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theliberaltony · 6 years ago

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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

The latest debate over Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota — whether she made anti-Semitic remarks or is anti-Semitic, how her fellow Democrats should respond and what the overall party’s views on Israel should be — is not a particularly significant electoral story. It is, however, potentially important in terms of both party politics and policy. And it’s worth understanding how those two dynamics could both be true at the same time.

Let’s start with the electoral insignificance of the hubbub around Omar, who has suggested that there is a push to essentially require Americans to declare “allegiance” to Israel and that campaign donations from organizations that work on Israel policy have an unfair influence the political system. (Many critics say the remarks played into anti-Semitic tropes, while Omar says she was merely criticizing the role of lobbyists in government.) The Republican Party has long strongly defended Israel’s government in disputes with the Palestinians and has aggressively courted Jewish voters. But traditionally most Jewish voters have identified as Democrats — that’s been incredibly stable and shows no signs of changing.

Jewish Americans also vote heavily Democratic, which is not a surprise considering the party identification numbers in the chart above. In 2004, the Jewish vote was about 74-25 percent in favor of Democrats, according to exit polls. In 2016, it was basically the same, 71-23. President Trump has arguably taken the Israeli government’s position over the Palestinian one on key issues more than any previous American president, but Democrats again won the Jewish vote 79-17 in 2018. The idea that Jewish voters currently aligned with Democrats will jump to Republicans because of the Omar controversy is simply far-fetched. And as only between 2 and 3 percent of voters are Jewish, according to exit polls, even a big swing in their preferences would make only a small difference overall.

But the debate over Omar’s comments is illustrative of, and taps into, broader trends within the two parties.

For Democrats, there’s a real divide over what U.S. policy toward Israel should be. On one side are Democratic officials, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who are wary of the Israeli government, arguing that it is too antagonistic to the Palestinians and not really interested in the so-called two-state solution that has long been the official U.S. policy for resolving the conflict in the Middle East. These Democrats are particularly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been aggressive in pushing for Israel to establish settlements in new areas in the West Bank, land that the Palestinians feel they should control. Netanyahu has also increasingly aligned himself with the Republican Party, further irritating Democrats.

To these Democrats, being pro-Israel should be not synonymous with always defending the Israeli government, particularly Netanyahu. As president, Barack Obama was largely aligned with this wing of the party.

On the other side are Jewish and non-Jewish Democrats who are more reluctant to criticize the Israeli government and Netanyahu. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is perhaps the most influential Democrat in this bloc. (To state the obvious: I have distilled a fairly complicated issue into a very simple divide, and many Democrats are in between these poles.)

These debates generally have tracked along ideological lines — more liberal Democrats have been more willing to criticize Israel than more centrist figures have been. And that partly explains what is going on now on Capitol Hill. I should emphasize that much of this controversy is simply about Omar’s statements, which if not outright anti-Semitic are at least controversial. In particular, her tweeting, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” in reference to the political influence of the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee, was unsurprisingly viewed as invoking the anti-Semitic smear that Jewish people use money to control policy and politics. But Democrats’ reaction to Omar’s comments has broken along similar lines to reactions to the Green New Deal, which is championed by the party’s young, most liberal wing and viewed warily by older and more moderate Democrats. Omar’s most prominent critics are older Democrats and moderates, while figures such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and some younger and more liberal Democrats say the party has been too harsh in criticizing the Minnesota congresswoman.

The more progressive wing of the party essentially forced House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other party leaders last week to back away from a House resolution that would have focused on condemning Omar and anti-Semitism. The party instead passed a more wide-ranging measure that denounced anti-Semitism but also anti-Muslim bias and other forms of discrimination.

To be clear, I’m not saying that Omar’s comments were fine, or suggesting that her Democratic critics are insincerely using this issue to weaken a rival faction in the party. But the debate is playing out over existing fault lines between party’s progressives and its more old-guard figures, like Pelosi.

This debate gets at important dynamics within the Republican Party too. The GOP’s pro-Israel stance, while not bearing fruit with Jewish-American voters, has another important electoral dimension: It appeals to evangelical Christian activists and voters who are aligned with Netanyahu and conservatives in Israel. So taking pro-Netanyahu positions helps Trump please a key part of his base. But Republicans now have two additional reasons to highlight Omar’s remarks and the tensions within the Democratic Party over Israel.

First, with a Democratic Party that is united in opposing Trump, highlighting any division among Democrats is useful for Republicans. So last month, Senate Republicans forced a vote on a measure that allows state governments to sever ties with companies who support the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against the Israeli government. (Basically, BDS calls for companies and governments to suspend economic relations with the Israeli government.) The Senate vote almost perfectly split the Democrats, with 25 Democrats voting for the measure (backing the pro-Israeli-government position) and 22 voting against it, including 2020 candidates Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. (Many Democrats, such as Sanders, don’t support BDS but argue the anti-BDS bills violate free speech rights.)

Second, casting Omar and some Democrats as anti-Semitic gives the Republicans a way to change the political debate on race and identity, which has been dominated for nearly four years by Democrats (and others) casting Trump as racist. The Omar controversy is a rare opportunity for Republicans to cast Democrats as insufficiently concerned about a minority group — and they are taking full advantage.

For all these reasons, I don’t expect this issue to die, but instead to shift from Omar and Capitol Hill to the presidential campaign. I think Republicans’ real goal is to force the Democratic presidential candidates to choose between fairly mild rhetoric condemning Netanyahu’s government and more aggressive stances that could be cast as “anti-Israel.” This push by Republicans won’t necessarily change any votes in November 2020, but it will create more fissures among elite Democrats. And in some ways, the Republicans’ goal is also Omar’s. Her approach may not been the smartest, but I think she is trying to push her party toward a real debate on its views about Israel. Omar right now looks like she is losing that debate — her party’s leaders have already publicly rebuked her twice. But in a party that is shifting to the left on nearly every issue, I wonder if the next Democratic president will sound more like Omar (on her less controversial days) than Schumer when they talk about Israel.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Perry Bacon Jr.

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go-redgirl · 6 years ago

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Ted Cruz Shares 7 Biggest Christian Conservative Victories Since Trump Took Office Christian Post ^ | 06/08/2018 | Samuel Smith

Speaking to a ballroom filled with Christian conservatives Thursday, 2016 presidential candidate Ted Cruz reflected on seven of the biggest victories for faith and families achieved since Donald Trump took over the White House in January 2017.

During a luncheon kicking off the annual Road to Majority Conference hosted by the influential social conservative advocacy group Faith & Freedom Coalition, the Texas senator celebrated the conservative political accomplishments of the last year and a half.

Cruz, who was the last Republican standing in Trump's way before Trump clinched the Republican nomination in 2016, has played a large role in the slim Republican-majority Senate that, he says, has led to victories for conservatives in addition to what has been accomplished by the Trump administration.

The following pages contain the seven "victories" outlined by Cruz during his 25-minute speech at the 2018 Road to Majority Conference.

1. The appointment of "principled, constitutionalist judges" There was no bigger voting issue for many Christian conservatives in 2016 than the vacancy on the United States Supreme Court and the appointment of constitutionalist judges.

Conservatives were delighted when Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the bench. The former Tenth Circuit Court judge was confirmed on April 7, 2017.

In addition to the Gorsuch nomination, Trump has been successful in rapidly nominating federal judges at other levels of the judiciary.

In praising the Gorsuch selection, Cruz celebrated the Supreme Court's ruling this week in favor of Colorado baker Jack Phillips, who was fighting a six-year long legal battle after he was punished by the state government for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding.

"If we lived in the sort of society that those who called themselves liberal prescribe, a tolerant society, that would have been the end of the story," he said of Phillips' case. "He would have lived according to his faith and we would have respected that faith and the diversity amongst us. But there are those with a legal agenda that wanted to drive that baker out of business, to punish him and any other person of faith for daring to live according to their faith."

Cruz led several members of Congress in issuing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of Phillips.

2. Human life

Cruz also celebrated the numerous pro-life victories that have been achieved by the Trump administration.

"We have seen in the last year-and-a-half significant victories for preserving innocent life," he said.

One of the first moves Trump made on the pro-life front was reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits foreign aid from going to organizations and clinics around the world that perform abortions.

Cruz also pointed out how the U.S. pulled out of funding the United Nations Population Fund that, he says, was "complicit in China's horrific practices of forced sterilizations and forced abortions."

"We saw [the Department of Health and Human Services] issue new rules, returning to the old rules prohibiting taxpayer funding from going to Planned Parenthood and clinics that provide abortions.

"Not only that, but we saw the administration rescind the abhorrent so-called contraceptive mandate in Obamacare — a mandate that was interpreted by the Obama administration to force or to try to force believers to fund abortion-inducing drugs. The consequences of that decision is in the litigation against the Little Sisters of the Poor."

3. Tax cut

Last December, the Republican-led Congress passed the most significant tax overhaul in three decades. The tax bill, conservatives say, will lead to more money being in the pockets of families.

"Cutting taxes on small businesses, cutting taxes on farmers, cutting taxes on ranchers, cutting taxes on families, doubling the standard deduction, What does that mean?" Cruz asked. "For a couple, standard deduction goes from $12,000 to $24,000. That means next year, 90 percent of Americans will be able to fill out your taxes on a postcard."

He pointed out that under the new tax bill, marginal tax rates are reduced in every bracket.

"We saw over 4 million Americans get pay raises, get bonuses because of the tax cut of $500, $1,000, more than $1,000. I was flying a few months ago on Southwest Airlines and a flight attendant walked up to me, hugged me and said 'Thanks for the pay raise.'"

