Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

mcar

(42,334 posts)
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 06:11 PM Mar 2019

Pierce: Ilhan Omar Prompted Democrats to Pass an Anti-Semitism Resolution That Puts Republicans in a

Ilhan Omar Prompted Democrats to Pass an Anti-Semitism Resolution That Puts Republicans in a Corner
Condemn anti-Semitism? Sure. Let's condemn Islamophobia while we're at it.

BY CHARLES P. PIERCE
MAR 7, 2019

The outrage, manufactured and/or inflated, over Rep. Ilhan Omar's remarks concerning the influence of lobbyists on behalf of Israel has been a prime performative opportunity for Republican legislators, and for pundits whom the makeup of the new House of Representatives makes nervous. (Bret Stephens of The New York Times seems exercised enough to provide us with an episode of Bad Analogy Theater.) For a moment, it looked like the Democratic majority in the House was ready to capitulate to the kabuki on display. There was a spate of stories about Democratic legislators yelling at each other, which, of course, means Everything Is Falling Apart (!).

On Thursday, a resolution did appear, and it was a helluva nice little maneuver on the majority's part. From The Hill:

Condemning anti-Semitism as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values and aspirations that define the people of the United States and condemning anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against minorities as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contrary to the values and aspirations of the United States.


I am happy that it came out this way. I am happy with every Democrat who raised holy hell over the original idea for the resolution. I mean, Jesus, the Republicans took off after Omar—and fellow rookie Rashida Tialib—because they were Muslim and because they were women. There was fauxtrage about Tialib calling the president* a motherfcker, which is untrue only in the most literal sense. When Omar was first appointed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, she was all but called an ISIS spy by the usual suspects, and that's before she ever said a word about double allegiance or whatever else has prompted her current elevation to right-wing pincushion.

This new resolution is not only closer to the truth of everything, but also puts the Republicans in a put-up-or-shut-up position, and that's not a place the party of Steve King and "shithole countries" ever wants to be.

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a26754619/democrats-anti-semitism-resolution-ilhan-omar-islamophobia-republicans/
46 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Pierce: Ilhan Omar Prompted Democrats to Pass an Anti-Semitism Resolution That Puts Republicans in a (Original Post) mcar Mar 2019 OP
So far 3 Republicans have voted against it... manor321 Mar 2019 #1
Thanks for the updae mcar Mar 2019 #2
they treasure their freedom to discriminate Hermit-The-Prog Mar 2019 #4
Thanx zentrum Mar 2019 #39
They aren't making this about Donald Trump. They should do. Doodley Mar 2019 #3
Which target is the only real difference between bigotry Hortensis Mar 2019 #5
I am interested in how this vote goes. sheshe2 Mar 2019 #6
Passed bigly mcar Mar 2019 #7
Good to hear. sheshe2 Mar 2019 #11
Just over 400 to 20 something, basically the "Freedom" Caucus plus Liz Cheney. nt DRoseDARs Mar 2019 #13
They support hate mcar Mar 2019 #14
Liking this more aggressive having-none-of-your-bullshit approach. Let's see if Dems can keep it up. DRoseDARs Mar 2019 #18
Post removed Post removed Mar 2019 #36
You obviously are unaware of her record mcar Mar 2019 #46
"ZOMG PELOSI FAIL!!" is Corporate Media's go-to analysis Grokenstein Mar 2019 #32
Lots of non votes. n/t Mr.Bill Mar 2019 #8
Pierce is a brilliant wordsmith. Pepsidog Mar 2019 #9
Intelligent and moral solution. Bravo! Nitram Mar 2019 #10
Here is the (preliminary) vote totals BumRushDaShow Mar 2019 #12
Thanks! mcar Mar 2019 #15
Link to the roll call vote BumRushDaShow Mar 2019 #24
That's quite a lopsided margin. calimary Mar 2019 #26
It was a checkmate move BumRushDaShow Mar 2019 #29
Sounds good. Honeycombe8 Mar 2019 #16
The highlighted wording from what I believe is the resolution also includes this BumRushDaShow Mar 2019 #17
Oh, I missed that that was separate. Honeycombe8 Mar 2019 #19
Malaise has a thread that sums it up quite nicely! BumRushDaShow Mar 2019 #23
Excellent. Thanks. Does it go to the Senate, now? Honeycombe8 Mar 2019 #25
In the case of "Resolutions" they are done to express the sentiment of that chamber only BumRushDaShow Mar 2019 #28
Lee Zeldin voted "no" on a resolution condemning anti-semitism??? Power 2 the People Mar 2019 #20
Excellent! K&R Duppers Mar 2019 #21
There was fauxtrage about Tialib calling the president* a motherfcker, which is untrue only in the m Marcuse Mar 2019 #22
OK, we're going to condemn BOTH anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim comments. PatrickforO Mar 2019 #27
Well said! mcar Mar 2019 #30
Absolutely spot on, Chaz Pierce. Hekate Mar 2019 #31
Criticizing Israel the country is displaying anti-Semitism. Dennis Donovan Mar 2019 #33
Israel hypnotizes the world theboss Mar 2019 #35
So the words Israel and Jewish are synonymous? Dennis Donovan Mar 2019 #37
Ugly Jewish stereotypes are ugly Jewish stereotypes theboss Mar 2019 #38
There is a forum for discussion of it. MH1 Mar 2019 #40
The average thread in that forum has 1 reply theboss Mar 2019 #41
I guess people aren't that interested in discussion then. MH1 Mar 2019 #43
Netanyahu's corrupt, right-wing, oppressive, and yes, fascist government SHOULD be criticized. backscatter712 Mar 2019 #42
Pierce is wrong this time theboss Mar 2019 #34
Another simplistic allegation lacking any objective evidence to support it. Again. LanternWaste Mar 2019 #44
She keeps saying anti-Semitic shit theboss Mar 2019 #45

