Rep. Omar is starting to get on my last nerve...

[Peacetrain]

If you have criticism of President Obama... you are free to go about it... my suggestion is do it and not try and tie President Obama up as a polished Donald Trump though.. good Lord woman you are 37 people should not have to keep talking you through this.. think before you speak..

[redstatebluegirl]

1. I am trying to give her the benefit of the doubt.

But she is not THAT young, she is making some really bad choices that will hurt her and our party in the end. Some of the young members do not have the best staffing obviously.

[Peacetrain]

2. I am starting to get a headache with Rep Omar...

sigh

[redstatebluegirl]

3. I agree..

Although truthfully I have had a headache since November of 2016.

[Maggiemayhem]

102. Just asking

Why does the link go to Martin OMalley for President 2016 ?

[trueblue2007]

109. Me too. I'm tired of coming up with excuses for her behavior. Think before you speak.

[George II]

57. I gave her the benefit of the doubt the first time, and the second time, but now this is the fourth!

What bothers me is that some other young Representatives are taking on an attitude and defending her more than she defends herself. Overall this isn't good for the Democrats in Congress.

[samnsara]

4. i was SO hoping for some PEACE after the Blue Wave.. was I wrong to wish for this?

[still_one]

5. When did she say this?

[Peacetrain]

9. here is a link..my husband caught it on yahoo news

https://news.yahoo.com/omar-throws-shade-at-obama-we-dont-want-anybody-to-get-away-with-murder-because-they-are-polished-175850887.html

[still_one]

13. Thanks

[dalton99a]

10. .

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/03/08/ilhan-omar-dean-phillips-minnesota-democratic-party-225696
The Democrats’ Dilemma
What Ilhan Omar and Dean Phillips tell us about the future of the Democratic Party.
By TIM ALBERTA
March 08, 2019

As the Somali population in her city continued to swell, so did the young activist’s discontent. By the time she ran for office in 2016, knocking off a 22-term incumbent to win a seat in the Minnesota statehouse, Omar was fed up—not so much with Trumpism, or with politics in general, as with the Democratic Party.

As she saw it, the party ostensibly committed to progressive values had become complicit in perpetuating the status quo. Omar says the “hope and change” offered by Barack Obama was a mirage. Recalling the “caging of kids” at the U.S.-Mexico border and the “droning of countries around the world” on Obama’s watch, she argues that the Democratic president operated within the same fundamentally broken framework as his Republican successor.

“We can’t be only upset with Trump. … His policies are bad, but many of the people who came before him also had really bad policies. They just were more polished than he was,” Omar says. “And that’s not what we should be looking for anymore. We don’t want anybody to get away with murder because they are polished. We want to recognize the actual policies that are behind the pretty face and the smile.”

[WhiskeyGrinder]

6. But she's not wrong on what she's talking about.

[Cha]

23. Evidently she is..

Link to tweet

[WhiskeyGrinder]

27. Obama did not exercise the "zero tolerance" policy that Trump did.

But children were separated from their parents at the border during the Obama administration.

Her point, of course, is that the policies that both Republicans and Democrats follow are oppressive and harmful. If we want to change those policies effectively, we must come to terms with the fact that politicians we like sometimes follow those policies.

[Qutzupalotl]

38. In 2014 we had a mass influx of unaccompanied minors

walking up from Nicaragua, without their parents. That’s who is in the photo of “kids in cages under Obama” that the right is circulating. I believe there were very few actual separations.

[George II]

108. The only separations were when the children were thought to be in danger from the adults....

....and they were only matched with other relatives. None were detained by themselves and NEVER were any kept in cages, as Omar claimed.

[Cha]

42. It "wasn't a punitive policy" with President Obama

as explained..

"They only seperated families when it was determined that the children would be in danger in prison, and the parent couldn't be released due to criminal charges. They always placed children either with relatives or sponsors who were thouroughly vetted."

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11901011

So trying to broad brush President Obama with the fucking asshole, trump, is Wrong.

Link to tweet

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

53. Policy is fair game... criticizing our own, including Ilhan, is not.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[BannonsLiver]

69. She's must have missed the memo.

Last time I checked Obama is one of our own. Or have you forgotten that?

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

79. Hence, my use of the word "including."

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[George II]

85. So, criticizing Obama is "fair game" but Omar is not? Did you read what she said....

....and how she worded it?

