Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Min) launched her reelection campaign Thursday night largely unopposed and with $1.56 million in the bank, having raised more than $2.5 million by the end of last summer. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Omar’s fundraising is more than three times the House incumbents’ average.
She owes her success to President Donald Trump, who granted her enormous fame and liberal adoration, despite her despicable views on Jews, Israel, US national values and human decency. Like the Brian Epstein of modern politics, Trump created “The Squad” – a group of four women elected in 2018 to the House of Representatives: Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. All are women of color under 50 well in the left wing of the Democratic Party.
Trump turned Omar and her partners in racism-anti-Semitism moved into the face of the Democratic opposition, and told them to go back to their countries – although only one among them, Omar, is a naturalized American citizen. Trump supporters have been mixing chants of “Lock her up” for Hillary Clinton with “Send her back” for Ilhan Omar at Trump rallies – and each time they do, there’s a loud ka-ching over at Omar’s bank account, as new liberal donations drop in.
The Congresswoman’s own slogan is “Send her back to Congress!” which is a defiant response to Trump’s attacks.
Now, the president may not be wrong in using these marginal lawmakers to paint the entire Democratic opposition commie-red. He may even win a second term with this strategy – assuming he overcomes the impeachment challenge: SBD, a sports betting website, on the eve of the trial in the Senate gave him +2500 odds to win. His chances to win a second term have never been better, because, let’s face it, the Democrats are working hard to make this possible, marginalizing their message and their presidential candidates.
Of course, Omar won in an overwhelmingly Democratic district, one of the most progressive districts in America, where she took 78% of the vote in the 2018 general election. And, of course, she and the gals are working hard to bring down the traditional Democratic party which is running out of centrists, never mind rightwingers.
And, if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it. Ilhan Omar continues her anti-Israel and anti-Semitic tirades because it pays. Literally. Back in September, she told Face the Nation’s Margaret Brennan that she hopes Israel does not re-elect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because “his existence is problematic.”
I used to have a grandfather in Poland with a similar problem.
Omar also continued to champion the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, which is largely a failure but gets headlines, which, you guessed it – ka-ching.
A black businessman named Lacy Johnson, a Republican, is probably going to run against Omar in November. And because his opponent is so disliked on the right, he has raised $478,000 by summer’s end – mostly from outside the district. He deserves our support. His message is simple, monochromatic if you will:
“Rep. Ilhan Omar continues to show her true colors, even insinuating that President Trump is using Iran as a distraction from impeachment. Rep. Omar has a long history of sympathizing with the radical Middle East (including 9/11!). Let’s make sure her first term is her last!”
Let’s.