Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
If Republicans thought that voting to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., from the House Foreign Affairs Committee would shut her up or slow her down, then they have no idea what’s about to hit them next. Because the truth of the matter is that they are so wrapped up in advancing an anti-Black, anti-Muslim, anti-woman, anti-immigrant, extremist agenda that they inadvertently gave Rep. Omar an even bigger platform by effectively making her a martyr.
The nation watched as Republicans made the colossal mistake of striking back at Democrats by unceremoniously targeting Rep. Omar and claiming that she was unfit to serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Their argument was that somehow, some way the congresswoman was more of a threat than the extremist, white nationalists who have threatened and perpetuated violence against the president and their colleagues in Congress. Y’all know exactly who I’m talking about — Reps. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga, both of whom Democrats removed from committee positions in the last Congress. You know, the two members who spoke at a pro-Hitler event and threatened Black and brown Congress members while promoting antisemetic conspiracy theories. So, it’s important that everyone reading the headlines understands that there is no equivalency here. These two things are not the same.
According to reports, a couple of Republicans have already communicated a clear understanding of just how dumb the public attack and vote against Ilhan Omar was. They called it the “stupidest vote in the world” and noted…
Read the full article here