[grantcart]

91. Obama's policy should not be changed

The policy was that when a criminal background check showed that the parent or guardian might be a convicted felon or faced criminal charges that if true would give reason to believe that the minor might be in physical danger.

This policy wasn't an Obama policy but the policy of all previous administrations. I read that it was used about 30 times in a typical year and in some cases the child was returned to the adult who accompanied the minor and other cases were returned to another relative.

The difference is clear: Bush/Obama pursued the option that was clearly in the best interests of the child while Trump created a nightmare scenario by systematically taking all children away from their parents.

[treestar]

56. Oh geez, if you can't see a difference between Obama and Dotard

That's extreme.

It has been debunked that Obama did the same thing. Not as a policy deterrent, just in occasional cases where the factors were there.

[Cha]

65. Yes, it's been debunked that Pres Obama did

the same as the maniac trump.. but Omar doesn't mind using those stupid talking points to smear Obama.

Link to tweet

[trueblue2007]

113. She BETTER NOT BE SMEARING PRESIDENT OBAMA

[George II]

58. Calling the "hope and change" offered by Obama was a freaking mirage? Did she sleep....

....through the entire 8 years of Obama's administration? Would she rather have had John McCain and/or Mitt Romney?

This is really getting exasperating.

[Cha]

71. It sounds like she did, George.. trying to broadbrush

President Obama with the maniac trump with stupid vapid talking points.

Link to tweet

[sprinkleeninow]

107. Exasperating.

I'm up to here
🔽
😏
with all of this.


Words. Matter.

[MH1]

31. She's wrong in the way she is talking about it, at the very least.

She could acknowledge and criticize bad policy without being a flamethrower against her own side. Or is this her side?

And yes, there are sides, and she'd better realize it. Politics works a certain way in this country. Them's the rules, til you get them changed, you'd better play by them, or you (well, WE) lose.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

32. How can we talk about changing bad policies if we're dedicated to "sides" and one side being always

right and one always wrong?

[MH1]

36. You don't know how to do this?

"She could acknowledge and criticize bad policy without being a flamethrower against her own side."

Are you asking, how do we criticize bad policies and talk about changing them, without being a flamethrower against people in the Dem party?

Are you thinking that "We want to recognize the actual policies that are behind the pretty face and the smile" is an appropriate way to criticize the sub-optimal policies of a president who was, overall, light years better than anything on the republican side?

BTW it isn't a matter of being "dedicated to sides", it is a matter that we have a structurally enforced two party system in this country, and if you throw your party under the bus far enough, you WILL end up suffering with the other party ruling the country. EXACTLY like we are doing now.

[leftynyc]

50. Calling PRESIDENT Obama

a pretty face is beyond the pale. She's gone too far and I'm done with her.

[monmouth4]

90. I see her future and it's one-term. She talks too much and rarely listens n/t

[George II]

81. Obama isn't president anymore. Changing policies NOW is one thing, bashing Obama....

....for what he did almost three years ago, and referring positive things about him as a "mirage" does NO good.

CHANGE bad policies, don't paint one of the best presidents in our lifetimes as a mirage.

[uponit7771]

115. Cause if kgop their policies are wing they're wing

[Horizens]

54. Re: But she's not wrong on what she's talking about.

Yes she is wrong.

[Snackshack]

83. No, she is not.

President Obama greatly expanded the drone program. To his credit he signed an EO making the military have to report civilians killed in drone strikes. This EO was recently rescinded by Trump.

What she is talked about is simply facts of the issue.

[George II]

112. She was also talking about "caging" children which NEVER happened under Obama, NEVER!

She also referring to Obama, said "we don’t want anybody to get away with murder because they are polished." Saying that Obama was a murderer is acceptable?

[Snackshack]

120. I did not take that away...

from her comment. That she was associating President Obama with caging children. I have read accounts that there were instances of families being separated who crossed the border but President Obama certainly did not have a "zero tolerance" policy but there are instances where families were separated from my understanding. If this is incorrect I would be more than happy to be corrected on this.

