Pelosi on Omar: Comments were 'not intentionally anti-Semitic'

[DonViejo]

By ANNA PALMER, JAKE SHERMAN and DANIEL LIPPMAN 03/07/2019 06:07 AM EST

-snip-

THIS HAPPENED WEDNESDAY as Pelosi was on the way from the House floor to her Capitol office suite, and the speaker got a slew of questions about REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MINN.) and her comments about Israel.

NBC’S GARRETT HAAKE asked PELOSI if she was worried that she’d have to put a resolution on the floor every time anyone said something offensive. “I don’t think so, and I don’t think this is just about comments by Congresswoman Omar, which I do not think were intentionally anti-Semitic.”

ON PELOSI … HEATHER CAYGLE, SARAH FERRIS and JOHN BRESNAHAN: “Omar uproar swamps Pelosi”: “With the fallout over Rep. Ilhan Omar’s controversial comments paralyzing House Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi found herself on the floor Wednesday afternoon asking some of her closest allies what exactly she should do.

“For 20 minutes, Pelosi huddled with senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus — House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, and Karen Bass and Barbara Lee of California — to try to determine what kind of resolution the CBC would back that rejected Omar’s remarks about Israel without unfairly singling her out. It’s a balance that Pelosi and her deputies initially failed to reach when a draft resolution began circulating Monday night.

more
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2019/03/07/pelosi-on-omar-comments-were-not-intentionally-anti-semitic-404908

[empedocles]

1. Sorry to see Speaker Pelosi having to spend so much energy with the opposite wings

of the Dem Party. Costly.

[Hortensis]

2. Good. Accept graciously and eyes right -- on the Republicans.

The point's been made, and learning curves all have ends somewhere.

[Autumn]

3. The truth sound much better. Rep. Omar's comments were intentionally not anti-Semitic. nt

[jcmaine72]

5. +1

[CrossingTheRubicon]

4. Omar should be reprimanded by name.

Using anti-Semitic tropes should be unacceptable in the Democratic Party.

[uponit7771]

6. She apologized for those statements already, why is this an issue still?!

[CrossingTheRubicon]

7. Because she turned around and made more after the apology.

[uponit7771]

10. No she did not

[DeminPennswoods]

15. No, she didn't

She asked why a group that lobbies for foreign interests (presumably AIPAC, but could be lobbyists for Saudi Arabia, whom she has also criticized, or other countries) is immune from criticism when it's ok to criticize other lobbyists like the NRA, the gas/oil/coal lobbyists, etc.

If, as you posted in another thread, you love Palestinians, then you should also be concerned about the influence of AIPAC and its ability to use that influence in the US to keep the rightwingers, who are the architects of Palestinian suffering and are doing great damage to Israel's democracy, in power in Israel.

[CrossingTheRubicon]

18. And in that speech she used the old "dual-loyality" trope.

It is a dog-whistle.

Democrats can make criticisms of Israeli policies and/or politicians without resort to making anti-Semitic comments.

Really. Not. Difficult.

[DeminPennswoods]

24. Nowhere in her remarks do the words "dual loyalty"

appear. The inference of her words is yours.

[CrossingTheRubicon]

25. Her comments are a textbook example of the dual loyalty trope.

"So for me I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is ok for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country."

[DeminPennswoods]

36. OK, be offended

It's a perfect example of Omar's point. Say something that can even remotely be interpreted as critical of US policy toward Israel and it's immediately and loudly labled as anti-semetic.

[CrossingTheRubicon]

37. Uh, no. Nice attempt at "re-framing" reality

[Skidmore]

9. Because the Republicans are trying to create

a talking point for the campaigns by trying to deflect from their racist ranks and policies and Omar is their designated example.

[uponit7771]

11. +1, there was a guy on MSNBC attempting to equate Omar to generations of the rights racism

[CrossingTheRubicon]

13. The Republicans--as dastardly as they can be--are not responsible for the words...

that come out of her mouth.

Omar is.

[LanternWaste]

22. They are however, responsible for making it more than it is

They are however, responsible for making it more than it is, making her apology less than it was, and manipulating the easily-led...

[CrossingTheRubicon]

23. Who gave then the ammunition?

Rep. Omar's words deserve condemnation by Democrats irrespective of Republican hypocrisy.

