Cori Bush (MO-01) weighs in the Ilhan Omar controversy

[brooklynite]

Link to tweet

[JohnSJ]

1. What a misguided argument. In other words, you can only disagree with someone if they are

are not a person of color?

That is effectively what Cori Bush is saying.

That Rep. Omar compares the U.S. to the Taliban and Hamas is hands off, regardless, if the false equivalency is wrong

I guess it was wrong for Democrats to criticize Rep. Omar for not voting for the resolution acknowledging the Armenian genocide

Holding someone accountable for the words you say that you disagree with is not attacking.

[StarfishSaver]

6. I hear her saying something different

She's saying that if her Democratic colleagues have a problem with what she's said, instead of publicly berating her (and unwittingly joining with racist and even threatening forces who mean her harm), they could just walk down the hall and talk to her about it. The fact that she's black and Muslim is not a reason not to criticize her. But it is a reason to be more sensitive about the tone and effect of that criticism, given that Black, female and Muslim public figures are under heightened threat and going after her this way could feed into the already dangerous situation she is in, through no fault of her own.

I've often wondered about this in other situations when Members and Senators take to Twitter to criticize their colleagues or demand they take a certain course of action ... My first thought often is why are they on social media demanding that their colleagues or leadership do thus and so? Don't they go to the caucus meetings where this is discussed and feedback is invited? Can't they just call the person up, invite them to go down to the Rayburn cafeteria or Members lounge for a chat or even just talk with them about it on the floor or in the Cloakroom during breaks between votes? Why publicly call them out that way if they really just want to express their feelings or maybe try to change their minds instead of just hoping to make them look bad by putting them on blast?

[JohnSJ]

8. It was Representative Omar who utilized social media to make public statements that not everyone

agreed with. In fact many from the progressive caucus have used social media platforms to criticize their Democratic colleagues publicly, instead of walking down the hall to engage them personally

The criticism being launched toward Rep Omar’s comments aren’t because of her religious beliefs or the color of her skin, it is because they disagree either her false equivalencies that she choose to engage in on a public forum. She wanted this discussion public, otherwise she would not have used social media. This isn’t the first time she has made statements that cause disagreements in a public setting.

Rep. Bush’s analysis of the situation I believe is wrong.

[StarfishSaver]

11. I'm not talking about making statements about issues on social media

I'm talking about going on social media to criticize a colleague when you can just talk to her face to face about it.

And my point is not limited to this current situation with Ilhan Omar. It's a common tactic these days among many members and senators and I think it's counterproductive and seems more designed to grandstand and bully than to actually influence behavior.

[JohnSJ]

19. That may be, but it should be noted that those in the progressive caucus have their share of using

social media to go after fellow Democrats, so if they want to engage through social media, it’s a double edged sword

The Democrats criticism is not because they are racist, but because they disagree with her comments

[StarfishSaver]

21. I don't disagree

That's what I have been saying - This is not just a one-off. It's a common phenomenon these days that just doesn't make sense to me - unless the point is not to actually influence colleagues and policy but to get attention and stir up shyt.

And no, I don't think they're going after her because they're racist. But I do think that they are insensitive and tone deaf to the impact That can occur as a result of making this personal regarding a member who is regularly targeted and whose personal safety is jeopardized by racists because of her race and religion.

[JohnSJ]

22. I despise social media for all the arguments you made above. Most times it is used for "bullying",

not to convince people on a particular issue

[StarfishSaver]

23. Exactly!

[spanone]

9. ⇧⇧⇧⇧⇧⇧⇧⇧⇧⇧

[Cha]

42. Everyone gets their "Feet held to the FIRE"..

no Exceptions...

We Are Allowed to Speak OUT, TOO.. without being "shamed" .

[LanternWaste]

46. What specifically lead you to that inaccurate inference and summation of her sentiment?

[JohnSJ]

48. I made it clear in my response. Disagreeing with someone does not make them a racist

[DiamondShark]

55. I've heard the insurrectionists on 1/6 were the American Taliban.

Is that a proper assessment on the group that invaded the American Capitol on 1/6?

[JohnSJ]

56. They were domestic terrorists. What is your point?

[mcar]

2. What is she talking about?

Is she truly saying that it's racist or sexist to call out a clearly objectionable comment made by a black woman?

[comradebillyboy]

3. That's exactly what she is saying.

[Rustyeye77]

13. Yes....she is truly saying that.

Total bs

[gratuitous]

14. A curious juxtaposition

Because any number of Rep. Omar's critics are saying that it's anti-Semitic to call out clearly objectionable behavior by the Israeli government and military.

[StarfishSaver]

17. But that's different

Or something ...

