Democrats Give Ilhan Omar a Pass for Her Anti-Semitic Bigotry

by Andrew March 8, 2019, 3:53 pm 45 Comments

Democrats should really be ashamed of themselves.

For all of the high-and-mighty moral preaching they’ve been doing over the past couple of years when it comes to racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, and all the rest, the Democratic Party had the perfect opportunity this week to put their money where their mouth is.

It’s really easy to condemn a Republican. It’s really easy to throw stones and raise money off the sins of Donald Trump. But if you really want to prove to America that you are the “right” political party in social justice terms, you have to speak up when it’s one of your own. Ilhan Omar’s anti-Semitic comments gave Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the House Democrats a golden platform upon which to make that point, and they utterly failed.

At the outset of the week, it seemed that Pelosi and Friends were going to do the right thing. They announced their intention to draw up a resolution that, while it would cowardly omit any mention of Omar specifically, would condemn anti-Semitism in the House of Representatives.

But amid a backlash – driven by Twitter and allies of Omar in the House – the leadership backed down. On Thursday, they served up a meaningless resolution condemning “hate” of all kinds, mentioning anti-Semitism only in connection with Islamophobia, white supremacy, and other forms of bigotry that have absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand. They managed to work in a reference to President Trump’s Charlottesville remarks, but they couldn’t bother to condemn Omar’s “dual loyalty” smears.

If you need any further evidence of how terrible this was, consider this statement of support…from Ilhan Omar herself!

“Today is historic on many fronts,” Omar said. “It’s the first time we have voted on a resolution condemning Anti-Muslim bigotry in our nation’s history. Anti-Muslim crimes have increased 99% from 2014-2016 and are still on the rise. We are tremendously proud to be part of a body that has put forth a condemnation of all forms of bigotry including anti-Semitism, racism, and white supremacy.”

Um, when you draw up a resolution condemning someone for their bigotry, and they celebrate with a statement calling it “historic on many fronts,” you know you took a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

“Today’s resolution vote was a sham put forward by Democrats to avoid condemning one of their own and denouncing vile anti-Semitism,” said Rep. Liz Cheney in a statement. “While I stand whole heartedly against discrimination outlined in this resolution, the language before the House today did not address the issue that is front and center.

“Rep. Omar’s comments were wrong and she has proven multiple times that she embodies a vile, hate-filled, anti-Semitic, anti-Israel bigotry,” Cheney continued. “She deserves to be rebuked, by name, and removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee so that there is no mistake about the values and priorities that the House stands for.”

Welp, maybe next time.

And given Omar’s track record of anti-Semitic language, “next time” is probably just around the corner.

Democrats Give Ilhan Omar a Pass for Her Anti-Semitic Bigotry

Written by Andrew

45 Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

CNN’s Cillizza: If Trump Loses, He Won’t Go Peacefully

Ocasio-Cortez Takes on “Racist” Ronald Reagan at Texas Festival