Ilhan Omar: Obama was just a pretty face; “hope and change” was an illusion

Having escaped condemnation for her anti-Semitic remarks, and indeed having avoided even a straight resolution condemning anti-Semtism itself, Rep. Ilhan Omar has gone on the attack. That’s not surprising, but some might be surprised at the target of her latest attack.

This time, it’s not Jews. This time the target is former president Barack Obama. The New York Post reports:

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar ripped former President Barack Obama in an interview published Friday, belittling his “pretty face” and saying his agenda of hope and change was an illusion.

She cited the “caging of kids” at the Mexican border and the “droning of countries around the world” on Obama’s watch — and argued that he wasn’t much different from President Trump

“We can’t be only upset with Trump,” the freshman firebrand told Politico Magazine.

“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 said.

“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.”

If this were the view of only Omar and some fringe Democrats, it wouldn’t be a big deal. The problem for Democrats is that it’s the view of significant portion of congressional Democrats and Democratic voters. Omar is saying what many Democratic politicians believe but have been afraid to say until now.

How many House Democrats share Omar’s view? What percentage of Democratic voters do? These are the big questions, to which I don’t know the answers.

But if you strip away Omar’s inflammatory rhetoric and focus on her two substantive talking points — the detention of illegal immigrants at the border and the use of lethal force by the U.S. military abroad, I wouldn’t be surprised if her views have something approaching, or maybe even exceeding, majority support among Democrats.

Few Democrats would agree with Omar’s absurd suggestion that Presidents Obama and Trump are two sides of the same coin — a pretty side and an ugly side. But Trump will leave the stage either in 2021 or 2025. The policy rift in the Democratic party looks like it’s here to stay.

Either that or Omar’s side will prevail, in which case the Democrats risk years in the political wilderness.

The furies have been unleashed.

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