Cruz argued that one of the most integral parts of the tax cut was the doubling of the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child per year.

"If you have three kids, that is an additional $3,000 in your pocket," he said. "That's the money for your daughter to get braces. That is the money for you to take your kids on maybe the first family vacation you've been on in several years to go to Disney World, or to take your kids to a summer camp or maybe to invest in a college fund or help tuition or help pay healthcare. This is real money for people who are struggling and this is a group that cares about families."

4. Repealing of the Obamacare individual mandate

As part of the tax bill, conservatives were able to accomplish something that some thought was only a pipe dream by repealing the Obamacare individual mandate that left many liable to pay fines for not having healthcare.

"That is a big deal and something I led the fight to do in the Senate. I will tell you: back in October, there were maybe a half-dozen senators supporting us," Cruz said. "Most of the conference said 'Look, we made a run at Obamacare twice and we came up short. Let's not muck up tax reform with Obamacare.'"

He explained that he had to make the argument that repealing the mandate that individuals have health insurance would lead to millions of Americans who can't afford to pay health insurance not having to worry about paying a fine from the Internal Revenue Service every year.

"Here is how the Obamacare individual mandate works. Every year, the IRS fines 6.5 million Americans because they can't afford health insurance. Of those, roughly 80 percent earn $50,000 per year or less. Roughly 40 percent, earn $25,000 a year or less. About 1 million are Texans. I want you to imagine for a second that you are a single mom. You are working two jobs and you are struggling to make ends meet and you are trying to provide for your kids. You are not even making $25,000 a year and to add insult to injury, the IRS comes along and fines you because you can't afford to pay the premiums that have skyrocketed under Obamacare."

Cruz said that although there were only about six senators who wanted to put language to repeal the individual mandate in the tax bill in October, all 52 Republican senators ended up voting for the language in the end.

"That is a big conservative victory that no one in Washington thought we would win," he said. "Look, Obamacare is clearly the biggest unfinished promise that Republicans have. We need to finish the job. We need to keep rolling up our sleeves and finish the job and repeal every single word of Obamacare."

5. School choice tax bill amendment

An amendment that Cruz introduced to allow parents and families to extend 529 college funds to pay for K-12 education at public and private schools became the only amendment that was adopted on the Senate floor pertaining to the tax bill, according to the senator.

Under the expansion, parents can withdraw up to $10,000 per year from their 529 plans to pay for their children's primary or secondary education.

"With that, we saw the most far-reaching, federal school choice legislation that has ever passed come into law providing benefits to up to 50 million school kids across the country, enabling parents and grandparents to save for your kids and to save for your grandkids and choose the best education options for them."

6. Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem

In May, Cruz attended the historic opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, a move that he and many other social conservative Christians have long pushed for.

He praised Trump for the fact that he was able to do something that presidents in both political parties have promised and failed to do.

"We had a year-and-a-half battle in the Trump administration. I interjetically argued for moving the embassy and President Trump made the right decision and now our embassy is in Jerusalem, the once and eternal capital of Israel."

7. Withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal

Cruz is one of the most avid critics of the Obama administration's deal finalized in January 2016 to lift nuclear sanctions against Iran in exchange for concessions in its nuclear program for the next several years.

In fact, he and Trump held a joint rally to bash the deal in September 2015.

When Trump announced that he was pulling out of the Iran deal last month, Cruz was among the many who applauded.

"The president made the right decision to withdraw from the disastrous Obama-Iran nuclear deal. Obama had sent tens of billions of dollars to the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, the Ayatollah Khomeini, who chants 'Death to America and death to Israel.' When he says that, I believe him," Cruz said during the conference.

He asserted that the deal would have led to Iran having nuclear weapons.

"Once again, there was a battle in the Trump administration over whether we should stay in the deal or pull out. I interjectically urged the president that the right thing to do for the national security of this country is pull out of the deal and use every force we have — economic, diplomatic and if need be, military, to ensure the ayatollah never ever gets nuclear weapons."

"We see in the federal courts all across the country, we see it in Justice Neil Gorsuch and let me be one to thank God for the victory we had this week in the Colorado [baker's case]."

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petescholtes-blog-blog · 4 years ago

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You send me: Why Minneapolis elected Ilhan Omar for this moment

(Mural by Mohammed "Aerosol" Ali in Birmingham, England, July 2019, painted in "solidarity" with her; photographed by the artist for BBC News.)

Why is my freshman congresswoman being "primaried" in the August 11 election, by a political newcomer who raised six times as much money between April and June, including half a million dollars from big donors favoring conservative policies toward Israel?

You probably already answered that question as near to your satisfaction as you can, if you live in the Fifth District of Minnesota and can vote, or mailed your ballot in anticipation of alleged presidentially-induced delays at the post office.

But if the suspicions raised by this race about either leading candidate remain, like piles of un-recycled mailers, I have a theory as to why: A politics based on the presumption of guilt came to town. It lost, or won, but affected us either way. Because suspicion poisons everything. Without the ability to really test the null hypothesis — the default truth that what you see is a coincidence — belief can be a light out of the darkness, a north star into a black hole, or the sparkle in the eye of a face at the bottom of a well.

So let's talk about what we know. As Rachel Cohen reports in Jewish Currents, the contest here for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor nomination for Congress doesn't seem to be about actual policy differences between the candidates regarding Israel or the Palestinians. Omar and her lead challenger, Antone Melton-Meaux, have the same position on the Boycott Divest Sanctions (BDS) movement, for example, which is really more of a BD movement at this point. Both candidates defend the right to boycott, as Omar did last year with a resolution co-sponsored by John Lewis, a right most federal courts have also upheld, overturning recent anti-BDS laws in three states (though not Minnesota, where Omar argued against the law that passed). Both candidates also oppose BDS strategies, reasoning that they're counterproductive to encouraging negotiations toward a two-state solution. To the same end, they join most Americans in opposing Israel's plan to annex much of the West Bank, though Omar would condition aid against it, and Melton-Meaux would not.

Beyond that consensus, Omar has expressed approval of BDS itself, via a single text message from a campaign aid to the website Muslim Girl in 2018, stating that Omar "supports" the "movement." That message, along with her refusal (on expressly articulated principle) to join the House in condemning BDS, gave reporters license to call her and Lewis's resolution "pro-BDS," and Omar the "face of the movement." On the same narrow basis, Melton-Meaux claimed in April that the congresswoman "supports sanctions on Israel."

People are what they do, and I'm not here to attack Melton-Meaux, who seems to have done good things before writing that astoundingly disingenuous op-ed. But his campaign is about Omar, not him, or rather about someone who isn't really Omar at all, which is the problem. Omar never called for sanctions against Israel or any other country. To the contrary, she has consistently and vocally opposed sanctions, sometimes to a political fault: Her "present" vote on the Armenian genocide was a stand against sanctions on Turkey. Her argument in every case is that sanctions harm people, not governments — which appears to be right, to take the example of Iran. Even her bill to sanction Brunei, for stoning people to death for being LGBTQ, targets the travel and assets of officials, not civilians.

Whatever you think of that position, it's integral with Omar's opposition to arbitrary force or punitive retribution of any kind. She's called for an end to the "cycle of violence" everywhere, whether from undeclared war, terrorism, riots, repression, or criminal justice that metes out more harm, as she sees it. Nine months after being smeared as a coddler of terrorists for writing a judge to ask for leniency in the sentencing of a young man who had not yet taken up arms with Isis, Omar did the same for the middle-aged man convicted of threatening her life. In both cases she asked for a "restorative" approach that would help the person repair himself, not just the community.

With similar trueness, after she and Lewis introduced their "right to participate in boycotts" resolution, Omar spoke of "support" only for "efforts to end the [Israeli] occupation and achieve [a] two-state solution," and argued against condemning BDS on the grounds that "if we are going to condemn violent means of resisting the occupation, we cannot also condemn nonviolent means."

A Somali-born refugee and the first Muslim to wear an hijab in Congress, Omar may recognize better than most how essentialist judgments can thwart a person's autonomy. That she became the media "face" of BDS, while her identically-voting white colleagues of Christian or Jewish heritage did not, is one of many such ironies not lost on her, I imagine. But acting as if some double standards are too contemptible to dignify with an answer, or even an acknowledgment, seems to be part of her armor against them.

(Hugging John Lewis in 2018, in an uncredited photograph posted by the congresswoman this year on his 80th birthday.)

Of all the falsehoods sent sailing like stones at Omar, none bothers me more than the idea that the personal attacks against her didn't happen — that a massive, dangerous smear campaign was just "Twitter fights" with the president, or criticism of her "record." The torrent of Omar fictions began in August of 2018, a week after her primary win, and by July 2019 reached a crescendo of six fake stories per month debunked by Snopes. In the first month of her term, she was accused of defending Isis, based on that letter to a judge, a claim pandering to "sharia" conspiracists like her would-be assassin. In February came unfounded and increasingly dishonest charges of antisemitism, based on Omar's seemingly unwitting use of two antisemitic tropes (hypnotism and money), for which she apologized unequivocally, followed by a third one (dual loyalty), for which she did not, by that point apparently not wishing to enable those seizing on her words to keep changing the subject from what she'd been talking about: the Palestinians, and how any discussion of their treatment is policed out of existence. This time, the charges against her pandered to Christian evangelicals, with the apparent hopeful side-goal of alienating some Jewish voters from her or her party's base. But the criticism of her words was roundly picked up by Democrats, whom Omar joined in the House to vote for a resolution condemning antisemitic language. Only Republicans voted against it.