[gratuitous]

18. Of course it is

[MontanaMama]

4. Rep Omar has made many statements

deemed controversial over the years...we're not allowed to call it out because she's a POC? Do I have that right?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. For this thread

Link to tweet

[StarfishSaver]

7. This is what I was talking about in my post above

Why do this in a tweet? They see her everyday, her office is not far from theirs ... why not call her up and talk to her about this, explain why they think she's wrong and try to convince her to take back what she said?

I just don't understand why Democrats keep publicly berating each other this way when they can just talk to one another.

[JohnSJ]

10. Why did Rep Omar do it in a tweet if she didn't want to engage publicly on it?

[StarfishSaver]

12. You completely missed my point.

Representative Omar stated a policy position. Her colleagues could simply disagree with the position and state their own views. Instead they've targeted her personally and are demanding that she change her position. As I've said, they could just talk to her directly, but they've chosen to talk to her through social media.

There's a difference between saying what you think about a policy issue and publicly calling out a colleague, telling them they should not have expressed the opinion they expressed about that policy issue, and demanding that they change their mind.

[brooklynite]

30. So Omar can state a policy position by Tweet, but her colleague has to "simply disagree"

The latest contretemps began on Monday, when Ms. Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, wrote on Twitter about a virtual exchange she had with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215514121

[StarfishSaver]

32. No

They can say they disagree and state their own opinions about the issue. They don't need to go to Twitter to tell her that she needs to take back what she said.

She's talking about an issue - they've made it personal and about her.

[FBaggins]

59. I think that you've missed the point of the previous two posts

Last edited Fri Jun 11, 2021, 08:48 AM - Edit history (1)

You are correct that it would have been preferable for leadership to express their opinion privately so that she could correct her statement as though it were a reply to public concerns. The problem is that it's hypocritical for some of her defenders (CPC, AOC, etc) to make that same claim while they not only "go to Twitter" to reply, but call huge numbers of Democrats racists while they do it.

I'm sure that those polite channels that are interior to the party work in both directions.

Omar's (public) reply claims that Schneider's reply above is filled with multiple offensive Islamaphobic tropes. I can't see any. Can you?

[RegularJam]

15. What I just read.

Come talk to us if something we said pisses you off. You might learn something.

[StarfishSaver]

16. Thank you!

[JohnSJ]

24. Right. Rep Omar used a public platform because she wanted to discuss it privately

[RegularJam]

25. Not sure what connection you are trying(failing) to make. nt

[JohnSJ]

27. The connection I was making was I think Rep Omar wanted a public discussion of this or she would not

have used Twitter to make it

[RegularJam]

28. I think you are struggling to see the timeline of events.

Or you are outright ignoring them, for some reason. Either way, bad look and logical fail.

Sometimes we want to attack someone so bad that we don’t make logical sense with our outbursts. Happens to a lot of people.

[JohnSJ]

34. What logic is equating the US to the Taliban and Hamas? You think that is a winning strategy in

the midterm, because without a doubt it will be brought up by the republicans

[StarfishSaver]

29. She wanted a public discussion of the issue

She wasn't looking for a public discussion about herself.

[JohnSJ]

39. I don't buy it. By Making those controversial statements equating the US with the Taliban and

Hamas, make it difficult to suppose she doesn’t personally believe that false equivalency

[StarfishSaver]

41. Whoosh

[JohnSJ]

44. I like the word whoosh. I think the comments are her personal beliefs, and I doubt you can separate

the two

I think the republicans love this distraction, and they will milk it for everything they can

Hopefully, the focus can be set back to the infrastructure and HR1 quickly

[StarfishSaver]

26. She wanted to share her views about the issue to the public

These other members have every right to do the same. But that's not what they did here. Their tweet goes straight at Rep. Omar, their colleague, who works right alongside them and whom they could easily directly talk with pretty much whenever they want. There's no need to talk to her through Twitter.

That's like someone going on Facebook to tell their spouse to empty the dishwasher when he's sitting next to them on the sofa.

[JohnSJ]

33. When someone makes a comment equating the US actions with the Taliban and Hamas on a

public forum, it is naive at best to believe that those comments won’t be called out some other fellow Democrats

In fact I would argue just from a political perspective, not countering that by Democrats would be a gift to the republicans. They will use that against us in the midterms equating that all Democrats feel that way.

Ignoring it would be a political mistake

[StarfishSaver]

35. Nothing wrong with calling out the comments

But they called HER out. That's very different.

As I said, probably calling on her to take back her comments is just weird since they don't need to use Twitter to speak to her. Go down the hall and talk to her. That would certainly be more likely to get the result they claim to seek while also not contributing to the threatening atmosphere she's surrounded by. I certainly don't think they're engaging in racism or threats, but by calling her out personally the way they did, they are feeding into and giving cover to those who are.

[Rustyeye77]

20. Cori... you blew it.

You had such promise.

