Wednesday, March 06, 2019

WILL SOME REPUBLICANS VOTE NO ON THE ANTI-OMAR RESOLUTION? (updated)

The Democratic resolution written in response to comments from Representative Ilhan Omar is being revised. The Washington Examiner says it will now also include language condemning bigotry against Muslims:
House Democrats will add language to resolution condemning anti-Semitism so that it also rejects anti-Muslim prejudice.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters Tuesday the resolution is still being written. A Democratic aide said a vote is likely Thursday, a day later than initially planned, and said some language condemning anti-Muslim bias would also be added, without specifying what it would say.

“There will be a vote this week, and you will see what it is when we are finished writing it,” Pelosi said Tuesday night.
The Washington Post also says that the resolution is being revised, but is less certain about the nature of the revisions:
Two Democratic aides said language would be added to condemn anti-Muslim bias specifically, while another said it could condemn religious hatred generally.
Here's my question: If the resolution condemns only anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim bias, won't some Republicans refuse to vote for it? I think some will refuse, passing up a chance to join the Ilhan Omar pile-on, because they're actually in favor of anti-Muslim bias.

If the resolution mentions only Jews and Muslims, Republicans may also vote no for another reason. Check out some of the comments in a Free Republic thread on the resolution:
And anti-Christian bias?

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I knew if anyone could screw this resolution up it would be the Socialist “democRATS”. The maggots should have added in language on anti-Caucasian and anti-Christian bias.

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Well then, what about anti-Hindu, and anti-Buddhism, or anti-Taoism, or anti-Sikhism...…….,or (shudder) Anti-Christian?
I don't think the last comment is sincere, except about Christians. There's a near-universal belief on the right that the most common form of bigotry worldwide is anti-Christian prejudice. Anti-white prejudice is believed by many to run a close second.

On the other hand, if, after the rewrite, the measure is a non-specific condemnation of religious prejudice, Republicans will probably vote for it, but they'll complain that Christians and Jews aren't singled out as victims. I don't think they'll be fully satisfied unless the resolution suggests that other groups are less justified in their complaints. They don't believe anyone other than Christians and (maybe) Jews deserves first-class citizenship (and top-shelf victim status) in America, so of course they'll complain.


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UPDATE: THURSDAY. Told ya:
The House passed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred on Thursday following days of debate over comments by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., that some lawmakers said were anti-Semitic.

The vote was 427 in favor, with 23 against and one member, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, voting "present." The 23 lawmakers who opposed the resolution were all Republicans, many of whom wanted a measure that focused solely on anti-Semitism.



Read the revised resolution here. I think it strikes a good balance between the concerns of Omar's critics and those of her supporters. But it focused on anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim bias, while condemning other prejudices, and that wasn't good enough for 24 Republicans.

AND: As I predicted....


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