Then came the video in April shared by the president of the United States, a montage of Omar and 9/11 that aimed far beyond the earlier audiences, this time to falsely link the congresswoman with the worst attack on U.S. soil in history. If the videographer thought Democrats wouldn't defend her, they were wrong. But death threats against Omar increased. April also brought a disinformation campaign about Omar and U.S. and Somali casualties in the Battle of Mogadishu, this time aimed at veterans, whose benefits the congresswoman has consistently voted to keep and expand.

In July came the apotheosis: the president's serial fabrications about Omar on camera and at rallies. He riffed on much of the above, but added the lie that she had expressed "love" for al-Qaeda, that she said al-Qaeda made her "proud," an appalling implicit incitement to violence that Republican leaders mostly played along with. It was, I wrote at the time, "the break with reality that a more fundamental break with humanity requires," in a month of detention center atrocity stories in the news, and with growing numbers of young Jewish activists arrested in front of ICE offices across the country chanting "Never again is now," including here. Trumpists were plugging their ears and going "na-na-na-na-na-na-na" to all this. Which was scary, because a reality war could go anywhere — and that's exactly what it did. The president’s tweet of a video with a September 13 timestamp claiming to show Omar celebrating 9/11 was the same basic impulse that would kill 150,000 Americans in a viral pandemic due to denial, inaction, and corruption.

The warning of a year ago also came after the Poway synagogue shooting in April, which brought home, as Omar and Illinois Representative Jan Schakowsky were early to note, how much antisemitism and Islamophobia had merged on the extremist right. Muslims and Jews had already been grappling with their entangled oppressions for years, partnering on issues like gun violence, as a local group of women did here starting in 2016. Particularly in the wake of the El Paso shooting, the ongoing lying about Omar's immigrant community had a uniting effect outside the president's cult.

(Volunteers sweeping and painting names at the George Floyd memorial in Minneapolis, June 12, 2020; photographed by me with the subjects' permission.)

None of those lies will wash here, where the George Floyd street memorial is a garden of flowers and art six miles north from the Bloomington mosque that was bombed three years ago, in the neighboring Congressional Third District. Contrary to Islamophobic fantasy, the Fifth is 63% white, with an active Jewish left and center, of which many are also on record in support of Omar, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Given the math of her 2018 landslide, Omar could have won her seat without a single Somali American vote. Her current campaign's internal polling shows an approval rating of 74%.

To supporters I know across demographic categories, Omar is someone there for everyone — and a threat exactly because she challenges leaders who aren't. Like the largest protest movement in American history, which began in her district on May 25 — she puts the moral dilemma of American exclusion, of all exclusion, at the center of politics. Her "radical love" is the inverse of John Lewis's "good trouble," because left humanists have a parent's love of country, not a child's. They hold the world to something better. A month ago, Omar called on reporters to ask state and U.S. senators who were blocking meaningful police reform these questions: "How come you are not listening to the cries of the mothers and the fathers in our communities? How come you are not listening to the people who are telling you that we don't feel like our lives matter equally in this country?'"

I have never seen a U.S. representative host so many town hall meetings on issues important to her poorest and least powerful constituents — two events per month, from one spring to the next. At one, on Black mental health, I watched an audience member literally seek help for herself and her family from the experts onstage. Observing such events, New Hope city councilman Cedrick Frazier wrote that at every meeting with Omar he saw, she "stayed long after the event ended to talk with and answer questions from the people in attendance."

She has also consistently shown up at important protests, not necessarily to speak, but just to be there, as when she went unrecognized in her mask and headscarf at the first, overwhelmingly nonviolent George Floyd protests. She meets regularly with important local activist groups, like MN350 and MIRAC, whose memberships spiked last summer. That increase, beyond our physical proximity to Floyd's life and death, suggests why the movement and unrest happened here as it did. Fifth District residents who took to the streets in response to his killing — (again) overwhelmingly with nonviolence, often numbering in the tens of thousands, and protesting every weekend day for six weeks after the last fires from three nights of riots were out — built on already record-high levels of left activism and organization before the pandemic: for immigrant rights, the climate, and Black lives. It was protesters — medics but also ordinary participants — who used their bodies to shield and rescue all but two souls in the uprising.

This outcome reflected a culture as well as an infrastructure, and it touches everyone. Omar's teenage daughter, Isra Hirsi, helped lead the U.S. chapter and St. Paul march of the global Youth Climate Strike on September 20 — one of the largest international protests before the Floyd marches. Young MN350 volunteers poured into presidential primary campaigns, especially for Omar's friend Bernie Sanders, whose local appeal to voters was headquartered out of her own campaign office. MIRAC's Mari Mansfield painted the long list of names on the street at the George Floyd memorial on 38th and Chicago, of unarmed people of color killed by police. "It's all civil disobedience now," she said, when I lamented missing a MIRAC training on it before the pandemic. The Black Lives Matter protests in every corner of Minnesota will have similar ripple effects going forward.

Omar herself turned her office into a food distribution center after the unrest, and raised hundred of thousands of dollars for local organizations seeking to transform policing. “I saw Ilhan in the streets nearly every single day," wrote Minneapolis city council vice president Andrea Jenkins. “Unbeknown to most of us at the time, Ilhan’s father was in the hospital with COVID-19.” Nur Omar Mohamed’s death was announced on June 16.

(”Close the camps” protesters blocking traffic outside the ICE office at Fort Snelling on July 30, 2019; Youth climate strikers in St. Paul, September 20, 2019; both photographed by me.)

My point is not that Omar is a leader for this moment, but that this moment already elected her two years ago. The congresswoman speaks to both left and humanist values because both of those things are resurgent in mirror opposition to Trump. Like so many of her constituents, but also American leftists more generally, she draws no distinction between appealing to the best in everyone and defending like a sister those left out of that "everyone." "We need to jettison the zero-sum idea that one person's gain is another's loss," she wrote in the Washington Post earlier last month. "I want your gain to be my gain; your loss to be mine, too."

At her police reform press conference, with the Minnesota Legislature's People of Color and Indigenous Caucus, Omar set off another extremist conservative firestorm when she announced that, "We are not merely fighting to tear down the systems of oppression in the criminal justice system. We are fighting to tear down systems of oppression that exist in housing, in education, in healthcare, in employment, in the air we breathe." But that statement is threatening only if you believe, as some Americans apparently do, that "systems of oppression" benefit you.

In her first 19 months in the 116th U.S. Congress, Omar introduced 39 bills, four of which have passed, all amendments. She also succeeded in getting her MEALS Act — providing kids school lunches regardless of whether schools are open in the pandemic — included as part of the CARES Act. You can read the other 34 bills and judge for yourself if there's a wasted effort among them. (She's made a case for each, which is for you to weigh.) But there's something self-fulfilling about claiming a lawmaker doesn't get anything done when you're blocking or ignoring their legislation. Much as the burden of proof is always on the accuser — because you can't prove a negative — I'll leave it to Omar's opponents to make the argument that any of these laws would be bad for the United States: that, no, we should not eliminate fossil fuel subsidies, keep corporations convicted of fraud out of politics, cancel student debt, award grants to zero-waste projects, stop stigmatizing kids unable to pay for school meals, make school lunches free, cut off military aid to human rights abusers, or join the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Similarly, in a pandemic, I'll let them explain why we should not aid small businesses, cancel rent and mortgages, cancel school lunch debt, or move food stamps fully online.

Omar co-sponsored 601 other pieces of legislation, 72 of which passed the House, nine the Senate, and seven into law by the grace of the president's signature. Those dramatically dwindling numbers suggest a political problem that is not Ilhan Omar. She has addressed that problem, whether you agree or disagree with her, by endorsing progressive candidates nationwide, including here in her own district, where she campaigned for Richfield mayor Maria Regan Gonzalez and Crystal city councilperson Brendan Banks. She's also built her Democratic coalition. After the censure from Democrats and the president's attacks on her last year, she made a public show of unity with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has now endorsed her.

Omar is not the Mother of Dragons some imagine. She's just been through the worst fires of war and politics, and has come out the other side a congresswoman from Minneapolis. Most likely, that's what she'll remain next term.

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thisdaynews · 5 years ago

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Israel bars Omar, Tlaib from entering country, as Trump lashes out

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/israel-bars-omar-tlaib-from-entering-country-as-trump-lashes-out/

Israel bars Omar, Tlaib from entering country, as Trump lashes out

Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were slated to arrive in Israel this weekend, but President Donald Trump had lobbied Israeli leaders to bar them from entering the country. | J. Scott Applewhite, File/AP Photo

Congress

Democrats blasted the decision and warned it would hurt the U.S.-Israeli relationship.

Israel’s government on Thursday barred Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering the country as part of a landmark visit, in a move that quickly set off a political firestorm in Washington.

Omar and Tlaib — the first two Muslim women in Congress — were slated to arrive this weekend, but President Donald Trump had lobbied Israeli leaders to block them from entering the country and again lashed out at the pair on Thursday.

Story Continued Below

Omar hit back, saying, “Trump’s Muslim ban is what Israel is implementing, this time against two duly elected members of Congress.”

“The irony of the ‘only democracy’ in the Middle East making such a decision is that it is both an insult to democratic values and a chilling response to a visit by government officials from an allied nation,” the Minnesota Democrat added in an afternoon statement.

The controversial decision by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came despite pleas from top lawmakers in both parties to allow the delegation to make its trip. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) denounced the decision, saying she was “deeply saddened” by the move after the Israeli ambassador announced last month that the two lawmakers would be allowed to visit.

