Once again Ilhan Omar is under attack. And it is clear that timid Democrats instead of coming to her aid, put their tails between their legs and condemned statements that were correct which needed no condemnation — shame on them.
Instead of shooting from the hip, they should have listened to her entire speech. But the party is showing it is not that far removed from those who judge people of color, Muslims, and others by a different standard.
Assistant House Speaker Ben Ray Lujan appeared on MSNBC and said the following when asked about this manufactured scandal.
“Her statements were not only hurtful to me but extremely hurtful to anyone that was personally impacted by those terrorist attacks,” Representative Lujan said. “No one should refer to what happened on 9/11, with terrorist attacks that have killed thousands of Americans as something by some people. And that what was wrong with those statements.”
As Ilhan Omar noted, NO ONE complained when Bush made a similar statement. Was our Democratic Assitant House Speaker Lujan hurt then, as well?
Yes, outrage is very very selective on who ultimately becomes its recipient. I wish the concern about wording applied to the terrorism native Americans and Black Americans endured for centuries where many more thousands perished. But outrage expressed by both parties is generally selective. We have a young vibrant no-holds-barred crop of politicians emerging that is refreshing.
What was Ilhan Omar’s sin? When speaking about 9/11, she expressed it as “some people did something” that effectively many used to disparage Muslims at large. If one listened to Ilhan Omar speech, it is one any person of color persecuted for centuries, could have recited. It was an inspiring speech.
Fox News did not quote an important statement she made. It was too human. Moreover, it makes the caricature one makes of Ilhan Omar seem as petty and ill-engendered as it was.
“As an elected Muslim in Congress, I feel the weight of responsibility that I have to not live up to the name of being a Muslim but live up to the ideals of what it means to be a Muslim. And I know as an American member of Congress, I have to make sure that I am living up to the ideals of fighting for liberty and justice. Those are very much rooted in the reason why my family came here. And so regardless of how hard Washington might get for me or your neighborhoods might get for you, you have to always remember that we have a mission as humans to love one another, to care for our neighbors, to raise compassionate children and to fully every single day show up and make sure that we are furthering justice.”
Our brave young women soldiers continue to make many in the rank and file seem like the petty excuses for leaders. They knew how to handle the attacks and come to the defense of their fellow Progressive Democrat.
MSNBC asked Rashida Tlaib to comment on Ilhan Omar statements. “They do that all the time, especially to women of color,” Tlaib said. “They take our words out of context because they’re afraid because we speak the truth. We speak truth to power. … My sister Ilhan Omar, what she was talking about, was uplifting people by supporting their civil liberties and civil rights. She has always, always condemned any strategy, especially of a person directly impacted by being a refugee herself.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressed the issue effectively as well with a few prescient truths that not only defended but hit back at the hypocrisy.
American is a country where all but one group are always made to be concerned about what someone of their group has done. It is an unfair burden and calling it out as Omar did was exceptional. More inspiring was her words of empowerment irrespective of obstacles.
Watch the entire Politics Done Right episode here.