Pelosi owns the comments of Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar – Washington Examiner
It may feel like an eternity ago, but it was just in March that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., faced the challenge of how to handle the anti-Semitic tirade of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. Prominent House Democrats such as Nita Lowey and Eliot Engel, both of New York, negotiated with party leaders to enact some sort of measure against Omar’s remarks. Pelosi settled on an anti-Semitism resolution that Omar’s allies wished to distill into an “anti-hate resolution.”
Pelosi was at a crossroads. She chose the dovish path, watering down her critique of anti-Semitism as much as possible. The resolution listed “Jews” seventh in their condemnation of racism, right in between “other people of color” and “Muslims.”
Two months and thrice as many anti-Semitic scandals later, it’s obvious she chose incorrectly.
Now Pelosi has to realize where she’s led her party — and that it’s not pretty.
To recap the latest scandal, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., defended her support of abolishing Israel with a one-state solution by falsely painting Palestinians as saviors of Jewish refugees. In fact, Palestinians collaborated with Hitler and killed hundreds of Jews who did end up in Israel. Rather than either defending the content of what she said or apologizing for her phrasing, Tlaib deemed herself a victim of Republican criticism. Naturally, Omar stepped up to the plate to defend her “squad.”
Give it up, we all know you never met a Muslim you didn’t want to vilify!
Your deep seeded hate and Islamophobia might be a tool to rally your base, but won’t get rid your colleagues. You just have to deal 💁🏽♀️ https://t.co/hMvvxLnmp5
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN)
May 13, 2019
(As an aside, if you’re going to go after Liz Cheney of all people, perhaps stick your rhetorical landing with the proper spelling of “deep-seated.”)
In the time since the House passed their “All Lives Matter”-like, anti-hate resolution, Omar and Tlaib have found themselves embroiled in at least half a dozen scandals, including laughing about al Qaeda on camera, lying that Israelis “occupy” the Hamas-controlled Gaza, following a flagrantly anti-Semitic Instagram account, and hanging out with Linda Sarsour and members of Council on American-Islamic Relations.
And why wouldn’t they? Pelosi’s stumbling attempt to discipline Omar only empowered Democratic anti-Semitism after it failed. Now Pelosi’s stuck issuing milquetoast defenses of outright lies.
Madame Speaker, you made this bed. Now go lie in it.