“Israel’s denial of entry to Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar is a sign of weakness, and beneath the dignity of the great State of Israel,” Pelosi said in a statement.

Netanyahu defended his decision, saying he changed his mind after learning more details of their trip earlier this week.

“Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar are leading activists in promoting the legislation of boycotts against Israel in the American Congress,” Netanyahu said a statement. “Only a few days ago, we received their itinerary for their visit in Israel, which revealed that they planned a visit whose sole objective is to strengthen the boycott against us and deny Israel’s legitimacy.”

Netanyahu did say that a “humanitarian request” by Tlaib to visit her relatives in the West Bank would be accepted “on the condition that she pledges not to promote boycotts against Israel during her visit.”

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who led a delegation of dozens of House Democrats to Israel earlier this month, had repeatedly asked Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to allow the freshman lawmakers to enter the country, only to be rejected.

Hoyer and other pro-Israel Democrats, like Nita Lowey of New York, Brad Schneider of Illinois, Ted Deutch of Florida and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, also personally lobbied Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., to allow the visit. Dermer stated several weeks ago that Israel would let the trip go ahead.

Gottheimer, who has previously sparred with Omar and Tlaib over their controversial comments about Israel, said refusing to allow them to visit the country “regardless of their views and misguided, planned itinerary, is a serious, strategic mistake.”

An irate Hoyer called Thursday’s decision “outrageous” and pointed to Dermer’s earlier pledge to let Omar and Tlaib enter the country.

“This action is contrary to the statement and assurances to me by Israel’s ambassador to the United States that ‘out of respect for the U.S. Congress and the great alliance between Israel and America, we would not deny entry to any Member of Congress into Israel,’” Hoyer said. “That representation was not true.”

Even the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, the powerful pro-Israel lobby, criticized the announcement.

“We disagree with Reps. Omar and Tlaib’s support for the anti-Israel and anti-peace BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] movement, along with Rep. Tlaib’s calls for a one-state solution,” AIPAC said in a statment. “We also believe every member of Congress should be able to visit and experience our democratic ally Israel firsthand.”

Republicans, meanwhile, have been largely silent about the move. House and Senate GOP leaders have avoided commenting on the controversy. Even Trump’s most loyal boosters on Capitol Hill were mostly quiet, showing how poorly the decision was received by lawmakers in both parties.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said Tlaib and Omar “should have come with the rest of the U.S. delegation to Israel,” referring to the recent trips headed by Hoyer and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

“I stand fully with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel regarding their right to deny admittance to anyone who advocates against the interests of Israel,” Roy said.

But another prominent Republican, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, called the decision “a mistake.”

“Being blocked is what they really hoped for all along in order to bolster their attacks against the Jewish State,” Rubio said on Twitter. Thursday morning, Trump slammed Tlaib and Omar — two fierce critics of the president who have called for his impeachment — and encouraged Israel to block them.

“It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep.Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace!”

Tlaib had planned to see her grandmother, who lives in the West Bank. Instead, Hoyer met with Tlaib’s grandmother during his congressional trip.

On Thursday afternoon, Tlaib sent a letter to her fellow freshman Democrats asking for their help in getting the decision reversed, although her request called Palestine “a sovereign state,” which angered some pro-Israel lawmakers in the class.

In her letter, the Michigan Democrat called on her fellow freshmen to support her publicly: “Many of you have more of an influence than I do and I am asking as your colleague to advocate that I am allowed to enter (even if just to allow transport into another sovereign state — Palestine).”

She also defended the trip, saying that their agenda had no meetings planned with Israeli or Palestinian Authority officials — rebutting one of Netanyahu’s chief complaints about the itinerary.

Senior Democrats, including longtime pro-Israel advocates, blasted the move as one that will hurt U.S.-Israeli relations in the long run.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Israeli decision “is a sign of weakness, not strength. It will only hurt the U.S.-Israeli relationship and support for Israel in America. … Many strong supporters of Israel will be deeply disappointed in this decision, which the Israeli government should reverse.”

“It is utterly egregious for the Israeli government to deny entry to two sitting members of the United States Congress,” added House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.). “I strongly condemn this decision.”

“Democracies are marked by the ability to express opposing views,” added Lowey, top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. “By blocking entry by these representatives, the Israeli government is missing an opportunity for engagement in dialogue with those they disagree with, instead empowering those who seek to create a wedge between our two countries.”

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said “no member of Congress should visit Israel until all members of Congress are welcome.”

Democratic presidential candidates also called on Israel to reverse course.

“Israel doesn’t advance its case as a tolerant democracy or unwavering US ally by barring elected members of Congress from visiting because of their political views,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). “This would be a shameful, unprecedented move.”

The trip by the two Democratic freshmen would be historic. Tlaib has long touted the trip as an alternative to the annual AIPAC-funded trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, which pro-Palestinian advocates have argued is intended to promote Israel’s political positions.

Israeli leaders said they would deny the lawmakers’ entry into the country because of their support for the global BDS movement, which is intended to force Israel to improve its treatment of the Palestinians.

Most Democrats have strongly rejected the BDS effort, and the House passed a resolution last month on a 398-17 vote condemning the movement. Omar and Tlaib were among the lawmakers who opposed the resolution.

Before that vote, Hoyer had worked with Dermer to ensure that Tlaib and Omar would be able to go ahead with their Israel trip, according to a Hoyer aide.

Dermer recently told Democratic lawmakers that Israeli officials were unsettled by the lawmakers’ itinerary — which did not include meetings with any of the country’s diplomats or visits to historic sites — and was largely focused on the territories.

“They see the point of the trip to cause problems, not to learn,” said one lawmaker describing Dermer’s comments.

But the move threatens to open a new rift on Capitol Hill over Israel, especially inside the Democratic Party.

Progressive champions Omar and Tlaib have sharply criticized Israel’s political influence in Washington and they’ve faced charges of anti-Semitism. Both freshman Democrats, and Omar in particular, have become a favorite target of Trump and conservative media.

Democrats, meanwhile, counter that Trump is fueling a rise in white nationalism and anti-Semitism with his divisive racial rhetoric — not the Israel critics in their party.

“Netanyahu choosing to ban the only 2 Muslim women in Congress from entering tells the US that only *some* Americans are welcome to Israel, not all,” tweeted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a close ally of Tlaib and Omar. “Trump is exporting his bigotry & making matters worse.”

#Foreign #lashes #Politics #Trump

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wetrumpfeed · 6 years ago

Text

Afternoon MAGAthread: YOUR WEEKLY PRESIDENTIAL RECAP!

HAPPY SATURDAY DEPLORABLES!!!!

I hope everyone is having a FANTASTIC Easter weekend so far! This is u/Ivaginaryfriend here and I'm back at it again with all things spicy and dank from the past week! If you happened to miss any past recaps you can catch those here!

Sunday, April 14th:

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

If the Fed had done its job properly, which it has not, the Stock Market would have been up 5000 to 10,000 additional points, and GDP would have been well over 4% instead of 3%...with almost no inflation. Quantitative tightening was a killer, should have done the exact opposite!

Great Masters going on right now. @TigerWoods is leading with 2 holes left to play. Very exciting, tune in!

Watching final hole of @TheMasters. @TigerWoods is looking GREAT!

Congratulations to @TigerWoods., a truly Great Champion!

Love people who are great under pressure. What a fantastic life comeback for a really great guy!

Such a “puff piece” on Nancy Pelosi by @60minutes, yet her leadership has passed no meaningful Legislation. All they do is Investigate, as it turns out, crimes that they instigated & committed. The Mueller No Collusion decision wasn’t even discussed-and she was a disaster at W.H.

.@SteveHiltonx “This is President Trump trying to deliver on his promises while the bureaucratic machine fights his agenda. He needs populist allies. These changes are not chaos, but rather progress. All this is President Trump at his absolute best.” Thank you Steve!

Chinese Telecom Giant Huawei hires former Obama Cyber Security Official as a lobbyist. This is not good, or acceptable! @FoxNews @SteveHiltonx

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Cher gets redpilled.

Nancy Pelosi is trying to get this video removed from Trump's Twitter account. It would be a shame if it got shared even more.

13 days after Bengazhi

CBS Drama 'The Good Fight' Tweet with ’Assassinate Trump' Sparks Calls for Secret Service Investigation

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

WINNERS ONLY

😂 😂 😂 😂

America Without The Electoral College

Liberals after hearing they may have to face the consequences of the immigration policies they support

State of Reddit since 2016

Monday, April 15th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

Proclamation on Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2019

President Trump Participates in a Roundtable Discussion on the Economy and Tax Reform

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

What do I know about branding, maybe nothing (but I did become President!), but if I were Boeing, I would FIX the Boeing 737 MAX, add some additional great features, & REBRAND the plane with a new name. No product has suffered like this one. But again, what the hell do I know?

Mueller, and the A.G. based on Mueller findings (and great intelligence), have already ruled No Collusion, No Obstruction. These were crimes committed by Crooked Hillary, the DNC, Dirty Cops and others! INVESTIGATE THE INVESTIGATORS!

Congress should come back to D.C. now and FIX THE IMMIGRATION LAWS!

Before Nancy, who has lost all control of Congress and is getting nothing done, decides to defend her leader, Rep. Omar, she should look at the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and ungrateful U.S. HATE statements Omar has made. She is out of control, except for her control of Nancy!

THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN (We will never forget)!

The Radical Left Democrats will never be satisfied with anything we give them. They will always Resist and Obstruct!

I finally agree with @Cher!

