Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis unsurprisingly is defending her comparison this week of Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner to a hostage taker and ISIS recruit by directing her critics to run a Google search of domestic terrorism.
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis calls Gov. Rauner "the new ISIS recruit” https://t.co/Uzl6efndVL pic.twitter.com/YbpBBvpqWD
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) April 20, 2016
The Chicago Tribune reports that Lewis made the remark at a Wednesday luncheon at the City Club of Chicago. “Has Homeland Security checked this man out yet?” she asked. “Because the things he’s doing look like acts of terror on poor and working-class people.”
Lewis didn’t stop there:
“I think he’s holding people hostage,” Lewis said of Rauner. “Who does that? You hold people hostage. You hold defenseless children, babies, infants, you hold defenseless mothers who are brand-new, you hold people who are disabled hostage. Because you can’t get something else you want to have, that has nothing to do with a budget? You know, I mean, it’s ideological. That’s terrorism, that is pure … terrorism.”
Backlash over Lewis’ comments led her to direct her critics to Google.
For all of you who are offended by the use of the term ISIS, please Google the FBI criteria for domestic terrorism. Then get back to me.
— Karen Lewis (@KarenLewisCTU) April 21, 2016
Something tells us she doesn’t really want people to get back to her.
@chicagotribune classy and statesmanlike, as usual.
— Neal Carpenter (@nealdcarpenter) April 20, 2016
@KarenLewisCTU Was there a beheading we all missed?
— Man w/o a Plan (@MidWestMet) April 21, 2016
https://twitter.com/tjrath/status/723285430557376512
https://twitter.com/marcusaring/status/722895097260412928
@chicagotribune That's just bad taste.
— Dominic Lynch (@domineeringDom) April 20, 2016
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