Chase Madar writes:

When House Rep. Ilhan Omar’s comments about the Israel lobby took over the news cycle earlier this year, they struck some as innocuously accurate, others as impolitic, while for others they were outrageous and inflammatory. Omar apologized for any offense and pledged to be more diplomatic. End of story, right?

Of course not. The rabidly anti-Semitic comments that Omar never made — along with the equally fictitious Jew hatred of her allies in the so-called Squad — have swiftly become a load-bearing myth in US politics, holding up the starry heavens alongside troop-spitting hippies, death panels, and welfare queens.

At a rally in North Carolina last week, President Trump made hatred for Omar deliciously righteous by accusing her of vile anti-Semitism. He also falsely claimed she married her brother for immigration fraud and supports al-Qaeda, leading to “send her back” chants from the assembled mob.

For Republicans wishing to distance themselves from the ugliest side of the MAGA crowd, Omar’s anti-Semitism, however fictional, is an indispensable opportunity for triangulation. Yes, the “send her back” chant may have been a mistake, they said, but on the other hand, this Muslim woman and her young coven of leftist women of color are anti-Semites. We can’t allow one to let us lose sight of the other.

One senses the Democratic Party’s moderate leadership is mapping similar maneuvers. Yes, House Democrats passed a resolution last week condemning Trump’s demonization of “the Squad.” But today, the House is fast-tracking a resolution opposing the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (aimed at Israel’s ongoing subjugation of the West Bank and Gaza). This is a both a useful Democratic move to not be out-anti-anti-Semitism’ed by the GOP, and a way to curry favor with a key slice of the party’s elite donor base, for whom, according to the New York Times, military and diplomatic support for Israel is a high priority. Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib have announced their opposition to today’s resolution, which has almost 350 cosponsors on both sides of the aisle, and will easily pass. [Continue reading…]