Hermit-The-Prog

(33,349 posts)
4. they treasure their freedom to discriminate
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 06:17 PM
Mar 2019

Some Republicans obviously think this resolution is a slippery slope that will lead to >gasp< diversity rule!

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
5. Which target is the only real difference between bigotry
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 06:22 PM
Mar 2019

toward Muslims and/or Jews. Bigotry always comes from within whoever's acting out this personal flaw, and it almost always reveals a capacity for bigotry toward any number of groups.

Scratch a white or black antisemite, for instance, and you'll almost always find tendency toward bigotry toward whites or blacks--whoever's the "other,' Seminoles, Hindu whatevers, and any number of "others." Just needs a trigger to...trigger. Like a having to share a picnic area with a large Armenian family or a Japanese American neighbor who offends by not being outgoing.

And, of course, it's almost a defining characteristic of strong conservatives, aka the Republican base, bless their hearts. Like all these high-ground positions, the Republican leadership simply cannot sincerely lead their people there, even if they wanted to.

mcar

(42,334 posts)
7. Passed bigly
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 06:46 PM
Mar 2019

Only 23 Rs voted against. Even Rep Omar voted for.

Media doesn't get it yet. CNN is all "big misstep on Pelosi's part." My bet is that tomorrow they will have a different analysis.

 

DRoseDARs

(6,810 posts)
18. Liking this more aggressive having-none-of-your-bullshit approach. Let's see if Dems can keep it up.
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 07:43 PM
Mar 2019

We've gotten so used to them getting rolled over and over and over and over and over and... it's nice to see them finally doing nut-checks on Republicans, daring them to be awful. Except for a handful of kooks, the House Republicans flinched big on this one. Now it gets to go die in the Senate because we know it will.

Response to mcar (Reply #14)

Grokenstein

(5,725 posts)
32. "ZOMG PELOSI FAIL!!" is Corporate Media's go-to analysis
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 10:06 PM
Mar 2019

In Sacramento, a dog farts; next day's headlines: "PUP POOTS DISPLEASURE PER PELOSI POLICIES!!"

BumRushDaShow

(129,096 posts)
12. Here is the (preliminary) vote totals
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 06:59 PM
Mar 2019

(From NBC News reporters)



TEXT
Frank Thorp V

@frankthorp

House PASSES anti-hate resolution, 407-23, with 1 voting present.

All 23 NO votes were GOP, and the 1 voting present was @SteveKingIA.

