Tlaib lashes out at centrist Dems over election debacle: 'I can't be silent'

[JoeOtterbein]

Politico

In a scathing memo, progressives say centrists are playing into Republicans “divide-and-conquer racism.”

By LAURA BARRÓN-LÓPEZ and HOLLY OTTERBEIN

11/10/2020 09:04 PM EST

Updated: 11/10/2020 09:41 PM EST

Rashida Tlaib isn’t apologizing for wanting to yank money away from bad police departments. She has no second thoughts about her embrace of the Black Lives Matter movement, or for wanting to aggressively fight climate change.

House Democrats lost seats instead of expanding their majority, underperforming expectations across the board. And moderates have pounced on liberals like Tlaib, the Michigan congresswoman, accusing them of handing conservatives a set of slogans and policies to scare voters.

But Tlaib and other House progressives don’t want to hear it. It all amounts to unfair blame-casting designed to shame them into staying quiet, they say, right as Democrats gain control of the White House.

“We're not going to be successful if we're silencing districts like mine,” said Tlaib, who told her colleagues something similar during a contentious call last week. “Me not being able to speak on behalf of many of my neighbors right now, many of which are Black neighbors, means me being silenced. I can't be silent.”

snip

more at link