Rep. Adam Kinzinger one of 11 Republicans to vote against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

“I was allowed to believe things that weren’t true and I would ask questions about them and talk about them. And that is absolutely what I regret, because if it weren’t for the Facebook posts and comments that I ‘liked’ in 2018, I wouldn’t be standing here today and you couldn’t point a finger and accuse me of anything wrong because I’ve lived a very good life that I’m proud of.” - Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene defending herself before the House voted to kick her off committees.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., was one of only 11 Republicans to join with Democrats on Thursday to punish freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., for her threats to execute Democrats; her embrace of QAnon conspiracy theories; her doubts a plane hit the Pentagon on 9-ll; and her claims Jewish space lasers caused California wildfires and mass school shootings were staged.

Greene was banned from serving on the Budget and Education and Labor Committees on the strength of Democrat votes, with the roll call 230-199.

Of the five Illinois GOP House members, Kinzinger was for removing Greene from House panels, with votes to back Greene coming from Reps. Rodney Davis, Mary Miller, Michael Bost and Darin LaHood.

Only a full apology from Greene would have convinced Kinzinger to give her a pass.

Kinzinger has been crusading against conspiracy theories for some time now. He was one of 10 Republicans who sided with Democrats to impeach Trump. Now he is one of 11 on Greene.

Over the weekend, Kinzinger launched his “Country First” initiative, a drive to reclaim the Republican Party from conspiracy theorists and the forces that led to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

If Kinzinger raises enough money — and there has been a strong response so far — Kinzinger will be able to help candidates who can be a counter to former President Donald Trump, still in control of the GOP.

Kinzinger was censured this week by the Trump-oriented LaSalle County Republican Central Committee. LaSalle chairman, Larry Smith, declined a Chicago Sun-Times request to release a vote total.

In the coming days — and with the Illinois Republican Party set to elect a new chair soon — Kinzinger will “chat with county chairmen and committee members of the 16^th District early next week to hear their concerns and share with them where he stands on things,” said Kinzinger communications director Maura Gillespie.

GREENE PLAYS THE VICTIM

And while some of her GOP defenders said she apologized, in my analysis, it stopped far short. While Greene admitted the truth — she said school shootings were real, 9-11 happened — she diluted her regret as she wandered down a rabbit hole complaining about cancel culture and abortion foes.

She played the victim and did not take full responsibility for her words and actions. Said Greene, speaking more to the GOP Trump base than her House colleagues, “Will we allow the media that is just as guilty as QAnon, of presenting truth and lies to divide us?”

What B.S.

Members, once elected, are not guaranteed committee spots. Assignments come from House leaders.

Usually the Democrats and Republicans deal with their own.

Usually, if there is an issue, the leadership handles it. That’s what happened when ex-Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, lost his committee posts in 2019 following comments he made about white supremacy.

We’re not living in Usuallyville anymore.

If King’s offense was a 6 on a 10-scale, Greene’s crazy stuff is a 9.5. QAnon is infecting people, and Trump encouraged the spread of some of the garbage.

Moreover, the Thursday vote came less than a week before the start of Trump’s second impeachment trial in the Senate. Trump was impeached for inciting an insurrection when a mob, spurred on by Trump, attacked the Capitol in a bid to overturn the election.

The debate broke down like this: Republicans mainly argued about how Democrats, in the pursuit of Greene, violated established process and precedent. They did. Democrats contended Greene was an unprecedented package of appalling in a category of her own and needed to be checked.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi boxed in the Republicans — a recorded vote to prop up Greene will be a major line of attack against vulnerable House Republicans. Bost, Miller, Davis and LaHood backed Greene. Kinzinger did not. We’ll be seeing how this shakes down in Illinois. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy could have avoided this public spectacle by disciplining Greene himself.