This is one of those instances where you have to read past the headline. We’re guessing you spend some time on the hellscape that is Twitter, and a lot of people are calling Bernie Sanders supporters, aka Bernie Bros, abusive. Sanders, of course, suggests this might be the work of Russian bots.
NEW: Sanders implies Russia, not his supporters, may be to blame for online vitriol. Experts aren’t so sure. https://t.co/xTd00e6VY0
— Tony Romm (@TonyRomm) February 20, 2020
So how do we get from there to this headline?
Ilhan Omar accuses Meghan McCain of trafficking in "anti-Muslim smears and hate speech" https://t.co/lIrpedRHHi pic.twitter.com/hFYhKYRKzX
— The Hill (@thehill) February 20, 2020
She does, sort of, in a sneaky, off-hand way. You probably know that Rep. Ilhan Omar has endorsed Sanders for president and acts as a campaign surrogate, so she got a little upset when Meghan McCain called out the Bernie Bros for their misogynistic social media posts:
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Bernie – your army of Bernie bro’s are the worst in all of the internet and every woman on both sides knows it. Mysoginistic, abusive and inspired by you. There’s no army of Pete bots or Biden bots abusing women! #DemDebate
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) February 20, 2020
So here’s how the puzzle fits together. McCain calls the Bernie Bros “the worst in all the internet.” Omar, taking offense on behalf of Sanders, made the argument that the same people who criticize progressives like Sanders “regularly traffic in anti-Muslim smears.”
The same people who chastise the progressive movement regularly traffic in anti-Muslim smears and hate speech against me and those I represent.
It’s almost as if they don't genuinely care about online harassment.
? pic.twitter.com/jZKgYvjDl6— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 20, 2020
Omar then added a screenshot of McCain asking, “How is this not a bigger deal” in response to a story about Omar marrying her brother and perpetrating immigration fraud. So it’s an anti-Muslim smear to question if Omar did or did not marry her brother? Is that a Muslim thing?
Like we said, it’s kind of sneaky how Omar managed to conflate criticism of the Bernie Bros with anti-Muslim smears; therefore, you can no longer call out the Bernie Bros (who might be Russian bots) without being branded Islamophobic, because the two go hand-in-hand.
Calling Ilhan Omar out for immigration fraud isn't anti-Muslim. There is ample evidence that she married her homosexual brother to defraud ICE. Discussing the issue isn't bigoted it is just plain common sense. Do we want our leaders to be felons?
— Alexander Muse (@amuse) February 20, 2020
It’s just one of those things that cannot be discussed.
An anti-Semite says what?
— Uncle Fester (@UncleFestering) February 20, 2020
She traffics in anti-semitism ?
— TrutherCymru (@CymruTruther) February 20, 2020
Speaker Nancy Pelosi explained that already: Omar just has “a different experience in the use of words.”
Wow, that is rich!
— Donald Eddy (@Deddy5Donald) February 21, 2020
The only reason Democrats didn’t censure @IlhanMN for her repeated anti-Semitic smears is because her party lacked the spine. https://t.co/WDAJm6nRIy https://t.co/G5tYtDpGvN
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 20, 2020
They, liberals and "elites", have zero agenda and defend themselves by pulling the race card every time
— alpagi łyk (@robybdk) February 20, 2020
They’d rather impeach the president for something he didn’t do than censure radical elements within their party for what they have done.
— MJ23 (@ht3142_) February 21, 2020
Nope. It’s because her party is also anti-Semitic.
— Heart Throb Rob (@RobertoConQueso) February 21, 2020
That and many of them agree with her.
— Mark Walker (@ufmdw) February 20, 2020
— Mike? (@IC0MA) February 20, 2020
Omar is hiding behind her faith to prevent people from seeking answers regarding her questionable, and possibly illegal, conduct. There is nothing anti-Muslim or hateful about what McCain did.
— Lovin'Life (@LakeLifeIsGreat) February 20, 2020
Just in time to claim victimhood and obscure new reporting that she's a dirty lying immigration fraud who married her brother.
— MakeCaliforniaRedAgain (@RallyCali) February 20, 2020
Translation: Any criticism of me is anti-Muslim smear and hate speech. No one should be allowed to criticize me.
— Brian Stuart (@OneMoreBrian) February 20, 2020
Bingo.
Liberals really hate it when people tell the truth about them.
— Jeff Rothstein (@JeffRothstein17) February 20, 2020
Related:
Party of Science at work: Ilhan Omar says, 'I don’t know if my children will have a planet to live on in 20 years' https://t.co/XbM8Drx1o9
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 7, 2020