5:35 PM - Mar 7, 2019




TEXT
Alex Moe

@AlexNBCNews

All Dems supported the anti-hate resolution.
23 Republican NOs:
Biggs
Brooks (AL)
Buck
Budd
Burgess
Cheney
Collins (NY)
Conaway
Crawford
Duncan
Gohmert
Gosar
Graves (GA)
King (NY)
LaMalfa
Massie
Palazzo
Rogers (AL)
Roy
Steube
Walker
Yoho
Zeldin
1 Republican present:
King (IA)
26
5:47 PM - Mar 7, 2019


From what I understand, there are 3 vacancies in the House so everyone but 1 person registered a vote (yay/nay/present).

Honeycombe8

(37,648 posts)
16. Sounds good.
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 07:29 PM
Mar 2019

But actually Steven King's comments and the "sh*thole" comment would not have been contradictory to this resolution. It's not against Muslims or the Jewish.

BumRushDaShow

(129,096 posts)
17. The highlighted wording from what I believe is the resolution also includes this
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 07:31 PM
Mar 2019
and bigotry against minorities as hateful expressions of intolerance


So it's not just limited to religious bigotry!

Honeycombe8

(37,648 posts)
19. Oh, I missed that that was separate.
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 07:57 PM
Mar 2019

I thought that was part of the Muslim language, but was worded oddly. Thanks! Then it seems all good to me! Smart.

BumRushDaShow

(129,096 posts)
23. Malaise has a thread that sums it up quite nicely!
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 08:18 PM
Mar 2019
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211897633

It was a slick move on Speaker Pelosi's part.

CNN had the text from a press release - the actual Resolution (H. Res 183 - am waiting for it to pop up on the House's website) was 7 pages long - https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/07/politics/anti-semitism-resolution-text/

Condemning anti-Semitism as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values and aspirations that define the people of the United States and condemning anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against minorities as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contrary to the values and aspirations of the United States.

Whereas the first amendment to the Constitution established the United States as a country committed to the principles of tolerance and religious freedom, and the 14th amendment to the Constitution established equal protection of the laws as the heart of justice in the United States;

Whereas adherence to these principles is vital to the progress of the American people and the diverse communities and religious groups of the United States;

Whereas whether from the political right, center, or left, bigotry, discrimination, oppression, racism, and imputations of dual loyalty threaten American democracy and have no place in American political discourse;

Whereas white supremacists in the United States have exploited and continue to exploit bigotry and weaponize hate for political gain, targeting traditionally persecuted peoples, including African Americans, Native Americans, and other people of color, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, immigrants, and others with verbal attacks, incitement, and violence;

Whereas the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., taught that persecution of any American is an assault on the rights and freedoms of all Americans;

Whereas on August 11 and 12, 2017, self-identified neo-Confederates, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and Ku Klux Klansmen held white supremacist events in Charlottesville, Virginia, where they marched on a synagogue under the Nazi swastika, engaged in racist and anti-Semitic demonstrations and committed brutal and deadly violence against peaceful Americans;

Whereas a white nationalist murdered nine African American worshipers at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on the evening of June 17, 2015, in the hopes of igniting a nationwide race war;

Whereas on October 27, 2018, the perpetrator of the deadliest attack on Jewish people in the history of the United States killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life Synagogue building in Pittsburgh and reportedly stated that he ''wanted all Jews to die'';

Whereas anti-Semitism is the centuries-old bigotry and form of racism faced by Jewish people simply because they are Jews;

Whereas in 2017 the Federal Bureau of Investigation re- ported a 37 percent increase in hate crimes against Jews or Jewish institutions and found that attacks against Jews or Jewish institutions made up 58.1 percent of all religious-based hate crimes;

Whereas there is an urgent need to ensure the safety and security of Jewish communities, including synagogues, schools, cemeteries, and other institutions;

Whereas Jews are the targets of anti-Semitic violence at even higher rates in many other countries than they are in the United States;

Whereas it is a foreign policy priority of the United States to monitor and combat anti-Semitism abroad;

Whereas anti-Semitism includes blaming Jews as Jews when things go wrong; calling for, aiding, or justifying the kill- ing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or extremist view of religion; or making mendacious, de- humanizing, demonizing, or stereotyped allegations about Jews;

Whereas Jewish people are subject in the media and political campaigns to numerous other dangerous anti-Semitic myths as well, including that Jews control the United States Government or seek global, political, and financial domination and that Jews are obsessed with money;

