Phony much?
AOC: Pol sez Muslim rep light on terror Yet he refuses to support 9/11 fund
Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez scorched Republicans on Thursday for having the gall to accuse a Muslim congresswoman of trivializing terrorism while they’re at the same time refusing to support reparation payments for survivors of the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
The freshman New York lawmaker took aim at Rep. Dan Crenshaw in particular, who had a day earlier claimed that Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar recently described the 9/11 terrorists as “some people who did something.”
“You refuse to co-sponsor the 9/11 Victim’s Compensation Fund, yet have the audacity to drum resentment towards Ilhan with completely out-of-context quotes,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted at Crenshaw, a Republican from Texas. “In 2018, right-wing extremists were behind almost ALL US domestic terrorist killings. Why don’t you go do something about that?”
Ocasio-Cortez’s pushback on behalf of her progressive pal came after a downmarket New York City tabloid published what she described as a “horrifying” and “hateful” front page suggesting Omar didn’t care for 9/11 victims.
“Here’s a fact,” OcasioCortez tweeted at the rightwing rag, “[Omar] is a cosponsor of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. She’s done more for 9/11 families than the GOP who won’t even support healthcare for 1st responders — yet are happy to weaponize her faith.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s stinging rebuke came on the heels of congressional Republicans and conservative outlets throwing a fit over remarks Omar made last month.
“Far too long, we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen, and frankly, I’m tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it,” Omar said March 23 at an event in Los Angeles hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.”
Cherrypicking those remarks, Crenshaw (R-Texas) and a number of other highprofile Republicans, including President Trump’s eldest son, called Omar a “disgrace.”
“First Member of Congress to ever describe terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 as ‘some people who did something.’ Unbelievable,” Crenshaw tweeted, linking to a clip that only quoted the second half of Omar’s comments.
New York Democrats urged Crenshaw and his GOP buddies to put their money where their mouths are instead of needling Omar, one of only two Muslim members of Congress.
“Our city and country was brutally attacked by terrorists on 9/11. Thousands of innocent people were murdered, including hundreds of Staten Islanders and Brooklynites,” Rep. Max Rose said in a statement. “So let’s put action behind our words and unite around fully funding the VCF. Any Member of Congress saying ‘Never Forget’ must also back up their words with real actions.”
A Crenshaw spokesman did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund was established by Congress to compensate first-responders and others harmed as a result of the terror attacks in downtown Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001.
The fund has been running out faster than expected, resulting in payouts being cut upward of 70%.
Congress needs to pass a new version of the VCF bill for 9/11 heroes to be able to collect their full checks again, but GOP members, including Crenshaw, have dragged their feet and expressed reluctance about bankrolling the legislation.