Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene rightly removed from House committees

America has a truth problem.

The debate Thursday in the House of Representatives over first-term Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia showed how difficult it will be to do something about it. Greene is a serial spouter of lies and conspiracy theories. She has expressed support for the ludicrous and discredited QAnon theory, and said the 2012 Sandy Hook and 2018 Parkland school shootings were hoaxes. She has questioned whether the Pentagon was really attacked on 9/11, suggested that a California wildfire was caused by space lasers controlled by a prominent Jewish banking family tied to Democrats, and endorsed social media posts that advocated killing prominent Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

These statements were profoundly problematic even before Jan. 6, when a mob that included QAnon adherents stormed the Capitol looking for Democratic leaders to seize or kill, in support of the lie that the election was stolen from then-President Donald Trump.

Recent revelations of Greene’s provocations have convulsed Congress. House Democrats demanded she be punished and most House Republicans stood beside her, or refrained from criticism. The vote Thursday to strip Greene of her committee seats was, sadly, mostly partisan, with Republicans using the shield of procedure and precedent to avoid retribution from those who echo Greene in their beliefs. Long Island’s Lee Zeldin and Andrew Garbarino regrettably voted with the GOP majority, but 7 of the 11 GOP yesses were from New York (where 9/11 memories linger) or Florida (home of Parkland).

Greene made a disingenuous "apology" before the vote, defending her lies and conspiracy theories with more lies and conspiracy theories. "I was allowed to believe things that weren’t true," said Greene in an astounding dodge. She complained she is being denounced for things she said or posted long before her November election. But she tweeted support of QAnon as recently as Dec. 4.

More troubling is the reaction of her fellow House Republicans. Many who declined to condemn Greene criticized No. 3 Republican Liz Cheney for voting her conscience to impeach Trump — after Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy specifically said the vote would be one of conscience. McCarthy, too, has waffled. After numerous condemnations of QAnon over the past year, McCarthy claimed Wednesday night not to know what QAnon is in rallying his caucus around Greene.

Defending a member of your ranks against an accusation from the opposing party is part of politics. But defending lies rather than truth is shameful. And it’s leading our nation to a dangerous place. When we can’t agree on reality, when we can’t come together around basic sets of facts in order to debate solutions, we’re in a very dark place. On Jan. 6, we discovered the horrors of that darkness.

Cheney, who was allowed by Republicans to keep her leadership spot in a secret vote that was decisive but far from unanimous, told her colleagues: "I owe you the truth, I owe my constituents the truth, you owe us the truth, we all owe each other that, and the truth is: We cannot become the party of QAnon ... "

Greene is a symptom. Cheney prescribed the cure. Truth must guide us.

— The editorial board