This is horrible.
Mike Pushkin, a Democratic legislator and who is Jewish, condemned the poster as Islamophobic and racist. He said, “In 1933, in Berlin, they might have had a similar poster about me.”
Fights broke out by the poster, which apparently was displayed by a hate group allowed at the WVGOP days presentation at the Capitol.
Rep. Omar responds:
More later.
Update I: Here is a link to the story in the Washington Post.
Some quotes from the WaPo article that I can do now (I was on my I-Pad this morning and have trouble copying and pasting much).
Who did it?
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the poster, which was displayed on a day of events called “WVGOP Day” and sponsored by the state Republican Party. Melody Potter, the state party chairwoman, did not respond to voice mail or text messages.
Photos of the poster showed it next to a placard promoting ACT for America, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated an anti-Muslim hate group. ACT for America did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Sergeant at Arms resigned after being confronted about her bigotry and a doorkeeper was injured:
The body’s sergeant at arms submitted a letter of resignation at the end of the day after being accused of a making an anti-Muslim slur during the dispute, according to West Virginia Public Radio and other local outlets. A doorkeeper was reportedly injured during a dispute with a member over the doors to the chamber.
And Republicans were silent:
Pushkin, who is Jewish, said he condemned the poster from the floor of the House and asked his colleagues to do the same.
snip
But no Republican delegates condemned the poster, Pushkin said. “I’m really disappointed that not a single Republican elected official in this building could join me in saying it’s wrong,” he said.
Religious bigotry and hate is a Republican value.
And kudos to Pushkin for standing up for Omar.
Update II: From NBCNews
The outrage continued on the House floor, where Del. Mike Pushkin, a Democrat, took aim at the display.
"It's ugly, it's hateful and there's absolutely no place for it in American politics," Pushkin said, according to WVNews. "Not in the country that I love. Not in the state that I love. We all give up our time during this time of year to come up here and serve our constituents because we love this state. Well, I love everybody in the state no matter what they look like, who they pray to, who they love. I'm tired of it. It disgusts me."
Pushkin, who's Jewish, added, "I'm proud to live in a country that somebody can come into this country with absolutely nothing and wind up in the halls of Congress representing the state of Minnesota."
Update III: The pushback finally shamed the Republicans a day later. From benny05 in the comments (link in benny05’s comment):
“The West Virginia Republican Party does not approve, condone, or support hate speech. One of the exhibitors at our West Virginia Republican Party Day at the Capitol displayed a sign that we did not approve, were not aware of before the day started, and we do not support. Upon learning about the sign, we immediately asked this exhibitor to remove the sign.
“Our Party supports freedom of speech, but we do not endorse speech that advances intolerant and hateful views. We have shown that when West Virginians are united, when we respect each other, embrace our differences and focus on moving our state forward what we can accomplish.”
Supporters of area Muslims gathered outside the House of Delegates chamber this morning, prior to an anticipated Saturday floor session.
But yesterday not a single Republican legislator would condemn it when asked on the floor to do so.
Update IV: From igualdad in the comments. Rashida Tlaib stands up for Ilhan Omar.
The “squad” (AOC, Tlaib, Omar, and Pressley) sticks together.
‘Squad’: Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib band together at orientation
Not sure if they call themselves that, but it sounds good. :-)