As for murder... I hate to use that word. Having said that is the term "collateral damage" any better? The end result is the same. It is a fact that President Obama significantly increased drone strikes during his terms in office. It is a fact that in some of the strikes people who were not targets at all were killed who happened to be in close proximity the target. Do I think President Obama did this with malicious intent and premeditation or was callous and non-caring or concerned about this aspect of drone strikes (in the way trump is), absolutely not. As mentioned in the previous post President Obama signed an EO to make the military report civilian deaths due to drone strikes in order to make the military exercise some discipline and caution before launching a strike. However in the final analysis innocent people did die simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are several words/phrases that can be used to describe this and one of them is murder...so I cannot fault her for choosing to use that word as opposed to "mistake" or "externality" or "tragic by-product" or "collateral damage" or "unfortunate result"...the end result is the same no matter how it is
worded.

[George II]

124. Families were separated only when the government felt the adult that children were with...

...posed a danger to the child. And they were almost always put in the custody of another family member. They were never separated and detained in cages.

See post #42 for the excerpt from the article in which the quotes in question are.

Specifically:

She said, in reference to Obama, she doesn't "want anybody to get away with murder because they are polished."
She spoke of Obama's "caging of kids" at the border.
She spoke of the "hope and change" offered by Obama being a mirage.

All the good that Obama accomplished in his eight years, most of them hindered by republican stonewalling, was certainly NOT a mirage.

[Cha]

133. This is what Omar was Tweeting in 2017..

Link to tweet

And, now she's insulting President Obama with this bogus smear. How dare she?!

Link to tweet

"They only seperated families when it was determined that the children would be in danger in prison, and the parent couldn't be released due to criminal charges. They always placed children either with relatives or sponsors who were thouroughly vetted."

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11901011

[Cha]

131. Omar's statement was clear.. she owes Pres Obama

a huge apology.

Link to tweet

"They only seperated families when it was determined that the children would be in danger in prison, and the parent couldn't be released due to criminal charges. They always placed children either with relatives or sponsors who were thouroughly vetted."

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11901011

[Pepsidog]

88. That's the conundrum.

[rzemanfl]

95. Bookmarking. n/t

[Blue_Tires]

7. +1

I'm trying to stay optimistic... I know a LOT of attention has been paid to our new crop of congresswomen, for most of them this is their first time in the spotlight, and it's no great leap to assume some if not most of them are still growing into their new offices. Hopefully a switch goes off in her head and she realizes how unproductive this false equivalency bullshit is...

[Peacetrain]

14. Exactly.. she needs to stop for a second and breathe..

[elfin]

18. I'm done with her. Had high hopes.

Dems don't need any help in shooting ourselves in the foot by turning on each other to give Trumpies cannon fodder for their campaigns.

I was so happy when she won her election. Now she is becoming a big disappointment and is pissing me off with her inartful at best or deliberate at worst speaking that lent itself to the very worst interpretation. It will definitely be used as a cudgel against us no matter what cobbled together message they vote on.

Pelosi must be outraged.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. She's my representative and I voted for her with great enthusiasm,

but I hope she figures out how to handle controversies and not create them unnecessarily. I've heard that already there are people considering primarying her in 2020. The district is reliably Dem so we won't lose the seat if someone else wins the primary, but I hate to see someone with so much apparent promise have problems right out of the gate.

[Peacetrain]

12. My husband is from Minnesota

We live in Iowa.. and likewise very excited for her.. but she cannot seem to take it down a notch and get her sea legs in congress.

[bitterross]

11. Criticism of Omar is starting to get on my last nerve

Seriously. We're letting the GOP drive us again. With both AOC and Omar we're letting the GOP drive us.

It's about time we started using some of their plays and said "So what?" when they try to whip us up over comments made be Democrats.

Especially when the Democrat who is speaking happens to be correct. Obama's droning of countries around the world was no more effective than Bush's.

Everyone needs to stop getting into such a tizzy every all the time over what Democrats say. Keep the focus on Trump and the GOP and what they say. It's a lot worse.

[woofless]

16. I agree.

[Cha]

21. Too bad.. she needs to get her facts straight..

Link to tweet

[Horizens]

55. Say What

Your remarks should be directed towards Omar.


Re: "Everyone needs to stop getting into such a tizzy every all the time over what Democrats say. Keep the focus on Trump and the GOP and what they say."

[geardaddy]

61. +1

[George II]

62. She claimed that the hope and change we got from Obama was just a mirage!! SHE is saying...

....these things, not the republicans.

Maybe you should tell HER to keep the focus on trump and stop bashing her/our own.