Mark Morgan, President Obama’s Border Patrol Chief, gave the following message to me: “President Trump, stay the course.” I agree, and believe it or not, we are making great progress with a system that has been broken for many years!

Those Illegal Immigrants who can no longer be legally held (Congress must fix the laws and loopholes) will be, subject to Homeland Security, given to Sanctuary Cities and States!

The Mueller Report, which was written by 18 Angry Democrats who also happen to be Trump Haters (and Clinton Supporters), should have focused on the people who SPIED on my 2016 Campaign, and others who fabricated the whole Russia Hoax. That is, never forget, the crime..... ... ....Since there was no Collusion, why was there an Investigation in the first place! Answer - Dirty Cops, Dems and Crooked Hillary!

Heading to the Great State of Minnesota!

Spoke to @TigerWoods to congratulate him on the great victory he had in yesterday’s @TheMasters, & to inform him that because of his incredible Success & Comeback in Sports (Golf) and, more importantly, LIFE, I will be presenting him with the PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM!

So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!

The forgotten voters of the 2016 Election are now doing great. The Steel Industry is rebuilding and expanding at a pace that it hasn’t seen in decades. Our Country has one of the best Economies in many years, perhaps ever. Unemployment numbers best in 51 years. Wow!

God bless the people of France!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

What a fucking cunt. Shitting on divorced dads.

Ave Maria

EXPOSED: Clinton Foundation Donor 'Helped Fund' Ukraine Report

Brad Parscale on Twitter: "Tax cuts are real, many in the media just doesn’t want you to know. The truth doesn’t fit their destructive narrative. This is just another collapsing lie in their web of lies."

Jewish Leaders Invited To White House As Democrats Face Accusations Of Anti-Semitism

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

REALITY

Happy Tax Day

DAMMIT JOE! Can't we just have one thing?!

MAGA!

Tucker is calling out Valerie Jarett's new book as a fraud for being #14 on the NYT bestseller list. He cites that Amazon has sold no copies of it LOL. Everything Democrats do is a scam.

Tuesday, April 16th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

Proclamation on Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., 2019

Presidential Veto Message to the Senate to Accompany S.J. Res. 7

The 2019 White House Spring Garden Tours

President Trump Signs Executive Order on Energy

Ivanka Trump Visits Ethiopia

First Lady Melania Trump Visits Fort Bragg

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

A must read, Andy McCarthy’s column today, “Dirty dealings of dirt devils who concocted Trump-Russia probe.” The greatest Scam in political history. If the Mainstream Media were honest, which they are not, this story would be bigger and more important than Watergate. Someday!

No Collusion - No Obstruction!

So weird to watch Crazy Bernie on @FoxNews. Not surprisingly, @BretBaier and the “audience” was so smiley and nice. Very strange, and now we have @donnabrazile?

I will be in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Saturday, April 27th at the Resch Center — 7:00pm (CDT). Big crowd expected! #MAGA

No Collusion - No Obstruction!

Just signed a critical bill to formalize drought contingency plans for the Colorado River. Thanks to @SenMcSallyAZ for getting it done. Big deal for Arizona!

Many Trump Fans & Signs were outside of the @FoxNews Studio last night in the now thriving (Thank you President Trump) Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for the interview with Crazy Bernie Sanders. Big complaints about not being let in-stuffed with Bernie supporters. What’s with @FoxNews?

Bernie Sanders and wife should pay the Pre-Trump Taxes on their almost $600,000 in income. He is always complaining about these big TAX CUTS, except when it benefits him. They made a fortune off of Trump, but so did everyone else - and that’s a good thing, not a bad thing!

I believe it will be Crazy Bernie Sanders vs. Sleepy Joe Biden as the two finalists to run against maybe the best Economy in the history of our Country (and MANY other great things)! I look forward to facing whoever it may be. May God Rest Their Soul!

On Trumps ICC Win, Dems and Republicans See Eye to Eye | RealClearPolitics

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Swalwell: I Will Jail Those Who Defy My Gun Grabbing Agenda

Tucker Carlson: 'In 20 years, every fifth grader will believe 9/11 was committed by white supremacists'

Behind the Obama administration’s shady plan to spy on the Trump campaign

Holy shit! They're pulling the MUh RuSSiA card on Barr now. They are SCARED of this guy! hahahahaha

Democrats can never find the certificates: Somalia-Born Candidate for Congress Accused of Immigration/Marriage Fraud

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Let's all give a loud Huzzah for Jean-Marc Fournier who ran into burning Notre-Dame Cathedral to save the Crown of Thorns

4D chess move!

A little switcharoo there...

Bernie Sanders at the Fox News town hall

I used to be a Democrat

Wednesday, April 17th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Trump Participates in an Opportunity Zone Conference

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Wow! FBI made 11 payments to Fake Dossier’s discredited author, Trump hater Christopher Steele. @OANN @JudicialWatch The Witch Hunt has been a total fraud on your President and the American people! It was brought to you by Dirty Cops, Crooked Hillary and the DNC.

Democrats in Congress must return from their Vacations and change the Immigration Laws, or the Border, despite the great job being done by Border Patrol, will only get worse. Big sections of Wall now being built!

Just had a wonderful conversation with @Pontifex Francis offering condolences from the People of the United States for the horrible and destructive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. I offered the help of our great experts on renovation and construction as I did.... ... ....in my conversation yesterday with President @EmmanuelMacron of France. I also wished both Pope Francis and President Macron a very Happy Easter!

Nolte: Poll Shows Media Failed to Gaslight Public About Trump Campaign Spying http://bit.ly/2VRXs8K via @BreitbartNews

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Tech Censorship: Instagram Bans Pro-Trump Cartoonist Ben Garrison

Justice Dept. to end ‘catch and release’ detention for migrants

HOLY...FUCKING...SHIT ! WAPO Editorial column admits Fox News was right all along, compares the anti Trump fake news bias in media is worthy of investigation. Compares bias to Watergate.

Attorney General William Barr will hold a press conference to discuss Mueller report at 9:30 AM ET Thursday. Rosenstein will be there also.

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Caught red handed: Melania meets with Bill Barr just before release of Mueller report, they both say they discussed grandchildren...oh wait

White Leftists IRL

#HillarysBitch

Muhammad the gay icon🏳️‍🌈😘

Winning!

Face it Sleepy Sessions supporters! Your boy was an impotent loser. Finally, Barr is doing what should've been done 2 years ago. Change my mind.

Thursday, April 18th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Trump Delivers Remarks at the Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

The Greatest Political Hoax of all time! Crimes were committed by Crooked, Dirty Cops and DNC/The Democrats.

PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!

Attorney General William Barr’s Press Conference today at 9:30 AM ET. Watch on @FoxNews @OANN

No Collusion - No Obstruction!

As I have been saying all along, NO COLLUSION - NO OBSTRUCTION!

EPIC meme

Today, I was thrilled to host the @WWP Soldier Ride once again at the @WhiteHouse. We were all deeply honored to be in the presence of TRUE AMERICAN HEROES....

“Donald Trump was being framed, he fought back. That is not Obstruction.” @JesseBWatters I had the right to end the whole Witch Hunt if I wanted. I could have fired everyone, including Mueller, if I wanted. I chose not to. I had the RIGHT to use Executive Privilege. I didn’t!

Anything the Russians did concerning the 2016 Election was done while Obama was President. He was told about it and did nothing! Most importantly, the vote was not affected.

When there is not an underlying crime with regard to Collusion (in fact, the whole thing was a made up fraud), it is difficult to say that someone is obstructing something. There was no underlying crime.” @marthamaccallum @FoxNews

“If dozens of Federal prosecutors spent two years trying to charge you with a crime, and found they couldn’t, it would mean there wasn’t any evidence you did it - and that’s what happened here - that’s what we just learned from the Mueller Report.” @TuckerCarlson

“The Mueller Report is perhaps the single most humiliating thing that has ever happened to the White House Press in the history of this Country. They know they lied...Many reporters lied about Russia Collusion and so much more. Clapper & Brennan, all lies” @TuckerCarlson

Kimberley Strassel should get the Pulitzer. She is a treasure (and I don’t know her) who correctly called the Russia Hoax right from the start! Others who were soooo wrong will get the Prize. Fake News!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

ATTY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR BRIEFS THE NATION PRIOR TO RELEASING THE MUELLER REPORT - LIVE

Trump 2020 Campaign statement from @parscale on the #MuellerReport - "The Obama-era DOJ and FBI must answer for their misdeeds and the scam that they perpetrated against the American people. Justice will be served."

MAGAthread: The Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election.

Preliminary Mueller Report Analysis: Pedes Who Predicted A Cover Up Were Right

President Trump Responds to Barr Presser: I'm Having a Good Day, No Collusion, No Obstruction

VP Mike Pence: No Collusion — No Obstruction. My statement below:

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Say it with me folks: No Collusion

IMAGINE BEING MAD THAT YOUR PRESIDENT DIDNT COMMIT A CRIME. 🤣😂🤣😂😆

Pepe is up and at the salt mine ready for a record harvest today. There is said to be so much salt that Pepe won’t be able to mine it all on his own. Will you help Pepe?

President Trump: Time to Turn the Tables

An Homage to #RussiaGate

Friday, April 19th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

Proclamation on National Park Week, 2019

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Statements are made about me by certain people in the Crazy Mueller Report, in itself written by 18 Angry Democrat Trump Haters, which are fabricated & totally untrue. Watch out for people that take so-called “notes,” when the notes never existed until needed. Because I never.... ... ...agreed to testify, it was not necessary for me to respond to statements made in the “Report” about me, some of which are total bullshit & only given to make the other person look good (or me to look bad). This was an Illegally Started Hoax that never should have happened, a... ... ....big, fat, waste of time, energy and money - $30,000,000 to be exact. It is now finally time to turn the tables and bring justice to some very sick and dangerous people who have committed very serious crimes, perhaps even Spying or Treason. This should never happen again!