[uponit7771]

31. Humans ... and if they didn't have the ammo they'd make it up. We all know this by now

[theboss]

27. Because it's constant and consistent with her

This is just who she is.

[uponit7771]

30. This is false

[theboss]

33. Maybe she's hypnotized you, like the Jews have apparently tried to do.

Be careful with that.

(No one is going to understand this post, I'm sure. Oh well).

[uponit7771]

34. ?! What the hell does that mean? tia

[theboss]

35. Yep. No one understands the post. As I predicted

Maybe before you say that she is not consistent with her anti-Semitic statements, you should review her history of anti-Semitic statements.

Though "knowing what you are talking about" has never been a pre-requisite for posting here.

[DeminPennswoods]

8. Paralyzed? LOL!

Omar's comments hardly stopped Dems from passing HR1 and other bills or Chairmen Nadler, Cummings, Schiff and Waters from investigating Trump, corruption, Russia, finances, etc.

This is a completely made up controversy - on the order of Hillary's emails - so cable news and other media can get their fill of Dem "scandal" and not have to focus eclusively on digging and reporting on the real scandals involving every cabinet department in the administration, cabinet secretary and Trump.

[dalton99a]

12. +1. It's manufactured outrage

It would be political suicide for Omar to be anti-Semitic, and she knows it.

[theboss]

28. In her district? No, it would not.

And clearly being anti-Semitic is not a problem with this younger generation of Left-wingers.

[Mosby]

14. It's unintentionally happened 3 times now.

Maybe four, I'm losing track of the number of times Omar unintentionally said some Antisemitic stuff.

[Kaleva]

16. An article written by and qouting headless chickens

From the article:

“Omar uproar swamps Pelosi”

There is no truth to the above. And this comment below is also bogus:

"“With the fallout over Rep. Ilhan Omar’s controversial comments paralyzing House Democrats..."

House Dems are not paralyzed.

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2019/03/07/pelosi-on-omar-comments-were-not-intentionally-anti-semitic-404908

[dalton99a]

17. +1. It's a miracle that they can walk

[frazzled]

19. They need to have some specific diversity training for members of Congress

So that members do not "unintentionally" use anti-Semitic tropes, such as suggesting that Jews somehow control the government through money (the Benjamins remark); or that their patriotism is somehow suspect (the "dual allegiance" ) remark.

Honestly, this was never about criticizing the Israeli government or criticizing AIPAC (both of which deserve criticism, as do many other Middle Eastern governments and many other interest groups). It was about using well-worn dog-whistle calumnies, however subtle, that recall centuries of anti-Semitic propaganda. Truly, in this day where neo-Nazism is on the rise and anti-Semitic acts have risen sharply, there should be no room to excuse these "unintentional" slurs. Criticize Israeli government policies and AIPAC shenanigans as much as you like, but don't resort to dangerous slurs that have led to serious consequences for innocent, patriotic citizens. Obama criticized Israel's occupation actions severely, but he never ever crossed that line. And no one should be excused for doing so.

Truly, this is as serious as instances of implicit racism, homophobia, and sexism. And sensitivity training should help people understand that what they are saying is not harmless. It should extend to more than just members of Congress. People here who are dismissing the remarks are in need of some serious re-education themselves. Hopeless, I know. But just for the record.

[CrossingTheRubicon]

20. Well said!

[Mosby]

21. +1

[theboss]

26. What's worse? Calling out her anti-semitism or treating her like a child?

All these comments are "She's just a poor silly immigrant child....what does she know?"

[Hekate]

29. In other words, Ilhan Omar is not being thrown under the bus. IMHO she is young and teachable...

She now has the opportunity to learn. She just needs to demonstrate that she has and will.

In my opinion, this is a good thing. Maybe we Dems are finally learning something ourselves: not throw our own under the bus at the first mistake -- and especially not because the GOP/FOX tells us to.

Now about having AOC's back, because she is also being besmirched in the media...

[Act_of_Reparation]

32. There's a Republican spouting obviously intentional anti-Semitism every goddamned day...

...and the news just moves on. We, meanwhile, have to get the Speaker of the fucking House to address clumsy rhetoric? Liberal media my ass.