On Tuesday night, the House of Representatives voted 234-188 (with four ballots present) to censure Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib for "promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel."
The resolution was introduced by freshman Georgia GOP Congressman Rich McCormick and 22 Democrats joined 212 Republicans in approving the measure. These Democratic members of Congress include former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, fellow Floridian Frederica Wilson, Jared Golden of Maine and New York's Ritchie Torres.
An earlier effort to censure Tlaib spearheaded by McCormick's fellow Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene had failed last week in part because it accused Tlaib of inciting an insurrection. Greene reintroduced her measure over the weekend. But honestly, it's hard to take Greene's resolutions against anti-Semitic behavior with any degree of credibility or seriousness when she has an audience with a Holocaust denier. As such, it made a lot more sense for the resolution to be introduced by a member of Congress without anti-Semitic baggage.
McCormick's resolution cites among other things, Tlaib's characterization of Hamas actions as "resistance", her ongoing lie that Israel bombed Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza when no such thing ever occurred as well as her invocation of Palestine "from the river to the sea" while falsely claiming it wasn't a call for the elimination of Jews from Israel.
Frankly, one could make the case that Tlaib ought to have been censored for her anti-Semitism long ago. Indeed, I asked why Tlaib wasn't censured after Minnesota's Ilhan Omar was censured in February 2023. Tlaib has a lengthy record of anti-Semitic statements telling Jews cannot be progressives if they support Israel, her claim Palestinian created a safe haven for Jews after the Holocaust or when she declared "people behind the curtain" exploit people in both Detroit and in Gaza. Tlaib's anti-Semitism is plain to see.
With that said, there is a risk in elevating Tlaib's status as there is with Omar following her censure. Of course, I also feared Greene's February 2021 would help her. Well, look how far up the food chain she is in the Republican Party now (notwithstanding her failure to pass this resolution).
This elevation might not come as quick for Tlaib (or Omar for that matter) as it did for Greene after her censure. However, barring a successful primary challenge, Tlaib is going to be in Congress for a longtime and they might even ascend to leadership roles in the House or perhaps set her sight on the Senate, gubernatorial and, dare I say, presidential ambitions. Tlaib might be a marginal figure in the Democratic Party compared to Greene with the GOP at the moment. But that could change come 2030 or perhaps sooner.
Rashida Tlaib's anti-Semitism could become a mainstream view within the Democratic Party by 2030. If that is the case, then she will wear her censure as a badge of honor.
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