Ilhan Omar's misstep
Hello friends. I write to you from hot and sunny Buenos Aires! I've been offline for the past several days and will continue to be for the next week or so, so this newsletter will be short. I'm trying to keep up the Tuesday habit, even when I'm on the road and in a steak-and-red-wine-induced daze. I've got some notes on the Ilhan Omar controversy and some reading recommendations.
Ilhan Omar was slammed by members of both parties last week for a tweet about Israel that went viral in a way that any lawmaker today dreads. I wrote a short Facebook post about it early in the week:
I feel like the Ilhan Omar stuff should be pretty straightforward. Yes it’s not innately antisemitic to make the jokes she did, but that’s also the case with most racist tropes. The point is if you are a US politician you should not casually be using language that evokes those tropes, especially if you've done it in the past; if you want to talk about how AIPAC is bad — which we should! — then issue a press release explaining how the funding works and what’s reactionary about AIPAC’s politics.
Also, as many have pointed out, Omar’s theory of US support for Israel is off the mark. AIPAC has considerable lobbying muscle but lots of American politicians support Israel with the zeal they do because of evangelicals' beliefs about the end times and because Israel provides the US with a powerful ally / strategic beachhead for conducting foreign policy in the Middle East. That all being said, Omar apologized, and the Republicans are completely cynical, so let's move forward. Also: never tweet.
The mixed and spirited response I received to the post suggested a split on the left about the appropriate response to Omar's comments. I know this whole thing feels played out to some people at this point, but if you find yourself still lingering on it, here are some additional thoughts of mine, some of which are spurred by objections to what I wrote.
(1) The argument that the "real problem" here is Israeli oppression of the Palestinians and that everything else is a distraction is a non-sequitur. Nobody reasonable is arguing that Omar's comments and Israel's misdeeds are morally equivalent, and it is certainly possible for two wrongs — perhaps even more! — to exist in the same universe.
(2) Never forget that the medium is inextricable from the message. Twitter, both in terms of its design and the culture that thrives on it, is hostile to nuance and context. If you wade into a controversial or sensitive topic, you should do so knowing that people will read whatever they want into what isn't communicated in any specific tweet, and that if something has multiple meanings, the least charitable one will be fixated upon by opponents. This is not just, but it is a reality, and if you are a politician, you should seriously consider avoiding using short quips on social media altogether for such topics. I suspect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's astounding success on social media will present a temptation too great for many to resist.
(3) The argument that Ilhan Omar received the flak she has purely because she's a black Muslim is unpersuasive and ahistorical. It undoubtedly plays a role in the intensity of the GOP's completely cynical and insincere capitalization on the misstep, since her identity allows her to play the role of villain. But up until very recently it was hard for any politician — male, female, white, non-white, Christian, Muslim, Democrat, Republican — to substantively criticize Israel without risking receiving career-ending opprobrium from all quarters. Politicians in both parties have long bragged about the Israel consensus, and right now both Republicans and the Democratic leadership are attempting to defend that faltering consensus from the rise of a socialist left that has an anti-imperalistic critique of Israeli policy. Omar provided the pretext that they were desperate for.
(4) A reader reached out to me and thanked me for my comments, and said that some of the left's defense of Omar confirmed his belief that the left has an antisemitism problem. I told him I don't think it's anti-semitism that has fueled the American left's defense of Omar (and, for what it's worth, many left-wing Jews have been her most vociferous supporters in the spaces I spend time in), but rather an agenda to protect the left wing's burgeoning but incredibly fragile elected national presence. I think they believed that if they didn't stand up for her, she might have been taken down.
I certainly agree that the Republican and Democratic leadership's piling on to Omar was not in good faith and was over the top. And I am a fan of left-wing criticism of Israel finally making its way into the Democratic Party. But I did not think that Omar was actually on the brink of being pushed out of office, and it is precisely because of how important serious criticism of Israel is that she should be more careful when she speaks and told that using language that aligns with or can be subsumed by antisemitic narratives is unacceptable. I think the left is best served by sticking to its principles and holding itself to high standards. In this case that means firmly taking the position of antiracism rather than making excuses or allowing for sloppiness that will allow for future mistakes. This is particularly urgent at a time when white supremacist agendas are on the rise.
One can both oppose Omar's adversaries and suggest that she do better in the future at the same time. Multitasking! It's pretty essential to getting things done.
What I'm reading
Trump's national emergency declaration is likely unlawful and unconstitutional.
A former tenure-track professor exiled from the academia over his Israel commentary writes about driving a bus.
Ilhan Omar gives Elliott Abrams the business for his horrid past.
A dispatch from Queens on the night Amazon announced it was pulling out of its expansion into New York.
Michael Kinnucan on the willful impotence of white leftists complaining about a lack of people of color in their organizations.
Trump is making socialism sound pretty good.
Robert Lighthizer has been waiting for this moment to face off against China his whole career.
Elizabeth Warren needs to dig deep and give "The Speech."
Paid line-standing: the bizarre congressional practice that shocked Ocasio-Cortez, explained.
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