Whereas scapegoating and targeting of Jews in the United States have persisted for many years, including by the Ku Klux Klan, the America First Committee, and by modern neo-Nazis;

Whereas accusing Jews of being more loyal to Israel or to the Jewish community than to the United States constitutes anti-Semitism because it suggests that Jewish citizens cannot be patriotic Americans and trusted neighbors, when Jews have loyally served our Nation every day since its founding, whether in public or community life or military service;

Whereas accusations of dual loyalty generally have an insidious and pernicious history, including—

(1) the discriminatory incarceration of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II on their basis of race and alleged dual loyalty;
(2) the Dreyfus affair, when Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish French artillery captain, was falsely convicted of passing secrets to Germany based on his Jewish back- ground;
(3) when the loyalty of President John F. Kennedy was questioned because of his Catholic faith; and
(4) the post-9/11 conditions faced by Muslim-Americans in the United States, including Islamophobia and false and vicious attacks on and threats to Muslim-Americans for alleged association with terrorism;

Whereas anti-Muslim bigotry entails prejudicial attitudes to- wards Muslims and people who are perceived to be Mus- lim, including the irrational belief that Muslims are inherently violent, disloyal, and foreign;

Whereas Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim are subjected to false and dangerous stereotypes and myths including unfair allegations that they sympathize with individuals who engage in violence or terror or support the oppression of women, Jews, and other vulnerable communities;

Whereas in 2017, mosques were bombed in Bloomington, Minnesota, and burned in Austin, Texas, Victoria, Texas, Bellevue, Washington, and Thonotosassa, Florida, and mass attacks on Muslim communities were planned against communities in Islamberg, New York, in 2019, Jacksonville, Florida, in 2017, and Garden City, Kansas, in 2016;

Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that hate crimes against Muslims or Muslim institutions in the United States increased by over 99 percent between 2014 and 2016;

Whereas attacks motivated by bigotry against those who are Muslim or perceived to be Muslim have substantially in- creased since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks;

Whereas the violation of an individual's civil rights based on his or her actual or perceived membership in a particular religious group clearly violates the Constitution and laws of the United States; and

Whereas all Americans, including Jews, Muslims, and Christians and people of all faiths and no faith, have a stake in fighting anti-Semitism, as all Americans have a stake in fighting every form of bigotry and hatred against people based on religion, race, or place of birth and origin: Now, therefore, be it 1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) rejects the perpetuation of anti-Semitic
2 stereotypes in the United States and around the
3 world, including the pernicious myth of dual loyalty
4 and foreign allegiance, especially in the context of
5 support for the United States-Israel alliance;
6 (2) condemns anti-Semitic acts and statements
7 as hateful expressions of intolerance that are con-
8 tradictory to the values that define the people of the
9 United States;
10 (3) reaffirms its support for the mandate of the
11 United States Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat
12 Anti-Semitism as part of the broader policy priority
13 of fostering international religious freedom and pro-
14 tecting human rights all over the world;
15 (4) rejects attempts to justify hatred or violent
16 attacks as an acceptable expression of disapproval or
17 frustration over political events in the Middle East
18 or elsewhere;
19 (5) acknowledges the harm suffered by Muslims
20 and others from the harassment, discrimination, and
21 violence that result from anti-Muslim bigotry;
22 (6) condemns anti-Muslim discrimination and
23 bigotry against all minorities as contrary to the val-
24 ues of the United States;
(7) condemns the death threats received by
2 Jewish and Muslim Members of Congress, including
3 in recent weeks;
4 (8) encourages law enforcement and govern-
5 ment officials to avoid conduct that raises the spec-
6 ter of unconstitutional profiling against anyone be-
7 cause of their race, religion, nationality, political, or
8 particular social group, including the assignment of
9 blame or targeting members of an entire religious
10 group for increased suspicion, based on the conduct
11 of a single individual or small group of individuals;
12 and
13 (9) encourages all public officials to confront
14 the reality of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism,
15 and other forms of bigotry, as well as historical
16 struggles against them, to ensure that the United
17 States will live up to the transcendent principles of
18 tolerance, religious freedom, and equal protection as
19 embodied in the Declaration of Independence and
20 the first and 14th amendments to the Constitution.


