Washington, D.C. – Just days after Congresswoman Ilhan Omar compared the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban in a tweet, leading to bipartisan condemnation, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi went on CNN on Sunday to backpedal criticisms of Omar in shameful fashion.
Instead of seeking to remove Omar from her influential post on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Pelosi called Omar a “valued member of our caucus,” and instead of standing with the members of her caucus who rebuked her comments, Pelosi made clear that House leadership “did not rebuke” her.
Pelosi’s bizarre walk-back to defend Omar comes shortly after members of the “squad” like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Talib cried foul over the reaction to Omar’s tweet. It not only highlights the divisions within the Democrat party but also the strong grip that the socialist faction of the party has over its leadership.
Thus far, there has been silence from across the Capitol in the Senate. Vulnerable Democrats figure it is better to keep their head down than to find themselves in a fight with the base of their party, even if that means tacit support for anti-Semitism.
Statement from NRSC Chairman Rick Scott: “The Democrat Party is in serious need of soul searching. Speaker Pelosi’s defense of Congresswoman Omar on Sunday shows how scared Democrat leadership is by the radical liberals in their base. By backpedaling their criticism of the hateful comment instead of moving to remove Omar from her Foreign Affairs committee assignment, Pelosi showed the world that her party is wholly controlled by the socialist wing – a bunch of radicals that believe America is rotten to the core. Americans reject this notion and are disgusted by the recent anti-Israel comments from Omar, and the rest of the ‘squad.’ My Democrat colleagues in the Senate may be content with remaining quiet but many of them who are facing re-election in 2022 will be in for a surprise when the voters have a chance to share their opinion at the ballot box.”
###