves into some sort of new political movement when Democrats are poised to win back the House in November reeks of the kind of grift that seems to serendipitously fall right up their alley. Demanding the release of the Epstein Files as a coalition platform is low-hanging fruit. Being against the war in Iran is a no-brainer. But trying to appeal to the working class is the Bernie Sanders-style politics that centers White people rather than people of color, the latter of which Khanna seems to conveniently "forget" are also working class yet somehow manage to understand the basic assignment to vote for Democrats without fail, as opposed to their White brethren. The idea that White people (especially men) are all of a sudden going to jump on board a new political movement has been the continuing fantasy of all leftists and leftist groups trying to undermine the Democratic Party over the past two decades. Khanna and Greene are simply the latest iteration of that, and they are trying to do so at a time when confidence in both parties is at an all-time low. 

They won't succeed. Khanna has been a Squad backbencher since he joined Congress, and Greene is way too damn toxic to bring people into the coalition. This is simply the latest grift for two multimillionaires who see an opportunity to try to swindle young twentysomethings who don't understand how government actually works. Because Democrats are the ones holding the line. Democrats are the ones protecting our most vulnerable through actions at local and state legislatures. Democrats are the ones suing this administration to minimize the damages. And Democrats are the ones who will grind Trump's final term to a halt after retaking the House in November. Khanna and Greene may try to Jill Stein their way in there during these next seven months, but fortunately, we know that this type of alliance is transactional only and is simply the latest in a series of far-left (and now far-right) efforts to monetize the anti-Trump sentiment before November. Nice try, Ro and Marge. 

Now GTFOH for good, both of you.