July 22, 2019
The House Democrats voted last week to condemn President Trump for Twitter comments, which they claim were racist. In spite of not actually naming anyone it was clear that Trump was referring to four freshmen Congresswomen, Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez (D-NY), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who have dubbed themselves the “Squad”, due to their political alignment.
The left accused Trump of using a racist trope to “women of color”, when he tweeted that they should go back to their own country; never mind that only two of the women are actually black. Further, what he actually said was that they should go back and fix their native countries, then return to the U.S. and show us “how it’s done”.
Trump’s error was that three of the four congresswomen were born in the United States. Ilhan Omar, who Trump was most likely targeting, is the only naturalized citizen. Omar and her impoverished family, who are native Somalis were welcomed into the United States as refugees when Omar was a 12-year-old child.
What Trump wasn’t wrong about is the fact that these four women espouse values and ideologies antithetical to American ideals. They are also extremely critical of our nation. Yes- every U.S. politician critiques the United States and offers plans and ideas on to how to improve our country.
However, the rhetoric from the Squad goes beyond solutions to improve our country. From their own words, and actions, they make it clear that they believe that our country’s foundation and institutions are systemically racist, unjust, and need to be radically transformed.
The Squad’s Radical Proposals
In their vision for America, the economic system which has brought our country tremendous wealth- capitalism, would be replaced with a collectivist system. Ocasio- Cortez is a declared Democrat Socialist. The other three Congresswomen agree that capitalism is unjust.
From Omar’s campaign website– “the capitalist system has led to a concentration of wealth in a small handful of elites while working people suffer. We must stop the exploitation of working people to create a fair and just economy.”
Omar’s website also details her vision of a guaranteed federal job, with a guaranteed $15 minimum wage. She, like her fellow squad members, believes that “housing is a human right”, and proposes that the federal government should guarantee a home. According to Omar “…the free-market does not meet the needs of working families, while big banks and for-profit developers continue to profit off of working communities.” Omar believes that “We need to move towards publicly-and cooperatively-owned models of housing for all income levels.” Yes- a sitting member in the United States Congress believes that everyone should live in government-owned housing.
The squad also proposes tuition- free two and four- year public colleges; and canceling ALL of the outstanding student loan debt, which totals $1.6 trillion.
The four Congresswomen advocate for a healthcare system controlled by the central government, forcing 150 million Americans off their current health care plan. They also support extending tax-payer funded health insurance to illegal immigrants residing in the U.S.
No surprise, they all advocate for significant tax increases on the “rich”. The consensus seems to be anywhere from a 70%-90% marginal income tax rate would be fair. Omar also proposes to “strengthen the estate tax to limit the amount of intergenerational wealth that can be accumulated in the wealthiest families.” So, if you have a business you would like to leave to your children -the squad believes that is unfair, and instead should be given to the collective to share.
The squad all support the Green New Deal, the radical proposal of Ocasio- Cortez, which would ban all fossil fuels, and radically transform our country’s economy. Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff recently admitted that the Green New Deal isn’t about climate change-
The interesting thing about the Green New Deal is it wasn’t originally a climate thing at all. Do you guys think of it as a climate thing? Because we realty think of it as a how do you change the entire economy thing” – Saikat Chakrabarti
The immigration policy changes they advocate for would effectively nullify our country’s sovereignty. They have all proposed abolishing the Department of Homeland Security, and Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), decriminalizing the illegal crossing of the border, and ending deportations. Characterizing our current immigration system as inhumane, the women have referred to the detention centers, temporarily holding the migrants, as Nazi concentration camps, and propose ending detentions.
Pressley actually tweeted that ICE and CBP are “radicalized, criminal agencies that openly commit human rights abuses.” A sentiment shared by her fellow squad members.
Incredibly, Omar’s website states that she wants to expand the number of refugees and asylum seekers admitted to the United States. So, rather than fix our dysfunctional immigration laws, which are being rampantly gamed, she wants to make it easier to exploit our immigration laws, and increase the flow of migrants at our border.
In sum, the policies advocated by the squad would entail a massive redistribution of wealth on a scale never before seen in our country, combined with government control of vast segments of the economy. Personal property rights would be curtailed and the free market economy that has enabled our country to become the richest in the world would be radically transformed.
It’s worth noting that, according to Omar, her “idol” is radical activist and renowned communist Angela Davis. Davis is a militant black activist, who has been associated with the Black Panthers. In 1980 Davis ran for Vice President on the Communist Party ticket.
The Squad’s Disdain for America
In spite of being raised in impoverished households all four women were provided an education, opportunity, and the freedom to succeed. Yet, in addition to wanting to transform the system that has helped them rise, incredibly, they all speak with disdain for the U.S.
During a March 2019 interview at South by Southwest, Ocasio-Cortez stated that the U.S. has “strayed so far away from what had really made us powerful and just and good and equitable and productive.” She added that our country needed radical change, not small incremental changes, because where the country is now, is “garbage”. Yes- the inexperienced bartender, who grew up in a low-income household, yet vaulted overnight into Congress, believes that “where we are..” as a country is “garbage.”
Recently speaking at the NetRoots Nation Conference, in reference to the United States, Omar stated that she was “ashamed” of “continuing to live in its hypocrisy.” She explained “We export American exceptionalism. You ask anybody walking on the side of the street somewhere in the middle of the world, they will tell you- America the great. But we don’t live those values here.”
Interestingly, Omar never wore a hijab, until aged twenty. By her own words she explained that she did not wear a hijab growing up because it was looked down upon in her native Somalia. However, after 3,000 Americans were murdered by radicalized Islamists on September 11, Omar claims that she was inspired to wear the hijab because she wanted to outwardly identify as a Muslim.
As an American Muslim Omar has never spoken out about radicalized Islamists who have killed in the name of Allah. On the contrary, in a 2013 interview for a local PBS show Omar seemingly draws an equivalency between the words “America” and “Al Qaeda”. Laughingly Omar wonders why some say “Al Qaeda” and “Hezbollah” with an ominous tone, yet they don’t use that same tone when they say “America”, or “army”.
In 2016 Omar even defended a Somali-American man who had traveled to the Middle East to fight for the Islamic state. Omar blamed the U.S. for his actions, claiming he was a victim of “systemic alienation”. In a a letter to the sentencing judge Omar advocated for rehabilitation, rather than imprisonment. Thankfully the judge wasn’t swayed and sentenced Abdirahman Yasin Daud to 30 years in prison.
Unfortunately, Trump’s rhetoric was red meat for those eager to paint him as a racist to destroy his presidency. Every honest person knows that if the four congresswomen were all white blondes of European descent, Trump would have responded no differently. Trump’s ire with the squad has nothing to do with complexion or ethnicity, and everything to do with fighting back against their Anti-American venom, and destructive policies which would be the end of everything that has brought our country to greatness.
In spite of their unwillingness to admit it, the squad is the living embodiment that the “American Dream” is open to every American citizen. President Trump and his supporters want to keep it this way.