[bitterross]

128. That's your interpretation

I don't choose to hear her words the way you do. I choose to hear the things that need to be said.

The GOP will always and only choose to hear the negative.

[Lonestarblue]

66. People like Omar and AOC are our future.

Yes, Omar could learn to be more measured in her comments, but a seasoned Democrat also took the opportunity to throw flames on the fire. I’m sure it’s hard for older, traditional Democrats to see young women like Omar in Congress, but if we want the votes of young people we need to listen to them. We can’t keep saying “Someday, we will have change. Just wait your turn.” Young people today have grown up in the digital age with instantaneous responses. They are not wed to—and refuse to live with—the notion of slow, incremental change. I can appreciate their desire and willingness to push for change. For example, the Columbine High School shooting happened nearly 20 years ago, in April 1999. In the intervening years, thousands more students and adults have been shot in mass killings—20 years of mass killings with no real will to make changes. It’s even easier today to obtain guns. These younger Democrats are putting forward some good ideas that I will support.

[BannonsLiver]

72. Some of them will be part of the future while others will not

I think there’s a naive assumption that all the new faces will be stars and live happily ever after. That won’t be the case. It never has been the case.

[Cheviteau]

100. Mostly Agree

Omar and AOC can be the future of the party if they can manage to stay in the game. Both need to moderate their rhetoric if they are to stay in the game.

As a side note to some of those commenting on Omar's discourse on the "war against terrorism". This country went bat-shit crazy when 9/11 happened. When looking at that event in retrospect and considering what has transpired since it was a mere blip on the radar screen. Ask the United Nations how many Iraqi children starved to death under G. W. Bush's sanctions. So Obama and Trump have unleashed in excess of 700 drone strikes (that we know of) killing hundreds of Muslims. (that we know of) Nobody's, and I mean nobody's fucking hands are clean on this side of the ledger. Omar has a stage. Let her speak. You might learn something about her and her people. I voted for and supported President Obama at every turn. And I sorely miss him and Michelle.

Democrats and Republicans have NEVER been able to rise above party. I'm eighty years old and that has been my observation.

[BannonsLiver]

70. She's actually not correct

But glad to see you stand with the GOP who have also dismissed Obama as a pretty face since the very beginning. That’s super helpful.

[shanny]

15. Not mine.

Some things need to be said and whatever we think of the mango maggot, Obama was not above criticism on a number of policies. imho.

[Cha]

20. Yeah, and neither is BS. He said he "would continue

the Drone Program"

Omar doesn't even get her facts right..

Link to tweet

[frazzled]

22. Nobody is above criticism

including, of course, Rep. Omar. But to refer to Obama as merely a "polished up" version of Trump, or simply valuable for his "polish" is extremely troubling (almost a bit racist, on one reading). It shows a total lack of perspective, and it stands as an apology for Trump: hey, all presidents have made bad choices. I don't accept that kind of hyperbole and shade: Obama made many strides in the right direction on many many fronts, and made some less good decisions on several others. Trump is a total train wreck who has undone anything that was good and positive in the past eight years (and more), and is a threat to democracy altogether. All I can say is, "Oh no, you didn't."

Please don't make excuses for these flagrant missteps. She is not above criticism.

[shanny]

49. Please don't make excuses for flagrant missteps. No one is above criticism.

Amen.

[mr_lebowski]

99. +2

In case she's not noticed, Democrats don't hold POTUS or the Senate right now.

Something PRODUCTIVE would've been like "We in the House need to press to change the EXECUTIVE branch's Drone policy, and the policy of Separation of Children at the Border".

Bitching about Obama in this way, at this time, OTOH, is completely unproductive and lame.

[shanny]

125. whoosh

[SidDithers]

39. ...

Sid

[WhiskeyGrinder]

17. If we can't accept that oppressive systems are used by both Democrats and Republicans,

how are we going to dismantle those systems?

[marylandblue]

37. She can talk about the oppressive system all she wants, but

she shouldn't make comments that would get her banned at DU.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

46. Is she on DU?

[marylandblue]

52. Of course not, but I think it's a fair standard for Democratic politicians

They shouldn't be saying a prominent Democrat is no better than Trump. She can criticize his policies without insults.

