Democratic Hypocrisy: Representatives Taylor Greene and Omar

Representative Taylor Green did use blatant anti-Semitism, which no one denies. She was quickly condemned by both Democrats and Republicans. As The Hill reported on January 29, “The Republican Jewish Coalition released a statement Friday condemning Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), saying it is “offended and appalled by her comments and her actions… the group said that it has always “spoken out against antisemitic comments from individuals on both sides of the political aisle,” adding that it does not hesitate to do so again in Greene’s case.”

As CNN reported, there was a bill to remove Representative Greene from office, not just censure. The House did vote to remove her from her committee assignments, but not from Congress. Among those who had supported removal from the House were Representatives Omar and Tlaib, who were both banned from entering Israel in 2019 for their support of the notorious anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist organization, BDS. There were 67 members of Congress calling for the removal of Representative Taylor Greene who were silent on Representative Omar not losing a single committee from her numerous anti-Semitic actions and comments; not just in 2019, but even as a State Representative made her hatred of Jewish people known.

As ABC News reported, every Democrat voted to remove Representative Taylor Greene from her committees, with many not demanding the same thing a little over a year ago from Representative Omar. “The final vote tally was 230-199.” The same article points out, “Greene defended herself in a speech ahead of the vote and expressed regret over some of her past remarks — which some viewed as doing too little, too late.” The apology was of similar words used by Representative Omar on just one occasion of her many hateful attacks against Jews and Israel. Representative Omar has never apologized for all of her hateful comments made against Jews and Israel.

Representative Taylor Greene did rightfully receive StopAntisemititsm.org’s Antisemite of the week. “Just over two years ago, Greene suggested in a Facebook post that wildfires in California were not natural. She claimed the blazes were started by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), a company owned by the Rothschild family, using a space laser in order to clear room for a high-speed rail project.”

The organization ends the remarks about the removal of Representative Greene from her committees. “We call the House of Representatives to take Similar action of removal against antisemitic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar who is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and her cohort, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib who is a member of the House Financial Services Committee.”

The same organization referred to Representative Omar as the 2019 anti-Semite of the year, which is an impressive thing considering the likes of the vile things Lois Farrakhan spouts every year. “The NGO announced that Omar would be awarded the contested title of biggest antisemite of the year on Monday, including a video listing her unmatched achievements in the field of Jew-hatred… Submitting a resolution in the House of Representatives comparing boycotting Israel to boycotting the Nazis.” The comparison of Israel to the Nazis was one of several reasons listed.

In regards to the recent acquittal of former President Trump, The Times of Israel reported just how displeased Speaker Pelosi was with Republicans who voted against conviction. “US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Saturday scoffed at the “cowardly” Senate Republicans who voted to acquit former president Donald Trump of inciting the deadly Capitol siege.”

This was the same Speaker who could not even mention Omar by name as the House Democrats voted for a watered-down Bill. The Times of Israel ran the following, “After Democrats spent days deliberating over whether — or how — to reprimand Rep. Ilhan Omar for comments that critics said amounted to accusing Jews of having dual loyalty to America and Israel, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a motion that denounced various kinds of hatred, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Weeks earlier, Omar apologized for insinuating that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee paid politicians to be pro-Israel.” The cowardice was not on Senate Republicans, but her own on full display.

Her apology was in reference to only one of many anti-Semitic things she did and said even before 2019. The following year the Democratic Party fully supported her campaign for reelection but could have primaried her out as they did with former Senator Lieberman who had been the strongest supporter of Israel in the US Congress of any Democrat.

Representative Omar not only kept her committees and received full backing, but she was also given more responsibility in the House Foreign Affairs Committee. As reported in The Hill, “Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) on Tuesday revealed a measure proposing the removal of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.” Representative Taylor Green rightfully had committees removed, but Omar has only been rewarded with more power. Which sends a clear signal to other anti-Semites who are Democrats in the House, like Representative Tlaib.

Cowardice is what happened when a clear anti-Semite was given a pass by Speaker Pelosi. There was a lot of push back from within her own ranks to prevent even a clear Bill to call out anti-Semitism as wrong. The Bill was so watered down as to make it meaningless, which leads one to wonder how many other anti-Semites are being protected by Speaker Pelosi.

Had Representative Taylor Greene been a Democrat, it would have been ignored or another watered-down Bill would have come out without condemning anti-Semitism directly. For Democrats in power, anti-Semitism matters far less than political affiliation and how one votes. As long as Representative Omar votes the right way, she will continue to be protected by the Democratic Party leadership, which does include Speaker Pelosi.

When compared directly to one another, Representatives Taylor Green and Omar are both anti-Semites with a lengthy history of speaking vile things. Representative Omar should have been removed from her committees in 2019 and primaried out last year. If party affiliation were less important than anti-Semitism, Representative Omar would not be in the House today.

If a clear message that anti-Semitism is not something to be tolerated by either party, Speaker Pelosi could have pushed for a vote to remove Representative Omar from office. All she did was send a clear signal that anti-Semitism does have a home within the ranks of the Democratic Party and will be protected as long as anti-Semites vote the right way.