The Washington Post and New York Times are, in my opinion, two of the most dishonest media outlets around. Truly, the Enemy of the People!

Time for Democrats to accept reality

(Retweeting Matt Gaetz) “You have guys that come through here that do this for a living…they bring groups across, they bring drugs across.”Sheriff Mark Lamb from @PinalCSO showed us today how illegal immigrants and smugglers travel through the Arizona desert. @RepAndyBiggsAZ @sherifflamb1

(Retweeting Mark Levin) More on the phony collusion scam

(Retweeting Sean Hannity) Mueller’s Final Report ‘Completely Vindicates’ President Trump 👇

“TRUMP HAS BEEN TOTALLY VINDICATED”

Wishing a Happy Passover to all those celebrating in America, Israel, and around the world!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

VERY CLEAN PRESIDENT - DEM. HOAX DESTROYED

SARA CARTER ON HANNITY: “There will be indictments. There will be an avalanche. According the sources I was speaking with just today people are already turning on each other. We are going to see senior officials at DOJ & FBI throw each other under the bus to save themselves.

Ben Carson To Kick Illegal Immigrants Out Of HUD Housing, Will Give Aid To Poor Americans Instead

Team Trump: Why didn’t President Obama act when he first heard of Russian interference?

Thank you!

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Grandpa Trump

I just love GEOTUS and his way of explaining things.

They’re gonna spend a year and a half trying to out-socialism each other while simultaneously trying to impeach the most successful POTUS in modern history. Buy stock in popcorn companies. 🍿

LMAO - Lyin' Brian Williams of MSNBC asks Jay Sekulow where Mueller Report says "No collusion" - Sekulow reads the second page

Have a Blessed Good Friday Pedes

Saturday, April 20th:

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Despite the fact that the Mueller Report should not have been authorized in the first place & was written as nastily as possible by 13 (18) Angry Democrats who were true Trump Haters, including highly conflicted Bob Mueller himself, the end result is No Collusion, No Obstruction!

The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to stir up and anger the pols and as many people as possible seldom mentioning the fact that the Mueller Report had as its principle conclusion the fact that there was NO COLLUSION WITH RUSSIA. The Russia Hoax is dead!

United States weekly jobless claims just hit a 50 year low. The economy is doing GREAT!

The end result of the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. political history is No Collusion with Russia (and No Obstruction). Pretty Amazing!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Trump 2020 campaign donations soar after Mueller report with $1 MILLION pouring in just a day after its release | Daily Mail Online

Top 10 things the media got wrong about ‘collusion’ and ‘obstruction’

Rush Limbaugh says Mueller should be: 'Trump attempted to obstruct our coup'

Kim Foxx issues a statement saying she wont be saying anything - as another member of her team steps down. This arrogant bitch is going down!

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Happy Easter Mr. President, May God Bless You and This Country!

Walls Work!

Omar Blaming Trump For Her Mouth

TOTALLY VINDICATED!

Some tunes to help you jam through all this winning:

FACE

spitshine

helga

suede

Why iii Love The Moon

MAGA ON PATRIOTS!

submitted by /u/Ivaginaryfriend [link] [comments]

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robgrayofficial · 6 years ago

