By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Van Taylor strikes me as an earnest young man who seeks to answer questions from his constituents, which he has done with a question from me to the second-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Plano Republican, who is my congressman, provided a written response to a question I posed to one of his staffers, which was: Why did Rep. Taylor vote against sanctioning QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene? You’ve heard of Rep. Greene, yes? She is a fire-breathing fruitcake who has adhered to insane notions that notorious school massacres were “staged,” that they didn’t occur.

I wondered why Taylor voted against removing the Georgia Republican from key committee assignments, such as her seat on the House Education Committee.

He stood behind his decision, declaring that we must not succumb to the “tyranny” of those who oppose individuals who offer opinions that differ from their own. He said Congress shouldn’t “excommunicate members for diverse opinions.”

Whoa! That takes my breath away.

Arguing over whether human beings are responsible for climate change provides an avenue for “diverse opinions.” The same can be said over whether we should balance our federal budget or whether the Second Amendment means we shouldn’t try to create laws that make it more difficult for criminals to acquire firearms.

However, what Marjorie Taylor Greene has said over the years has nothing to do with policy. She and other QAnon adherents foment fear, lies and bigotry with their hate-filled rhetoric.

I do not want any part of that to occur in my House of Representatives. As Rep. Taylor notes in his letter to me, “The United States Marine Corps taught me the importance of servant leadership, and as your Representative in Congress, I work for you.”

Yes, he does. I wanted my congressman to kick that conspiracy kook off those committees.