Cenk Uygur, the founder of The Young Turks, on Thursday accused the Democratic establishment of lying “nonstop” and being “incredibly weak,” as the party engages in an internal feud surrounding Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) most recent controversial comments.
Omar faced criticism last week for her questioning of Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, when she asked about the International Criminal Court (ICC) and investigations of alleged crimes by the Taliban and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, in addition to the accusations against Hamas and Israel in the Gaza conflict.
Omar, in a tweet with a clip of her questioning Blinken, wrote, “We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban. I asked @SecBlinken where people are supposed to go for justice.”
Omar has since made efforts to clarify her remarks, saying she was not equating the U.S. and Israel with terrorist organizations.
The comments sparked outrage among Jewish Democrats and Republicans alike, leading Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her entire leadership team to issue a rare joint statement saying they welcome Omar’s clarification, while adding that “drawing false equivalencies between democracies like the U.S. and Israel and groups that engage in terrorism like Hamas and the Taliban foments prejudice and undermines progress toward a future of peace and security for all.”
Uygur said that centrist Democrats try to get liberals’ support when they need it, but then later abandon them.
“OK so first of all, Democratic establishment: They lie nonstop and they are incredibly weak. So they say ‘well, progressives, oh my god, golly gee, if you just come a lot further down the road, and you just keep giving us every vote that we want, later we’ll do what you want. You’re our cherished beloved colleagues,’” he said during an appearance on Hill.TV’s “Rising.”
“And then, unfortunately some of the — just Democrats have made the mistake of believing them, and then the minute they turn around after they get their votes, they punch ’em in the face. They’re not your colleagues, they’re not your friends,” he added.
Uygur said that “corporate Democrats” are not on the same team as progressives.
“But when progressives ask for something they never, ever get it. So progressives, I got news for you and I think that they’re on to this now because they’re fighting very hard on the infrastructure bill: Those corporate Democrats agree with corporate Republicans. They are not on your team. They’re on the exact opposite team,” he said.
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