Discussion: House Dems Will Vote On Resolution Addressing Omar's Latest Remarks On Israel

I donā€™t see Rep. Omar having an especially long career in Democratic politics if she canā€™t figure out how to talk about complex, nuanced subjects without accidentally (?) trying to chew her foot off.

Weā€™re holding her to a much higher standard than the GOP adopts. Thatā€™s fine. Iā€™m quite okay having higher standards than the GOP.

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Here we go again - Democrats could screw up a wet dream.

lā€™m with Representative Omar on this one, and those inventing reasons to attack her prove her point.

Only half-joking - Iā€™m starting to feel like Iā€™m being radicalized by stupid Democrats.

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Even though Congresswoman Omar has the savoir-faire of a T-Rex, any attempt at debate about Israel/AIPAC shouldnā€™t be met with accusations of antisemitism. Weā€™re better than that.

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And sheā€™s better than you, by far.

Enough is enough. This is the Dems forming a circular firing squad in response to Faux News propaganda and the GOPā€™s obvious new strategy of trying to label all of liberalism and the entire Dem party as anti-semitic. Itā€™s weak and another cave in the face of people saying mean things about them. Omarā€™s word choice is unfortunate sometimes and her failure to articulate her points fully and accurately is driving me fucking crazy, BUT sheā€™s not fucking wrong. Not even remotely.

Where is it fucking written that we can complain about money in politics from every group on the planet EXCEPT Jews? That doing so is automatically anti-semitic? Why the fuck canā€™t the Dems just stand up and stand FOR something for once? Israelā€™s policies towards Palestine and the Palestinian people are outright fascist and genocidal at this point. Their expansionism and drift towards far-right neofascism and the use of ā€œour history of victimhood justifies any atrocities we desire to commitā€ bullshit is all abhorrent and yet nobody can utter a fucking PEEP about it without getting accused of neo-nazism. WHY? Because thereā€™s a giant fucking lobby comprised of myriad groups with millions and millions in campaign donations theyā€™re willing to hand out to the most obsequious, fawning pro-Israel asshole out thereā€¦just like there is for gun nuts, anti-abortion crazies, big banks, insurance companies, Big Oil, Big Pharma and all sorts of other lobbying cabals. Omar needs a lesson in making her points without triggering this shit, if only because weā€™re never going to change the dynamic that allows this distraction/deflection bullshit to be triggered in the first place, BUT SHEā€™S NOT WRONG.

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When you know Thanksgiving dinner is going to come down to a tussle between Uncle Howard and the cousin in the Planned Parenthood T-shirt, you donā€™t install cameras and advertise it on ABC Sports. Couldnā€™t they do this in some other way than a resolution saying ā€œCircular firing squad, commenceā€?

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Especially when AIPAC is literally the very definition of a group using its wealth and influence to effect foreign policy to favor a specific country not always necessarily ours. That they are Jewish does NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT warrant MORE criticism of them, but it sure as hell does not grant them a free pass, either.

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House majority is asking for it

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Maybe someone can educate me on why this is considered anti-Semitism, because I ainā€™t seeing it.

Why is Israel the unique country that cannot be criticized regarding its politics without the criticizers automatically getting an anti-Semite label?

If we questioned peopleā€™s dual allegiances to Russia, Iran, Turkey or any other adversary or friend, nobody blinks an eye.

Iā€™m open to be schooled here.

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Omar wades into sensitive topics with blunt force and a tin ear. I am reminded so much of Bill Maher when he wades into discussions on Islam and Islamic fundamentalism. Itā€™s always a bit of a nails on chalkboard moment. In fact, an Omar v Maher debate would be quite entertaining, but she can do that when sheā€™s no longer in Congress. While she is a member of the Democratic caucus, she needs to avoid wading into these topics on twitter. She doesnā€™t have the skills or chops to do it. What value do comments like ā€˜pledging loyalty to another nationā€™ add? Iā€™d say none. Why get snippy with another Democrat on twitter? Seriously, up your game or find something else to do.

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Iā€™m sorry if I offended you. My point was that something like this should stay out of the Twitter-sphere and spoken about with eloquence. As weā€™ve seen on a couple of different occasions, her words/goal/purpose are misinterpreted and misunderstood when ā€œvoicedā€ over Twitter. This is a serious and touchy subject. It should be handled with grace. Not with the clumsiness of Trump-like methods. (over Twitter)

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I agreed with her too.

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Whatever her intentions may be, and I suspect they arenā€™t antisemitic, she either needs to leave this topic alone or learn to talk about it in a different way. Regardless of her intentions, sheā€™s coming off as antisemitic and, unfortunately, thereā€™s just a different standard for what a Muslim woman can get away with and what others could get away with saying. Itā€™s not fair, but itā€™s the world we live in.

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+1000. The last thing we need to do is (a) give Trump/Pubs the line that the Democrats are anti-semetic, or (b) are pro-terrorist.

The reality is that Omar is either willfully sending dog-whistles because she thinks it helps her or she is really fucking stupid.

The way to say it is ā€œI respect the ideals behind the founding of Isreal, I respect the pluralistic and inclusive and democratic values behind its founding. I support the Isreali people in their wish, as should be all, to live in peace. However, in many of the current policies and in specific its treatment of those who are in lands occupied in 1967 and that the UN has set aside for a Palestinian state, the current isreali leadership has deviated from Isrealā€™s ideals, and I entirely oppose those current policies.ā€

Had she said this probably 50% of Jews in the US would have stood with herā€¦ Yet, rather than recognizing that there are disagreements, she argued that any support for Isreal was simply Jews putting their religion over the USā€™s national interest. That is just out and out anti-semitism. It is just as bad as Jim Jordon sending out a tweet about $teir.

But if we are going to go after Jim Jordon, we have to go after Omar first.

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Care to supply the exact quote?

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Iā€™m really not being a smartass, I promise, but THAT is but one thing being bought with that money and influence - the reflexive shield against any and all criticisms. The vicious dishonest attacks cost extra, but these groups can afford that, too.

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Oh ffs. This is absurd. Iā€™m with Omar on this. Enough already with any criticism of Israeli policy being somehow turned into anti-Semitism. Here we have an administration thatā€™s banned Muslims from seven countries from entering the country, and yet weak-spined Democrats are going to attack one of their own for being too vocal in her criticism of our support for a state well on the way to apartheid. Whereā€™s the House resolution condemning Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories? God, this pisses me off.

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I do too. If she could stop using blunt force trauma to broach the subject, and instead, gracefully articulate her views and opinions, a fruitful (and necessary) debate could begin. She has a point. It gets lost in her delivery.

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Exactly. Where did she say that indeed?

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