[sprinkleeninow]

111. That was insulting. No question. I know they have zeal/passion in their quest for office but, 🙄.

Hi there.
Brown is out.
I'm with Inslee now.

[marylandblue]

114. Great minds thing alike

[sprinkleeninow]

134. Heh-heh.

🍻

[shanny]

51. ...

[uponit7771]

116. Obama did not have a no exception policy of cold separation

[Cha]

19. I'm done with her, Peacetrain.

Link to tweet

[leftynyc]

29. Same here

I'm tired of defending her bullshit. Let whoever wants to defend her, I'm done.

[Peacetrain]

64. Ahh geez Cha... she accused Obama of caging kids??? what is wrong with her

Pelosi has hauled her ashes twice now.. I am done too.. crap

[Cha]

80. Yep, Omar is trying to smear Pres Obama

with talking points that are not true..

Link to tweet

"They only seperated families when it was determined that the children would be in danger in prison, and the parent couldn't be released due to criminal charges. They always placed children either with relatives or sponsors who were thouroughly vetted."

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11901011

[tonedevil]

84. As an aside...

you and I seem to mean quite different things with the term "hauled her ashes". If you look here in the urban dictionary there is the top definition relief from sexual tension. That is how I have heard it used. Since I was already at Google U, I did see the Free Dictionary has the first definition as to leave or depart especially with great haste and the second is about sex.

[Peacetrain]

94. Interesting.. thank you

I went and looked that up and never heard that term used in a sexual connotation before.. always heard it used as moving something along quickly.. you haul your ashes out of here.. (a more polite term for hauling your ass out of here) if someone hauled ashes for you.. they moved someone quickly.. words take on new meanings all the time..

[tonedevil]

97. I read your comment...

and it confused me because of the way I had heard it used, but I quickly sussed out what you meant. I did want to alert you to the way it could seen then I found the other definition. It seems to me the world is always bigger than I think.

[Peacetrain]

106. And I want to thank you for that heads up

always good to learn especially if words have a different meaning for some than they do for others.. otherwise we end up talking right past each other or misunderstanding what the other person is talking about

[leftynyc]

24. I agree

That blessed man put up with more bullshit than the other 43 presidents combined. He had the weight of the world on his shoulders and held the hopes and dreams of tens of millions in his heart. Who the fuck does she think she is?

[George II]

63. And she's calling some of those hopes and dreams only a mirage.

[Laf.La.Dem.]

25. Sad to say - everytime she speaks the GOP gets votes!!

Please get her to THINK before she speaks

[pangaia]

33. I truly cannot believe you wrote that..

But, of course each of us is allowed our opinion.

[Croney]

40. I can't either.

[demmiblue]

45. Count me in, as well. n/t

[pangaia]

89. GONE

[HopeAgain]

30. Not defending her, but...

I raised three mellinials and see that there are LOTS of them who feel this way. We need to listen to their overall message and ignore the personal insults. Just dismissing these views, rather than actively engaging with those who have them, will create a "Tea Party" type left with the same result.

[uponit7771]

118. Not when they're factually wrong on a policy. Making crap up is something well leave to MAGA

[HopeAgain]

132. What are you referring to,

factually incorrect?

[LuvLoogie]

35. She could learn from AoC, if Omar will listen. AoC seems to be

concentrating on the job now. Her overtly political statements are now mostly counterpunches to the dogmatic mischaracterizations of her world view and the denigration of her intelligence.

[SidDithers]

41. Primary her...nt

Sid

[onenote]

43. Equating Obama and Trump -- and that's what she did -- would get you banned from DU

I get the impression she's in love with the sound of her own voice.

[tritsofme]

47. Anti-Semitism and lies about President Obama are all too common in our system

But I liked it much better when such behavior was confined to one side of the aisle...

[bigbrother05]

48. An elected official speaking openly is not a candid discussion with friends

Someone new to public scrutiny has a steep learning curve with little room for error.

Context and forum are important factors to be aware of.

[Alhena]

59. Suggesting that Obama isn't 1000x the human being Trump is ...

and that he was just more "polished" is outrageous.

[Duppers]

76. Agree.

[tiredtoo]

60. In a recent meeting of political activists

One of the top three topics suggested to work on was transparency from our elected officials. Now we are having a discussion regarding an elected official telling it like she sees it. How can we get transparency if we try to stifle their voices when they say something that upsets us?
Personally, I had misgivings about Obama after he took office. I had worked to get him elected and I worked even more to get him re-elected. But I did have areas of concern regarding his actions.