[msfiddlestix]

31. I respect her response, and agree.

[Cha]

36. Disagreeing with Omar or Bush has NOTHING

to do with Race or Gender.

[StarfishSaver]

37. You're completely missing the point

This isn't about disagreeing with her comments. This is about making that disagreement very personal

[Cha]

40. My point stands.

[George II]

49. The statement issued by the eleven Democratic Members of Congress was not personal....

....to the extent that it referred to Omar's gender or race or religion. They were offended as Americans, as were many other Americans.

Bush is the one who brought up gender, race, and even a religion that was never mentioned in the Representatives' statement. SHE is the one who brought up "Black women", "anti-Blackness", and "Islamophobia".

The fact that the Representatives are upset with Omar's comments has nothing to do with her gender, race, or religion. Its Bush and now several others who have introduced those into the conversation.

For context, below is that statement by a group of 11 Representatives, five of whom are women - no mention of gender, race, or religion:

Link to tweet

[StarfishSaver]

50. It seems that if any of these people who took to Twitter to "urge Rep. Omar to clarify her words"

really wanted "clarification," they would have just picked up their phone and called or texted her.

[George II]

51. Well, they first issued a press release and then included it in a tweet sometime later (not sure....

....if it was immediate or an hour or so)

On the other hand, just the other day one of Omar's and Bush's allies attacked VP Harris' speech in Guatemala on Twitter (it's an unwritten rule that one not criticize a President or VP when they're out of the country). She also criticized Senators Manchin and Sinema on Twitter, and just yesterday bashed Biden on Facebook and Twitter (again, while he is out of the country)

In all those cases she very well could have done exactly what Omar and others are now saying - to quote Bush's tweet (yes TWEET!) above, "Talk to us directly".

It works both ways. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

[StarfishSaver]

52. If you read my posts on this

I repeatedly said that my comment is not limited to Omar's critics. This calling out fellow members on social media is very common among many members and I think It's ridiculous, whoever does it.

You work with each other, people - If you have an issue with what one of your colleagues says or does, walk down the damn hall and talk to them instead of calling each other out on Twitter.

[George II]

53. I've said that, too, to the effect, "you work in the same building, why not just walk across.....

....the hall and talk to them directly". I think many of these people never worked in a disciplined office environment. Talking over differences in person is the only way to do it.

I guess what bothers me is those who are complaining the most this week about it are those who made it fashionable to call out colleagues on Twitter or Facebook many months ago, AND they're doing it by introducing things that the Representatives never even mentioned or implied (i.e., gender, race, religion).

In fact, those who are complaining about it this week actually did the very same thing THIS WEEK several times, days before this statement was issued and tweeted this morning.

[StarfishSaver]

54. I hear you

But I also have a concern about this particular call-out ...

not because I think these Members are being racist or anti-Muslim. But I think they're showing a terrible tone-deafness to the fact that Omar IS under very threat to her safety from the right wing. For that reason, it's really important that her colleagues take extraordinary care not to feed into those threats by appearing to be targeting her or going after her personally when they disagree with her views.

So, while I generally have a problem with these kind of call-outs, for the reasons we've both referenced, seeing it done to her is particularly unsettling to me. Certainly these members, as I said, are not doing it because of her race or religion, but other, dangerous people ARE targeting her for those reasons and making their criticisms of her so personal and so public only emboldens and gives cover to the bad guys who hate her, not for her views, but for who she is. ("See ... It's not just us. Her DEMOCRAT colleagues can't stand her either!".)

[Mr.Bill]

38. Like it or not,

freedom of speech is not limited to walking down the hall and speaking to someone privately. Speaking out in public is what politicians do for a living.

[StarfishSaver]

43. Of course they have every right to speak to the public

But when they use Twitter to tell Rep. Omar what she should do, they aren't speaking to the public. They are speaking to HER. They're not just the average person on the street who use social media to communicate to people they otherwise can't reach. They are her colleagues who work down the hall from her and see her every day and could easily just talk to her.
Why not just do that?

This isn't just about Rep Omar. Members do this all the time. Instead of just talking to their colleagues and trying to influence them that way, they call them out on social media, which suggests they're really not trying to get anything done but are just grandstanding.

[Mr.Bill]

45. Twitter is a public forum.

I would assume they want the voters to hear what they are saying, and that's why they did it. There may be many times when they talk privately with her, we just wouldn't know about it.

It's partly why we post on a public forum instead of sending PMs to someone.

[madville]

57. Of course they wanted a public statement to be seen by all

Those are easy political points to score in swing districts, calling out a colleague for comparing the US and Israel to terrorist organizations is a no-brainer.

[madville]

58. By immediately throwing the race and sex card

It shows the original statements themselves are indefensible on their own. Cori Bush’s statement is nothing more than a weak attempt to derail more criticism.