Democrat leaders and lawmakers are pushing back against newly-elected Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib’s “motherf*****” comments.
Tlaib spoke at a MoveOn rally in Washington, D.C., last night where she ended her speech saying, “We’re gonna impeach the motherf*****.” It’s an obvious reference to President Donald Trump.
Rashida Tlaib on Trump: “We’re going to impeach the Motherf***er” https://t.co/cCyKN4mzYk pic.twitter.com/hoFUOsxuQp
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) January 4, 2019
As you can see in the video above, her audience loved the comment. However, Democrat leaders and lawmakers pushing back against Tlaib’s comments.
Rachel Bade of Politico reports Jim Costa told her the Tlaib’s comments are “inappropriate.” He would add, “As elected officials I think we should be expected to set a high bar…It’s not helpful.”
.@RepJimCosta tells me @RashidaTlaib‘s comments are “Inappropriate.” “As elected officials I think we should be expected to set a high bar… It’s not helpful.” Even Rep Sherman–who introduced an impeachment res yesterday– was shocked by comments when @heatherscope
read 2 him— Rachael Bade (@rachaelmbade) January 4, 2019
Bade also notes that California representative Brad Sherman who introduced articles of impeachment against Donald Trump was shocked by Tlaib’s comments.
Costa would tell CNN reporter Manu Raju, “It’s inappropriate. We can have our differences but we set a higher standard.” However, Al Green seemed to echo Tlaib’s statement telling Raju, “I’m absolutely convinced that impeachment is not dead.”
Dem divisions on impeachment on sharp display this AM. Rep. Jim Costa rebuked Rashida Tlaib’s impeachment talk, telling me: “It’s inappropriate: we can have our differences but we set a higher standard.” Dem Rep. Al Green: “I’m absolutely convinced that impeachment is not dead.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 4, 2019
Long-time Democrat leader Elijah Cummings, who directs the Oversight Committee, also pushed back on Tlaib saying, “Those kind of comments do not take us in the right direction.”
Party leaders, including the great Oversight bull @RepCummings, is also pushing back on @RashidaTlaib‘s colorful language: “Those kind of comments do not take us in the right direction.” Yikes.
— Rachael Bade (@rachaelmbade) January 4, 2019
Cummings would also tell CNN reporter Elizabeth Landers, “You can not accomplish much of anything unless you have civility and show respect for your colleagues. I think those kind of comments do not take us in the right direction…they are inappropriate.”
I asked @RepCummings if comments like “impeach the motherf*cker” are productive: “You can not accomplish much of anything unless you have civility & show respect for your colleagues. I think those kind of comments do not take us in the right direction…they are inappropriate.”
— Elizabeth Landers (@ElizLanders) January 4, 2019
Despite the pushback from a number of Democratic leaders, Rashida Tlaib doubled down in a statement released by her office:
“Congresswoman Tlaib was elected to shake up Washington, not continue the status quo. Donald Trump is completely unfit to serve as President. The Congresswoman absolutely believes he needs to be impeached. She ran and won by making this very clear to the voters in her district. Donald Trump’s actions have harmed the 13th Congressional District and this country, and Congresswoman Tlaib will not stay silent while this happens. In an op-ed published Thursday morning, the Congresswoman laid out why she believes Donald Trump should be impeached.”
Rashida Tlaib’s office buckles down on the “impeach the motherfucker” comments in statement: pic.twitter.com/yikr61eMK0
— Lissandra Villa (@LissandraVilla) January 4, 2019
When confronted about her comments, however, Rep. Tlaib refused to address them:
.@RashidaTlaib would not address her comment last night that she wants to “impeach the motherf**cker” pic.twitter.com/NgEyN7znmq
— Bo Erickson (@BoKnowsNews) January 4, 2019
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler told CNN, “I don’t really like that kind of language, but more to the point, I disagree with what she said. It is too early to talk about that intelligently. We have to follow the facts…Maybe it will lead to impeachment, maybe it won’t. ”
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler on Rashida Tlaib’s vow to impeach Trump: “I don’t really like that kind of language, but more to the point, I disagree with what she said. It is too early to talk about that intelligently. We have to follow the facts” https://t.co/Ctwc5n4hGK pic.twitter.com/OsCOTQnuj2
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) January 4, 2019
This is just the tip of the iceberg for Tlaib, who has become a magnet for controversy outside of her off-color remarks. Tlaib’s office has a post-it that reads “Palestine.” The post-it note covers up Israel’s location on a world map.
Here’s the video: pic.twitter.com/yu9u01fVWi
— ᵀᴴᴱ ᴾᴿᴬᴳᴹᴬᵀᴼᴹᴱᵀᴱᴿ (@pragmatometer) January 4, 2019
A number of people have taken this to mean Tlaib is an anti-Semite.
#antisemite#Israel
First Female Palestinian Lawmaker Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat — Has Israel Eliminated on Office Map
Tlaib supports the the elimination of Israel as a nation state.https://t.co/JkgTqnXoe7— EMPIntelligenceNet© (@Megavolts001) January 4, 2019
rashida tlaib openly supports & admires convicted jew-murdering terrorist rasmea odeh so no, i will never respect or support that antisemite
— STAND WITH ISRAEL ?????? (@proisraeI) January 4, 2019
I am enraged. We now have antisemites in Congress who will masquerade under the umbrella of progressivism. You cannot be a progressive and not support the right of Israel to exist and defend itself. Rashida Tlaib is an antisemite, and she must be stopped.https://t.co/LUFFAHHvmc
— Jackson Wolf Pincus ?️?✡️ (@jw_pincus) December 4, 2018
What do you make of Tlaib’s comments? Do you think she represents the majority of Democrats? Do you think the pushback by Democrat leaders will amount to anything or are they just trying to put out some damage control? What did you make of Tlaib’s doubling down on her comments?