[Chakaconcarne]

67. The attention she is getting is all about diverting it away from

Trump.... All of our attention is doing the same.....

That's the way it will be until 2020.

[inchhigh]

68. I Stand With Ilhan

She's a breath of fresh air.

[BannonsLiver]

74. sounds like a lot of the same low grade pablum I heard in the fall of 2016.

[Cha]

75. She's wrong to equate Pres Obama with the Maniac trump..

Link to tweet

[dalton99a]

78. +1. Ill-considered, indulgent, ignorant

Nobody forced her to join the Democratic Party and run for office as a Democrat

[RelativelyJones]

77. Not me. I hope she gets primaried.

[Persondem]

82. This +1 nt

[uponit7771]

117. Not on this, she's factually wrong

[Grey]

73. As I see it,

Reagan and both Bushes also came before trump. They also had more polish and brains. I also didn't like their War stances. To me you can lump Reagan and both Bushes right in there with trump as war mongers. You all seem to be jumping the gun here, where did she name Obama? I'm with Her...

[Still In Wisconsin]

86. So, yet another "own goal" by one of our freshmen.

This shit has really got to stop.

[Honeycombe8]

87. I just read her statement. She has accused Obama of murder...

murder done behind a pretty face and smile.

That's outrageous, to put it mildly.

I no longer regard her as ....anything worth anything. She's dead to me. And make no mistake, she'll cost the Democrats votes.

Her failure to support the Jewish people is also very troubling, esp at this time, when Nazis march in the streets chanting anti-semitic chants. That's totally unacceptable.

“We don’t want anybody to get away with murder because they are polished. We want to recognize the actual policies that are behind the pretty face and the smile.” https://news.yahoo.com/omar-throws-shade-at-obama-we-dont-want-anybody-to-get-away-with-murder-because-they-are-polished-175850887.html

She says Obama caged kids, too, which he did not.

She says Obama droned countries, and yes, he did. But America didn't send drones all around the world, just to kill people. We were fighting terrorists in specific locations. We Democrats had issues with this, as well, but in no way could it be considered murder. And let's not forget that the drones were fairly successful (to the extent that any war with terrorists can be successful). That's how we killed the American citizen who went to Yemen to become a terrorist leader.

Anyway...she's not having a discussion. She has painted Obama a certain way, and Jewish people a certain way.

Too bad. She coulda been a contender.

[Historic NY]

92. She working her way to being on an island...

or radioactive with the rest of the Democrats.

[betsuni]

93. Sounds like typical Our Revolution/JPR garbage. Both parties same, status quo.

I'll bet if she was asked she'd say Trump's drone kill list is smaller than Obama's and if Hillary was president we'd be fighting World War III right now.

[AlexSFCA]

96. Looks like she is a gift to GOP

[VOX]

98. "Defending your own" is a discipline, and it's one big reason why Republicans win so often.

There is ONE thing that Democrats/progressives should learn from Republicans— discipline. Sticking together. Not tearing into one another in public forums or in the press. Supporting the Democratic candidate (or incumbent), even with flaws, because what the opposition has to offer is 1,000 times worse. It weakens the overall message, it weakens otherwise strong Democratic candidates, and it weakens the Party itself.

Worse, lack of discipline results in Republican victories, where laws are ignored and the courts get stacked with right-wing asshole judges.

Remember in 2014, when many Democrats distanced themselves from President Obama as a ”winning strategy,” instead of touting the ACA and other accomplishments? That fiasco resulted in a GOP takeover of congress, where Obama’s SCOTUS pick, Merrick Garland, was shunned and completely ignored. Running away from the Democratic president directly affected the balance of the Supreme Court.

Remember Democrats and progressives abandoning Al Franken—one of our strongest voices— after he was blitzed with a politically motivated right-wing organized hit? He wasn’t even allowed a chance to tell his side of of the story. He was kicked out and dropped like a hot rock.

Liberals, progressives, Democrats— we’re a tough bunch to wrangle. We think for ourselves, and have critical minds. It’s harder for us to stay on-message, because we’re tolerant of differing viewpoints, and we often feel that something’s not right with the message itself.