Link

HAPPY SATURDAY DEPLORABLES!!!!I hope everyone is having a FANTASTIC Easter weekend so far! This is u/Ivaginaryfriend here and I'm back at it again with all things spicy and dank from the past week! If you happened to miss any past recaps you can catch those here!Sunday, April 14th:🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:If the Fed had done its job properly, which it has not, the Stock Market would have been up 5000 to 10,000 additional points, and GDP would have been well over 4% instead of 3%...with almost no inflation. Quantitative tightening was a killer, should have done the exact opposite!Great Masters going on right now. @TigerWoods is leading with 2 holes left to play. Very exciting, tune in!Watching final hole of @TheMasters. @TigerWoods is looking GREAT!Congratulations to @TigerWoods., a truly Great Champion!Love people who are great under pressure. What a fantastic life comeback for a really great guy!Such a “puff piece” on Nancy Pelosi by @60minutes, yet her leadership has passed no meaningful Legislation. All they do is Investigate, as it turns out, crimes that they instigated & committed. The Mueller No Collusion decision wasn’t even discussed-and she was a disaster at W.H..@SteveHiltonx “This is President Trump trying to deliver on his promises while the bureaucratic machine fights his agenda. He needs populist allies. These changes are not chaos, but rather progress. All this is President Trump at his absolute best.” Thank you Steve!Chinese Telecom Giant Huawei hires former Obama Cyber Security Official as a lobbyist. This is not good, or acceptable! @FoxNews @SteveHiltonxSIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Cher gets redpilled.Nancy Pelosi is trying to get this video removed from Trump's Twitter account. It would be a shame if it got shared even more.13 days after BengazhiCBS Drama 'The Good Fight' Tweet with ’Assassinate Trump' Sparks Calls for Secret Service Investigation🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:WINNERS ONLY😂 😂 😂 😂America Without The Electoral CollegeLiberals after hearing they may have to face the consequences of the immigration policies they supportState of Reddit since 2016Monday, April 15th:TODAY'S ACTION:Proclamation on Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2019President Trump Participates in a Roundtable Discussion on the Economy and Tax Reform🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:What do I know about branding, maybe nothing (but I did become President!), but if I were Boeing, I would FIX the Boeing 737 MAX, add some additional great features, & REBRAND the plane with a new name. No product has suffered like this one. But again, what the hell do I know?Mueller, and the A.G. based on Mueller findings (and great intelligence), have already ruled No Collusion, No Obstruction. These were crimes committed by Crooked Hillary, the DNC, Dirty Cops and others! INVESTIGATE THE INVESTIGATORS!Congress should come back to D.C. now and FIX THE IMMIGRATION LAWS!Before Nancy, who has lost all control of Congress and is getting nothing done, decides to defend her leader, Rep. Omar, she should look at the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and ungrateful U.S. HATE statements Omar has made. She is out of control, except for her control of Nancy!THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN (We will never forget)!The Radical Left Democrats will never be satisfied with anything we give them. They will always Resist and Obstruct!I finally agree with @Cher!Mark Morgan, President Obama’s Border Patrol Chief, gave the following message to me: “President Trump, stay the course.” I agree, and believe it or not, we are making great progress with a system that has been broken for many years!Those Illegal Immigrants who can no longer be legally held (Congress must fix the laws and loopholes) will be, subject to Homeland Security, given to Sanctuary Cities and States!The Mueller Report, which was written by 18 Angry Democrats who also happen to be Trump Haters (and Clinton Supporters), should have focused on the people who SPIED on my 2016 Campaign, and others who fabricated the whole Russia Hoax. That is, never forget, the crime..... ... ....Since there was no Collusion, why was there an Investigation in the first place! Answer - Dirty Cops, Dems and Crooked Hillary!Heading to the Great State of Minnesota!Spoke to @TigerWoods to congratulate him on the great victory he had in yesterday’s @TheMasters, & to inform him that because of his incredible Success & Comeback in Sports (Golf) and, more importantly, LIFE, I will be presenting him with the PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM!So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!The forgotten voters of the 2016 Election are now doing great. The Steel Industry is rebuilding and expanding at a pace that it hasn’t seen in decades. Our Country has one of the best Economies in many years, perhaps ever. Unemployment numbers best in 51 years. Wow!God bless the people of France!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:What a fucking cunt. Shitting on divorced dads.Ave MariaEXPOSED: Clinton Foundation Donor 'Helped Fund' Ukraine ReportBrad Parscale on Twitter: "Tax cuts are real, many in the media just doesn’t want you to know. The truth doesn’t fit their destructive narrative. This is just another collapsing lie in their web of lies."Jewish Leaders Invited To White House As Democrats Face Accusations Of Anti-Semitism🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:REALITYHappy Tax DayDAMMIT JOE! Can't we just have one thing?!MAGA!Tucker is calling out Valerie Jarett's new book as a fraud for being #14 on the NYT bestseller list. He cites that Amazon has sold no copies of it LOL. Everything Democrats do is a scam.Tuesday, April 16th:TODAY'S ACTION:Proclamation on Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., 2019Presidential Veto Message to the Senate to Accompany S.J. Res. 7The 2019 White House Spring Garden ToursPresident Trump Signs Executive Order on EnergyIvanka Trump Visits EthiopiaFirst Lady Melania Trump Visits Fort Bragg🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:A must read, Andy McCarthy’s column today, “Dirty dealings of dirt devils who concocted Trump-Russia probe.” The greatest Scam in political history. If the Mainstream Media were honest, which they are not, this story would be bigger and more important than Watergate. Someday!No Collusion - No Obstruction!So weird to watch Crazy Bernie on @FoxNews. Not surprisingly, @BretBaier and the “audience” was so smiley and nice. Very strange, and now we have @donnabrazile?I will be in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Saturday, April 27th at the Resch Center — 7:00pm (CDT). Big crowd expected! #MAGANo Collusion - No Obstruction!Just signed a critical bill to formalize drought contingency plans for the Colorado River. Thanks to @SenMcSallyAZ for getting it done. Big deal for Arizona!Many Trump Fans & Signs were outside of the @FoxNews Studio last night in the now thriving (Thank you President Trump) Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for the interview with Crazy Bernie Sanders. Big complaints about not being let in-stuffed with Bernie supporters. What’s with @FoxNews?Bernie Sanders and wife should pay the Pre-Trump Taxes on their almost $600,000 in income. He is always complaining about these big TAX CUTS, except when it benefits him. They made a fortune off of Trump, but so did everyone else - and that’s a good thing, not a bad thing!I believe it will be Crazy Bernie Sanders vs. Sleepy Joe Biden as the two finalists to run against maybe the best Economy in the history of our Country (and MANY other great things)! I look forward to facing whoever it may be. May God Rest Their Soul!On Trumps ICC Win, Dems and Republicans See Eye to Eye | RealClearPoliticsSIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Swalwell: I Will Jail Those Who Defy My Gun Grabbing AgendaTucker Carlson: 'In 20 years, every fifth grader will believe 9/11 was committed by white supremacists'Behind the Obama administration’s shady plan to spy on the Trump campaignHoly shit! They're pulling the MUh RuSSiA card on Barr now. They are SCARED of this guy! hahahahahaDemocrats can never find the certificates: Somalia-Born Candidate for Congress Accused of Immigration/Marriage Fraud🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Let's all give a loud Huzzah for Jean-Marc Fournier who ran into burning Notre-Dame Cathedral to save the Crown of Thorns4D chess move!A little switcharoo there...Bernie Sanders at the Fox News town hallI used to be a DemocratWednesday, April 17th:TODAY'S ACTION:President Trump Participates in an Opportunity Zone Conference🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Wow! FBI made 11 payments to Fake Dossier’s discredited author, Trump hater Christopher Steele. @OANN @JudicialWatch The Witch Hunt has been a total fraud on your President and the American people! It was brought to you by Dirty Cops, Crooked Hillary and the DNC.Democrats in Congress must return from their Vacations and change the Immigration Laws, or the Border, despite the great job being done by Border Patrol, will only get worse. Big sections of Wall now being built!Just had a wonderful conversation with @Pontifex Francis offering condolences from the People of the United States for the horrible and destructive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. I offered the help of our great experts on renovation and construction as I did.... ... ....in my conversation yesterday with President @EmmanuelMacron of France. I also wished both Pope Francis and President Macron a very Happy Easter!Nolte: Poll Shows Media Failed to Gaslight Public About Trump Campaign Spying http://bit.ly/2VRXs8K via @BreitbartNewsSIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Tech Censorship: Instagram Bans Pro-Trump Cartoonist Ben GarrisonJustice Dept. to end ‘catch and release’ detention for migrantsHOLY...FUCKING...SHIT ! WAPO Editorial column admits Fox News was right all along, compares the anti Trump fake news bias in media is worthy of investigation. Compares bias to Watergate.Attorney General William Barr will hold a press conference to discuss Mueller report at 9:30 AM ET Thursday. Rosenstein will be there also.🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Caught red handed: Melania meets with Bill Barr just before release of Mueller report, they both say they discussed grandchildren...oh waitWhite Leftists IRL#HillarysBitchMuhammad the gay icon🏳️‍🌈😘Winning!Face it Sleepy Sessions supporters! Your boy was an impotent loser. Finally, Barr is doing what should've been done 2 years ago. Change my mind.Thursday, April 18th:TODAY'S ACTION:President Trump Delivers Remarks at the Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:The Greatest Political Hoax of all time! Crimes were committed by Crooked, Dirty Cops and DNC/The Democrats.PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!Attorney General William Barr’s Press Conference today at 9:30 AM ET. Watch on @FoxNews @OANNNo Collusion - No Obstruction!As I have been saying all along, NO COLLUSION - NO OBSTRUCTION!EPIC memeToday, I was thrilled to host the @WWP Soldier Ride once again at the @WhiteHouse. We were all deeply honored to be in the presence of TRUE AMERICAN HEROES....“Donald Trump was being framed, he fought back. That is not Obstruction.” @JesseBWatters I had the right to end the whole Witch Hunt if I wanted. I could have fired everyone, including Mueller, if I wanted. I chose not to. I had the RIGHT to use Executive Privilege. I didn’t!Anything the Russians did concerning the 2016 Election was done while Obama was President. He was told about it and did nothing! Most importantly, the vote was not affected.When there is not an underlying crime with regard to Collusion (in fact, the whole thing was a made up fraud), it is difficult to say that someone is obstructing something. There was no underlying crime.” @marthamaccallum @FoxNews“If dozens of Federal prosecutors spent two years trying to charge you with a crime, and found they couldn’t, it would mean there wasn’t any evidence you did it - and that’s what happened here - that’s what we just learned from the Mueller Report.” @TuckerCarlson“The Mueller Report is perhaps the single most humiliating thing that has ever happened to the White House Press in the history of this Country. They know they lied...Many reporters lied about Russia Collusion and so much more. Clapper & Brennan, all lies” @TuckerCarlsonKimberley Strassel should get the Pulitzer. She is a treasure (and I don’t know her) who correctly called the Russia Hoax right from the start! Others who were soooo wrong will get the Prize. Fake News!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:ATTY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR BRIEFS THE NATION PRIOR TO RELEASING THE MUELLER REPORT - LIVETrump 2020 Campaign statement from @parscale on the #MuellerReport - "The Obama-era DOJ and FBI must answer for their misdeeds and the scam that they perpetrated against the American people. Justice will be served."MAGAthread: The Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election.Preliminary Mueller Report Analysis: Pedes Who Predicted A Cover Up Were RightPresident Trump Responds to Barr Presser: I'm Having a Good Day, No Collusion, No ObstructionVP Mike Pence: No Collusion — No Obstruction. My statement below:🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Say it with me folks: No CollusionIMAGINE BEING MAD THAT YOUR PRESIDENT DIDNT COMMIT A CRIME. 🤣😂🤣😂😆Pepe is up and at the salt mine ready for a record harvest today. There is said to be so much salt that Pepe won’t be able to mine it all on his own. Will you help Pepe?President Trump: Time to Turn the TablesAn Homage to #RussiaGateFriday, April 19th:TODAY'S ACTION:Proclamation on National Park Week, 2019🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Statements are made about me by certain people in the Crazy Mueller Report, in itself written by 18 Angry Democrat Trump Haters, which are fabricated & totally untrue. Watch out for people that take so-called “notes,” when the notes never existed until needed. Because I never.... ... ...agreed to testify, it was not necessary for me to respond to statements made in the “Report” about me, some of which are total bullshit & only given to make the other person look good (or me to look bad). This was an Illegally Started Hoax that never should have happened, a... ... ....big, fat, waste of time, energy and money - $30,000,000 to be exact. It is now finally time to turn the tables and bring justice to some very sick and dangerous people who have committed very serious crimes, perhaps even Spying or Treason. This should never happen again!The Washington Post and New York Times are, in my opinion, two of the most dishonest media outlets around. Truly, the Enemy of the People!Time for Democrats to accept reality(Retweeting Matt Gaetz) “You have guys that come through here that do this for a living…they bring groups across, they bring drugs across.”Sheriff Mark Lamb from @PinalCSO showed us today how illegal immigrants and smugglers travel through the Arizona desert. @RepAndyBiggsAZ @sherifflamb1(Retweeting Mark Levin) More on the phony collusion scam(Retweeting Sean Hannity) Mueller’s Final Report ‘Completely Vindicates’ President Trump 👇“TRUMP HAS BEEN TOTALLY VINDICATED”Wishing a Happy Passover to all those celebrating in America, Israel, and around the world!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:VERY CLEAN PRESIDENT - DEM. HOAX DESTROYEDSARA CARTER ON HANNITY: “There will be indictments. There will be an avalanche. According the sources I was speaking with just today people are already turning on each other. We are going to see senior officials at DOJ & FBI throw each other under the bus to save themselves.Ben Carson To Kick Illegal Immigrants Out Of HUD Housing, Will Give Aid To Poor Americans InsteadTeam Trump: Why didn’t President Obama act when he first heard of Russian interference?Thank you!🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Grandpa TrumpI just love GEOTUS and his way of explaining things.They’re gonna spend a year and a half trying to out-socialism each other while simultaneously trying to impeach the most successful POTUS in modern history. Buy stock in popcorn companies. 🍿LMAO - Lyin' Brian Williams of MSNBC asks Jay Sekulow where Mueller Report says "No collusion" - Sekulow reads the second pageHave a Blessed Good Friday PedesSaturday, April 20th:🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Despite the fact that the Mueller Report should not have been authorized in the first place & was written as nastily as possible by 13 (18) Angry Democrats who were true Trump Haters, including highly conflicted Bob Mueller himself, the end result is No Collusion, No Obstruction!The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to stir up and anger the pols and as many people as possible seldom mentioning the fact that the Mueller Report had as its principle conclusion the fact that there was NO COLLUSION WITH RUSSIA. The Russia Hoax is dead!United States weekly jobless claims just hit a 50 year low. The economy is doing GREAT!The end result of the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. political history is No Collusion with Russia (and No Obstruction). Pretty Amazing!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Trump 2020 campaign donations soar after Mueller report with $1 MILLION pouring in just a day after its release | Daily Mail OnlineTop 10 things the media got wrong about ‘collusion’ and ‘obstruction’Rush Limbaugh says Mueller should be: 'Trump attempted to obstruct our coup'Kim Foxx issues a statement saying she wont be saying anything - as another member of her team steps down. This arrogant bitch is going down!🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Happy Easter Mr. President, May God Bless You and This Country!Walls Work!Omar Blaming Trump For Her MouthTOTALLY VINDICATED!Some tunes to help you jam through all this winning:FACEspitshinehelgasuedeWhy iii Love The MoonMAGA ON PATRIOTS! #robgray

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hellofastestnewsfan · 6 years ago

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The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to condemn anti-Semitism, along with a litany of bigotries against Muslims, immigrants, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, LGBT people, and members of other religious minorities. The resolution followed a week of drama in the Democratic Party, with members clashing over yet another controversial comment on Israel by Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. In a recent panel discussion, she suggested that pro-Israel political groups in Washington “push allegiance to a foreign country,” seeming to echo the classically anti-Semitic allegation that Jews are more loyal to other Jews or to Israel than to the United States.