(CNN has kindof weird line-number formatting at the end)

Honeycombe8

(37,648 posts)
25. Excellent. Thanks. Does it go to the Senate, now?
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 08:45 PM
Mar 2019

It'll be interesting to see what the Republicans in the Senate do with it.

BumRushDaShow

(129,096 posts)
28. In the case of "Resolutions" they are done to express the sentiment of that chamber only
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 08:57 PM
Mar 2019

I.e., you have "House Resolutions" and "Senate Resolutions". These are not binding as law but would apply as the official position of the chamber.

Many times both chambers will vote on what they call a "Joint Resolution" (which has identical language for each chamber) but in this case, the Senate was not involved in drafting this - although they could do their own using the same text, but I doubt Turtle would even bother with it.

Also as a note - I found a PDF file of the Resolution from the House's website (which is what CNN apparently used to copy/paste the text) - https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20190304/BILLS-116hres183-SUSv1.pdf

Power 2 the People

(2,437 posts)
20. Lee Zeldin voted "no" on a resolution condemning anti-semitism???
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 07:58 PM
Mar 2019

He's dumber and more of a right-wing patsy than I thought he was.

PatrickforO

(14,577 posts)
27. OK, we're going to condemn BOTH anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim comments.
Thu Mar 7, 2019, 08:55 PM
Mar 2019

I'm glad to see this. I genuinely thought Omar's comments were NOT anti-Semitic - maybe could have been worded a bit clearer, but it was amazing to me how many white males spoke right up and accused her of all sorts of evil things.

The good thing is, her comments and the publicity surrounding them focused some light on Israel's apartheid policies for its Palestinian minority. We need to be criticizing that. We need to be debating that in light of aid we give to Israel.

Yeah, I know the evangelicals have made Israel a 'sacred cow' - oh, it's in Revelations, blah, blah, blah.

But on the ground right now, Palestinians are suffering in Israel, Muslims, Jews, GLBTQ people, people of color, and people seeking asylum are suffering HERE.

So, yeah, let's have an anti-hate resolution. Funny how these white male conservatives seem to be having a knee-jerk reaction to Omar, Tlaib, AOC and the rest of these newly elected, bright women of color. I guess they are scary to some, but they are a breath of fresh air against the corruption in DC.

Dennis Donovan

(18,770 posts)
33. Criticizing Israel the country is displaying anti-Semitism.
Fri Mar 8, 2019, 11:35 AM
Mar 2019

Using that logic, criticizing the United States govt is displaying anti-Christian views since Christians make up the majority of US citizens. And, it could argued, that the US was also founded by people who were escaping religious persecution (although Christian "persecution" pales in comparison to what the Jewish people have dealt with for centuries).

I'm sorry, but I'm having a difficult time resolving how criticism of a government translates to religious bias.

 

theboss

(10,491 posts)
35. Israel hypnotizes the world
Fri Mar 8, 2019, 11:56 AM
Mar 2019

Israeli supporters have dual loyalties.

Israeli supporters only care about money.

Why is this so fucking hard?

 

theboss

(10,491 posts)
38. Ugly Jewish stereotypes are ugly Jewish stereotypes
Fri Mar 8, 2019, 12:06 PM
Mar 2019

I wish we were actually permitted to discuss Israel here, but the admins know what kind of shitshow that would be. Which should be a hint by the way.

 

theboss

(10,491 posts)
41. The average thread in that forum has 1 reply
Fri Mar 8, 2019, 01:56 PM
Mar 2019

Go post something there and watch the incredible activity it produces.

MH1

(17,600 posts)
43. I guess people aren't that interested in discussion then.
Fri Mar 8, 2019, 02:03 PM
Mar 2019

If they were interested, they would follow that forum (technically a group, I think), and then discuss on the threads posted there.

 

theboss

(10,491 posts)
34. Pierce is wrong this time
Fri Mar 8, 2019, 11:55 AM
Mar 2019

This was a fiasco that shows our leadership is terrified of pissing off the Anti-semites in our ranks.

 

LanternWaste

(37,748 posts)
44. Another simplistic allegation lacking any objective evidence to support it. Again.
Fri Mar 8, 2019, 02:06 PM
Mar 2019

At least there's a peculiar consistency in that.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Pierce: Ilhan Omar Prompt...