Bias Watch

Marjorie Taylor Greene is publicly feuding with one of the most notorious far-right activists now

U.S. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene speaking with attendees at the 2021 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
U.S. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene speaking with attendees at the 2021 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo: Gage Skidmore

In-fighting can be funny. And this is hilarious.

Two of the most vicious anti-LGBTQ mouthpieces in the nation are at each other’s throats. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Bill Donohue, the president of the Catholic League, are lobbing insults at each other over, of all things, Satanic Catholic bishops.

Related: Conservatives declare war on LGBTQ suicide prevention hotline & call it pedophilia

The Catholic League is an outrage-generating machine with a particular fondness for going after anything LGBTQ-related. The group attacked the Equality Act as a ruse for affirmative action and “anti-Christian.” The League pinned all the blame for the Church’s massive sexual abuse scandals on “the media cover-up of the role played by gay molesters.” As for President Biden, only the second Catholic elected to the Presidency, the League complained about his “obsession with the rights of sexual minorities is his total disinterest in the rights of Christians.”

As the president of the outfit, Donohue has proven to be a savvy PR operator, ready to serve up a quote on a moment’s notice and churning out an endless stream of press releases, statements, and tweets all of which have one thing in common: him. The group spends zero money on lobbying or grassroots organizing. Most of its energy is devoted to Donohue’s media visibility.

And when Donohue, who zealously defends the Church’s worst moments, turned his sights on Greene, all hell broke loose. It was a heavenly sight.

In over 21 tweets transcribing an official press release, Greene shot back at Donohue’s allegation that she had “slandered” Catholics during an interview with the far-right Church Militant website. Greene said during the interview that “Satan’s controlling the church.”

Greene defended herself, saying American Catholic bishops have “have lied, deceived and committed despicable criminal acts for decades, driving millions out of the Church, causing children to kill themselves, emotionally crippling others and sentencing countless victims to lives of deep mental pain.”

“I refuse to use kinder, gentler language as Bill Donohue might prefer when I talk about his disgusting and corrupt friends, who have made him rich with the donations from ordinary churchgoing Catholics.”

Donohue’s grift made national news earlier this year when it was revealed that he’d made a fortune defending pedophiles, bigots, and anti-LGBTQ activists. And he used his shady organization as a veneer to enrich himself.

The organization claims a membership base of 350,000, although how accurate that number is is anyone’s guess. But for a group that purports to have so many members and that has reported $50 million in assets to the IRS, the League has a surprisingly small staff. Just 12 people are working at the League.

But the bigger surprise is how much of the operating budget is devoted to salaries. Out of $3.5 million in revenue, $2.2 million was spent on salaries. And nearly half of that went directly to Donohue. He received compensation totaling $1,053,127 in salary and other benefits, according to IRS filings.

“I myself, baptized and married in the Catholic Church, left because I would not submit the spiritual and physical livelihood of my children to these monsters. Bill Donohue, by contrast, makes a million dollars a year, partly from sending out emails to defend corrupt bishops,” Greene tweeted. “He has done nothing in his long career to reform the appalling state of the clergy.”

“Forgive me if I decline to take lectures from the man bishops send out to do their dirty work when their delicate feelings are hurt.”

“Until the people running the Catholic Church stop abusing children and stop covering up the abuse of children, I will continue to hold them to account. And I’ll keep naming and shaming the craven enablers who write their press releases, too,” Greene tweeted as she wrapped up her 700 word response. “I know they’ve made you rich, Bill, but before you meet Almighty God, you might want to consider new clients.”

 

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