Thursday’s resolution was an attempt at compromise between House members who believe Omar has repeatedly dabbled in anti-Semitic tropes, and those who feel she has been unfairly berated for criticizing and singled out because she is black and Muslim. The resolution specifically condemns intimations of dual loyalty wielded against Jews in discussion about Israel, along with similar accusations made against Muslims in the wake of 9/11. This week, a poster connecting Omar to the September 11 terrorist attacks was displayed outside the West Virginia House of Delegates during a state GOP event.

While this vote passed 407 to 23, with unanimity from Democrats in attendance, the party was really voting on something much bigger: how to balance competing visions for the future of the party. The debate over Ilhan Omar reflects the radical shift happening in the Democratic base. The party’s young, multiethnic, definitively progressive wing has demonstrated its power to steer the country’s conversation on Israel and Palestine. Muslim political leaders have helped make this happen. Omar and her colleague from Michigan, Rashida Tlaib—along with activists such as Linda Sarsour, who helped lead the national Women’s March—have emerged as visible symbols of American progressivism. These leaders are pushing a vision of the Democratic Party as the unambiguous champion of the marginalized. Several 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, including Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren, have expressed their support for Omar.

And yet, the firestorms over Omar’s Israel comments show that the party doesn’t have the tools to smoothly negotiate competing claims of marginalization, especially when it comes to Jews, Muslims, Israel, and Palestine. As the progressive wing of the Democratic Party continues to gain power and push for changes to American policies on Palestine, this problem of conflicting identities and convictions will return again and again, testing the Democrats’ ability to live up to their claim as the party of the marginalized.

In November, Omar and Tlaib became the first Muslim women ever elected to the U.S. Congress. Especially among young Muslims, their election was seen as a triumph, demonstrating that women like them—a Somali refugee and a Palestinian—have a place in America’s halls of power. Both women quickly emerged as vocal champions of an issue that many American Muslims care deeply about: dismantling the strong American alliance with Israel and defending the rights of Palestinians.

Although neither Tlaib nor Omar represents a predominantly Muslim congressional district, their politics reflect a major change in Muslim political identity in recent years. According to the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, American Muslims tend to be much younger and more religious than other Americans. They are racially diverse and very progressive; they strongly support causes such as Black Lives Matter and immigrant rights. This is a big change from even two decades ago. “The first wave of the post-9/11 responses [was] to emphasize the Americanness … of the American Muslim community—a willingness to wrap ourselves in the flag, and to swear fidelity to the country,” says Omid Safi, the director of the Duke University Islamic Studies Center. “A shift has taken place where, increasingly, American Muslims … are expressing themselves in the language of being … unapologetically pro-justice.”

Compared with the past, American Muslims are also more politically involved—and willing to advocate vocally for Palestinian rights. “There was almost no conversation years ago … by any mainstream Democrats about the policies of any Israeli administration that was in power at the time,” says Dean Obeidallah, a Muslim comedian who hosts a show on Sirius XM and has family in the West Bank. And “up until a few years ago, there were almost no Muslims involved in politics. We weren’t there as human beings, to be a counter-narrative. Now we’re active.”

In terms of numbers, Muslims make up a small part of the Democratic Party—after all, they only account for roughly 1 percent of the American population. But especially under the Trump administration, support for Muslims has been a central part of the Democratic Party’s identity. Politicians have pledged to fight the president’s so-called Muslim ban, Islamophobic rhetoric, and attacks on immigrants. “I think Donald Trump woke everyone [up],” Obeidallah says. “His open bigotry has spurred people to get active, and understand that the stakes are too important to sit out.” Democrats’ rush to defend American Muslims from perceived and real political attacks is central to its claim as party of the marginalized.

The inconvenient flip side to being that party, however, is that Democratic leaders actually have to listen to its putatively marginalized members. In recent weeks, as Omar has repeatedly made comments that alarmed some American Jews, claiming that support for Israel is “all about the Benjamins” and seeming to flirt with the trope of dual loyalty, left-wing groups have vocally defended her, claiming that supposed fear of Omar’s anti-Semitism is being wielded to undermine her criticisms of Israel. Established Democratic leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have distanced themselves from Omar and called on her to apologize. But progressives have revolted on Twitter and in backroom meetings, delaying the House resolution on anti-Semitism that Democrats promised earlier this week. “We are not just to be paraded symbols of diversity,” Safi says. “This is our House. This is our country.”

Pelosi seemed a little shaken as she addressed the House floor on Thursday. “I salute all our members for demonstrating the courage to have this difficult conversation,” she said. “Disagreeing sometimes, but never questioning the patriotism or motivation of anyone with whom we serve.” Notably, Omar did not address the floor.

This is a huge shift in power and posture from just a few years ago, when a former representative from Minnesota, Keith Ellison, was accused of attacking Israel and supporting Louis Farrakhan, the notoriously anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam. Ellison, who is Muslim, was also called out by top Democrats, prominent Jewish leaders, and pro-Israel groups. But he didn’t get the same powerful upswelling of support—the progressive, largely pro-Palestinian wing of the Democratic Party didn’t have nearly as much power. Today, if Democrats’ support for Muslims “remains at the level of token celebration when it’s convenient, and then immediately throwing them under the bus, well that’s one option,” Safi says. “I think most American Muslims would say we have no interest in being part of that.”

As the Democratic Party tilts left, it faces hefty liabilities, which the controversy over Omar has powerfully illustrated. In progressive activist circles, support for Palestine is often part of the price of admission, along with support for LBGT rights and causes such as Black Lives Matter. This can foster a lack of sensitivity around language that tends to alarm American Jews, progressive and otherwise, including anti-Semitic tropes around Jews’ love of money, outsize influence on banks and governments, and divided loyalties. “We carry some responsibility on the left for not acknowledging that anti-Semitism just exists in American society,” says Eric Ward, the executive director of the Western States Center, which trains Jewish and Muslim leaders on anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. “It is not simply a phenomenon of the right, nor a phenomenon of the left. It is in the air we breathe. If we aren’t conscious of it, we will sometimes act out anti-Semitism, in the same way that we may act out sexism or homophobia or racism.”

Anti-Semitism highlights the tension inherent in Democrats’ effort to be the party of the marginalized: Sometimes defending one group can come at the expense of hurting another. In general, it can be difficult for Jewish fear to be heard in progressive spaces. “We live in a society that is based off of the binary race definition of black and white. Most Jews are not people of color,” Ward says. “For the left, it has become very difficult to understand that there are people in the United States who aren’t people of color, yet still face a form of racialized bigotry.” On Thursday, several members of Congress, including the Democrat Eliot Engel of New York, criticized the fact that the House resolution grew over the past two days to include basically every form of discrimination against minorities, rather than specifically addressing anti-Semitism. The 23 Republicans who voted no ostensibly did so for this reason. Steve King, the Iowa representative who has been accused of supporting white nationalism, voted present.

The difficulty of any group being heard is exacerbated in conversations about Israel and Palestine, an issue that many Jews and Muslims see as a central part of their identity. Often, “Muslims and Jews come in with the biggest and best of intentions,” says Aziza Hasan, the head of NewGround, a group that facilitates Muslim-Jewish dialogue. But they “start to realize and uncover that [with] some of the things we say, we unknowingly walk into tropes and histories that we weren’t aware of.”

While this round of the ongoing Omar controversy has seemingly come to a conclusion, the underlying conflict is going to remain urgent for Democrats, especially in the lead-up to the 2020 election. “Part of the genuine, multiracial, multireligious coalition-building of today is recognizing that African Americans, Jews, queer folk, women, poor folk, Native Americans, Muslims, Hispanics—all of us have experienced a kind of marginalization,” Safi says. “At different points in time, the Trump regime is going to target one or more of us, or even try to pit us against one another.”

Many Jews and Muslims, across the spectrum of positions on Israel, have worked hard to form relationships and better understand the nature of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in America today. But others are more interested in calling out their opponents. “Being able to talk through and seek deeper understanding with integrity and honesty, with respect, isn’t in fashion—it’s literally … not expedient,” Hasan says. “My biggest worry is that if we are so focused on winning all the time, where is that going to lead us … ? … We’re going to be a minority-majority country here pretty soon, and we need to figure out how we’re going to interact in society.”

If nothing else, the Democrats will have to figure out how to negotiate the differences in their coalition on Israel and Palestine to avoid losing more days to headlines blaring another trope: “Democrats in disarray.”

“Whether it is antiblack racism, whether it’s Islamophobia, whether it’s anti-Semitism—it has no place within the halls of Congress. And we should have a party that is strong enough to hold one another accountable without demonizing one another, and without disparate treatment based off of race or religion or gender,” Ward says. “Two years [and] 44 days of Donald Trump find the political left in this country rearranging deck chairs on the [Titanic] … throwing each other overboard.”

from The Atlantic https://ift.tt/2HlvL3K

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