Congress has devolved into a dangerous high school bullying session following Lauren Boebert’s targeting of Ilhan Omar, who the far-right representative has subjected to a string of “jihad squad” remarks and a suicide bomber “joke.” Marjorie Taylor has defended Boebert because (presumably) she wants to be on the wrong side of history, and Omar has since called for Boebert to face punishment of some sort, though that hasn’t happened as of yet.
Omar has since revealed death threats, including a voicemail (received following Boebert’s attacks) from someone threatening to “take you off the face of this f*cking Earth”), which she says represents hundreds of similar messages she’s received since being elected to Congress in 2020. Given that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy hasn’t even reprimanded Boebert yet, AOC stepped up to support her fellow Democrat, aaaand she has a nickname for McCarthy.
“People truly don’t understand the scale, intensity, & volume of threats targeting @IlhanMN,” AOC tweeted. “Kevin McCarthy is so desperate to be speaker that he is working with his Ku Klux Klan caucus to look aside & allow violent targeting of woc members of Congress. This cannot be ignored.”
People truly don’t understand the scale, intensity, & volume of threats targeting @IlhanMN.
Kevin McCarthy is so desperate to be speaker that he is working with his Ku Klux Klan caucus to look aside & allow violent targeting of woc members of Congress.
This cannot be ignored. https://t.co/ppridf6bZl
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 1, 2021
Granted, she’s responding to racially-charged labels with more racially-charged labels. However, AOC further called out the GOP for being “given freedom to incite without consequence,” and “targeting those least likely to be institutionally protected first.”
While people toss out clichés like “we condemn all forms of racism & bigotry,” the fact is Islamophobia is far too often tolerated and ignored.
Bigotry is not made unacceptable by what one says about it, it’s made acceptable based on whether there are consequences for it or not.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 1, 2021
It’s not just about nasty phone calls and e-mails.
GOP are given freedom to incite without consequence. They don’t have to pay for the security required from their acts- we do. They make money off it.
&They are targeting those least likely to be institutionally protected first.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 1, 2021
For her part, Boebert only half-apologized publicly before making a tense call to Omar, to whom Boebert refused to acknowledge her Islamophobic remarks or show true remorse.