NYT's Michelle Goldberg: Conservatives' response to Ilhan Omar's 'microaggressions' proves GOP is 'a safe place for hate'

Why on earth would Ilhan Omar ever stop being anti-Semitic? With ardent defenders like the New York Times’ Michelle Goldberg, she can go forward with her bigotry, knowing that she’ll never have to answer for it.

Ilhan Omar said things that are offensive and inappropriate. She’s also the victim of a double standard, argues @michelleinbklyn. https://t.co/leRShdM9oK

— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) March 8, 2019

Ilhan Omar is being subjected to a terrifying campaign of racist vilification. But one can be a victim of bigotry and a perpetrator at the same time, argues @michelleinbklyn. https://t.co/0HgaZeb1Nc

— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) March 8, 2019

Jill Filipovic approves, naturally:

As usual, @michelleinbklyn has it exactly right on Ilhan Omar, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and racism. https://t.co/bPgGn9XNYu

— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) March 8, 2019

Which should tell you all you need to know about Goldberg’s piece. But just in case you need further confirmation that it’s hot garbage, here you go:

So I think Omar deserves criticism. Criticism, however, is not the right word for what she’s faced. As one of the first two Muslim women in Congress — and the first to wear a hijab — Omar has been subject to a terrifying campaign of racist vilification, including a poster in the rotunda of the West Virginia Capitol linking her to 9/11. She is treated as a dangerous foreign interloper in American politics and the embodiment of anti-Semitism, even though her Republican colleagues routinely demonstrate far worse anti-Jewish bigotry.

…

The point is not to excuse Omar by comparison. It’s to say that Omar said things that are offensive and that she’s the victim of a double standard. She’s been held up for unique opprobrium because, breaking with America’s foreign policy consensus, she empathizes with Palestinians more than Israelis. Representative Juan Vargas, a Democrat of California, gave the game away earlier this week when he tweeted, “It is disturbing that Rep. Omar continues to perpetuate hurtful anti-Semitic stereotypes that misrepresent our Jewish community. Additionally, questioning support for the U.S.-Israel relationship is unacceptable.”

House Democratic leaders have been widely panned for their handling of the Omar affair, but its contradictions put them in a near-impossible bind. To ignore her words would be to tolerate mild anti-Semitism, an unsavory proposition at any time, but especially now, when many Jews feel newly vulnerable in a country that’s long been a haven. To publicly rebuke her would mean joining in the over-the-top demonization of a black Muslim woman facing death threats. Ultimately, Democrats on Thursday settled on a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim discrimination, and “bigotry against minorities,” a blandly inoffensive document that didn’t seem to satisfy anyone.

“Mild anti-Semitism.”

Then the voting on the anti-bigotry resolution started. Every Democrat present backed the resolution, but 23 Republicans voted against it. It was a reminder that while Democrats sometimes fail to live up to the ideals of multiethnic democracy, Republicans don’t seem to recognize those ideas at all. Omar needs to do better, but right now there’s still only one political party in America that is a safe place for hate.

Anti-Semitism is bad, but Ilhan Omar’s the real victim here. And also Republicans are way worse.

So she’s now the victim? Simply incredible.

— J D (@jdemps7) March 8, 2019

Are the NYT now following an anti Semitic policy ?

— Nigel McCrery (@NigelMcCrery) March 8, 2019

Just mildly anti-Semitic.

Time for a column generator for Michelle Goldberg a la Tom Friedman? Her pieces are not just bad but bad in very predictable ways. How many times can you run the same column? pic.twitter.com/8syAQjySrS

— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) March 8, 2019

The real issue is our over reaction. Stop being so sensitive, if you are liberal it is not bigotry, just her truth.

— SatiristPod (@SatiristPod) March 8, 2019