The least Rep. IIhan Omar, D-Minn., could do was get her antics out and settle into Congress, learn from her elders, represent her district, and get to work in Washington. Instead, like the class clown, eager for attention, and unsure of how to actually seriously take her role as a member of Congress, she continues to garner nationwide attention for the most absurd behavior.
For starters, Omar’s past and present anti-Semitism has dogged her ever since she won her election. In 2012, she tweeted that Israel had “hypnotized the world.” She sent enough anti-Semitic tweets and made enough anti-Semitic comments that writers like Bari Weiss called her out. Omar responded:
Hi @bariweiss,
You are correct when you say,
“Perhaps Ms. Omar is sincerely befuddled and not simply deflecting”
In all sincerity, it was after my CNN interview that I heard from Jewish orgs. that my use of the word “Hypnotize” and the ugly sentiment it holds was offensive. pic.twitter.com/IxPScaSzGw
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 22, 2019
At one point Omar posted several tweets suggesting that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobby, pays politicians to be pro-Israel. AIPAC does not donate to candidates or endorse them.
Quietly this week, Omar finally began deleting her anti-Semitic tweets, an implicit admission that the tweets are wrong, or that she’s tired of being confronted with them. Then she and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., were the first in Congress to sign a pledge to impeach President Trump. Omar referred to him as a “dictator.”
Under what grounds? That’s unclear.
As if completely unaware of these immature developments which are completely unworthy of buzz in the media, the media continues their fascination with Omar.
A few folks back home are catching on, though probably not many. The Pioneer Press, St. Paul’s newspaper, published a letter to the editor by Omar constituent Maxine Baker, expressing regret for having voted for Omar, and even calling for Omar’s resignation:
“Our Jewish friends and neighbors come from the Holocaust. Isn’t that enough and didn’t the Somali people come to our country because they were being persecuted? In my opinion, Rep. Omar is not a good representative of this country. There is no place for racism in our Congress. I urge Rep. Omar to resign.”
If Omar’s job was to simply make the news, she’d have millionaire status. But it’s not. It’s to represent Minnesotans with obvious concerns, not tweet her hatred for Jews, slyly delete them, while advocating that “dictator” President Trump be impeached. Omar has become a trainwreck in just a few short months, not the candidate of potential Minnesotans hoped she would fulfill.
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