While all this is well-intentioned, it’s a big reason why Democrats come up short: no discipline, no sticking together, no looking out for our own.

The only reason Trump is still standing is because his party backs him to the hilt, no matter how much damage he does to our democratic republic and its institutions.

Imagine Democrats having a strong, charismatic candidate in 2020, with full, unwavering support from the left and center-left. S/he would destroy Trump and his criminals. (Assuming there will actually be a free and fair election in 2020; with 45 at the wheel, anything’s possible.)

[IronLionZion]

101. Trump has already done more drone strikes than Obama's first 2 years

And Obama's kill count was a small fraction of W's. We'd have to go all the way back to Carter to find a president who didn't drop any bombs, and even he authorized commando raids.

[debsy]

103. Anyone who is progressive gets trashed, period.

This is the actual article:

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/03/08/ilhan-omar-dean-phillips-minnesota-democratic-party-225696]

This is the actual quote:

As she saw it, the party ostensibly committed to progressive values had become complicit in perpetuating the status quo. Omar says the “hope and change” offered by Barack Obama was a mirage. Recalling the “caging of kids” at the U.S.-Mexico border and the “droning of countries around the world” on Obama’s watch, she argues that the Democratic president operated within the same fundamentally broken framework as his Republican successor.

“We can’t be only upset with Trump. … His policies are bad, but many of the people who came before him also had really bad policies. They just were more polished than he was,” Omar says. “And that’s not what we should be looking for anymore. We don’t want anybody to get away with murder because they are polished. We want to recognize the actual policies that are behind the pretty face and the smile.”

MASSIVELY overblown by the MSM, IMO. I never approved of the fact that deportations went UP under Obama, nor did I approve of the drone killings. I think she was speaking the truth to a large degree. Why are people not allowed to criticize bad policy?

[rzemanfl]

104. Oh my! The "post removed" person is posting to a thread that

doesn't involve a certain Senator who shall remain unnamed.

[TexasTowelie]

110. LOL!

[bloom]

105. I think people are making assumptions - getting carried away.

“We can’t be only upset with Trump,” she told Politico. “His policies are bad, but many of the people who came before him also had really bad policies. They just were more polished than he was,” Omar says. “And that’s not what we should be looking for anymore. We don’t want anybody to get away with murder because they are polished. We want to recognize the actual policies that are behind the pretty face and the smile.”

At least - here - she didn't say Obama.

As far as drones and imprisoned immigrants - yeah - I didn't agree with Obama on much of that, either.

I don't think her remarks are any reason to throw her under the bus.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

119. Defending her is supposed to be the hill we die on.

[lapucelle]

121. Some people might even be mistaken

and think she could be implying that both sides are the same, (although, of course, that's clearly not her message.)

[kcr]

122. What is her message, exactly?

Link to tweet

?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1104116455224807424&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.democraticunderground.com%2F%3Fcom%3Dview_post%26forum%3D1002%26pid%3D11901822

[lapucelle]

123. Is she saying she was misquoted? If so, she should publish a transcript and demand a retraction.

Link to tweet

[kcr]

126. There's a link to a soundcloud in her tweet

It doesn't seem to me to be any different than what's in the interview, but she seems to be backtracking at any rate.

[stonecutter357]

127. K&R

[madaboutharry]

129. At 37 years old a person, especially a politician,

knows the power of their words.

[scardycat]

135. Getting on my nerves too n/t

[MandelaObama]

136. Stick a fork in me. I'm done

If you want to promote churlish, intellectually dishonest, misrepresentative and petty smears against President Obama and his record in office, go right ahead. But it does not reflect well on your character and judgment

Cue the YouTube videos from Jimmy Dore, Cenk Uygur, etc now celebrating her as some kind of progressive hero

[GreenEyedLefty]

137. The "talking point" on the right won't be Rep. Omar's comments...

... which were actually pretty tame. What they are going to talk about is the Democratic response. The dogpiling, declarations of being "done" with a Democratic Congresswoman and hoping she gets primaried is fucking infuriating.

The right loves this shit. They seize on every opening and opportunity to gin up more and more infighting, which only weakens us.

[Little Star]

138. She is who she is and I am not interested!

I have to admit this is a first for me but I would never cast a vote for her. Ever.

[SoCalDem]

139. TLLM..the obvious solution

talk less listen more..

Especially when you are a newbie..