Greene is famous for her conspiracy theories and violent rhetoric, not for any effective lawmaking or real leadership.

To bring her to a state that spent decades fighting and stamping out an undeserved reputation as a haven for white supremacists and hate is a staggering blow that right-minded and even-keeled Idahoans, still the majority of the population, should condemn.

The invitation implies that a large swath of the state embraces and endorses fanaticism. It surely does not. What it does show, however, is the stranglehold that fringe actors have on the Republican Party.

The latest blasphemy came from Greene’s mouth this week when she delivered a joke to a Young Republican gala in New York. She referenced the Jan. 6 insurrection when she said, “I got to tell you something, if Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won. Not to mention, it would’ve been armed.”

The audience rewarded her with tepid applause and a few shouted whoops.

Bannon was a political strategist for former President Donald Trump. He recently appealed a contempt of Congress conviction that came with a four-month jail sentence and $6,500 fine for failing to turn over documents and refusing to testify in response to a subpoena from the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. capitol.

Greene has done nothing noteworthy since she was elected to Congress in 2020. Despite the dismal record, she was reelected in November.

Before and after her campaigns for office, Greene’s rhetoric was antisemitic (California wildfires ignited by Jewish-controlled laser beams shot from space), reprehensible (the Parkland, Florida, high school mass shooting was staged), and dangerous (claimed that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, had committed treason and said that the penalty for treason is death).

This is a short list of Greene’s verbal trespasses and political insanities. She serves no purpose except to spread falsehoods and get people worked up to no good or patriotic purpose.

Less than a year ago, the U.S. House of Representatives stripped Greene of her committee assignments in response to her incendiary statements.

Idaho politicos shouldn’t serve up crazy for dinner. They should replace the berserk and the bananas on the menu with a confit of kindness topped with dollops of good sense.

“Our View” represents the opinion of the newspaper editorial board, which is made up of members of its board of directors. Remarks may be directed to editorialboard@mtexpress.com.