Most Democrats Are Afraid to Criticize Ilhan Omar

After Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar equated the United States and Israel with the Taliban and Hamas, 12 of her Democratic colleagues (all of whom who happened to be Jewish) took her to task led by Illinois Congressman Brad Schneider.

While the dozen included the likes of House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler and former DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, there should have been far more Democratic Representatives calling Omar on the carpet. Surely there is a difference between an American soldier and a Taliban fighter who shoot girls in the head for going to school. Surely there is a difference between an Israeli soldier and a Hamas fighter who rams his vehicle into civilians.

Unfortunately, most Democratic elected officials are afraid of criticizing Omar for fear of being called Islamophobic. Indeed, Omar accused her dozen Jewish Democratic colleagues of being (you guessed it) "Islamophobic." When Omar makes accusations of Islamophobia what she is really saying is that she is above criticism. But it is enough for most Democratic lawmakers to keep their mouth shut. They are as afraid of Omar as Republicans are of Trump.

Of course, there are Democrats who think the United States and Israel are on the same moral plane as the Taliban and Hamas (i.e. AOC, Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush, Ayanna Pressley and Omar's colleague from Minnesota Betty McCollum) They are every bit as bad as Republicans who believe Donald Trump's claims that he was re-elected. 

But I have as much contempt for Democrats who sit on the fence in cowardice. If they are afraid to criticize Omar now I shudder to think where we will be in five years from now.