Lauren Boebert and Ilhan Omar
Dear Commons Community,
Yesterday, the Denver Post editorial board did what Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) has so far refused to do and offered a sincere apology to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).
The newspaper has “mostly tried to ignore” conspiracy theory-endorsing Boebert’s antics since she was elected to Congress in 2020 because “they add little to the public discourse,” it wrote in a stinging editorial Monday.
But the Donald Trump acolyte’s recent Islamophobic attacks on Omar — and her subsequent non-apology to her fellow congresswoman — had “crossed a line,” it said. The board was “embarrassed a Colorado representative is engaged in widening” divisions in the country.
Omar “deserved nothing short of a full apology” but Boebert “is clearly incapable of remorse or reflection, so as her fellow Coloradans — a beautiful place of tolerance and respect, diversity and freedom — we will help her, the board wrote.
“We apologize to the Congresswoman and to the Muslim community for Boebert’s insensitive remarks,” it added. “Such remarks, no matter how innocently intended, have no place in American discourse.”
Below is the entire editorial.
Tony
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Editorial: Since Boebert seems incapable, we’ll apologize to Omar for her
By The Denver Post Editorial Board |
PUBLISHED: November 29, 2021 at 3:21 p.m. | UPDATED: November 30, 2021 at 2:20 p.m.
The Denver Post editorial board has mostly tried to ignore U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s antics because they add so little to the public discourse. Since the Western Slope representative was elected in November 2020, we’ve published two editorials about her. The first urged an investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and whether her words and actions helped former President Donald Trump spark the insurrection; the other editorial defended Boebert from sexist and elitist attacks targeting her on social media for her physical appearance and her lack of a college education.
But last week, Boebert crossed a line and now we must stand up for common decency. Boebert is intentionally using her platform to peddle a gross and false narrative about Muslim Americans. We cannot fathom what evil intent drives this behavior, but after first apologizing, Boebert now has made matters worse.
In a video that was circulated widely last week after being tweeted out by Patriot Takes — a group that describes its mission as “to research, monitor and expose the extremism and radicalization of the far-right across the darkest parts of the Internet” — Boebert told supporters a story about getting on an elevator and seeing a security guard rush toward her as the doors were closing:
“I look to my left and there she is: Ilhan Omar. And I said, ‘Well, she doesn’t have a backpack. We should be fine,’” Boebert said in the video to cheers from the audience. “I looked over and I said, ‘Oh look, the jihad squad decided to show up for work today.’ ”
Making a joke about suicide bombers and suggesting that a congresswoman is a threat to safety and security because she is a Muslim is both racist and a form of religious bigotry. Boebert did apologize to “anyone in the Muslim community I offended with my comment about Rep. Omar,” and she pledged to call Omar directly, however, Boebert reported in a strange video on Monday that that phone call went poorly, and it’s no wonder given that she prefaces the conversation by once again raising the specter of concern about Omar and threats to American security.
“Make no mistake. I will continue to fearlessly put America first. Never sympathizing with terrorists. Unfortunately, Ilhan can’t say the same thing, and our country is worse off for it,” she said.
Rep. Ilhan Omar deserved nothing short of a full apology. Instead, Boebert used the phone call as a publicity stunt and further insulted Omar. Boebert is clearly incapable of remorse or reflection, so as her fellow Coloradans — a beautiful place of tolerance and respect, diversity and freedom — we will help her.
We apologize to the Congresswoman and to the Muslim community for Boebert’s insensitive remarks. Such remarks, no matter how innocently intended, have no place in American discourse. Boebert should not have fabricated an encounter with the Congresswoman and she most certainly should not have suggested she or any Muslim should be suspected of terrorism based on their religion. It is incumbent on Colorado’s representatives to treat all Americans with respect and dignity regardless of differences of opinion. We know we cannot bridge the deep rifts causing Americans to distrust one another through hateful language. We are embarrassed a Colorado representative is engaged in widening this divide, and we are sorry we didn’t call her out the first time she used a derogatory reference toward you and other members of Congress who are women and minorities.
May Lauren Boebert never face this kind of anger, discrimination or bigotry. We stood up for her once when others crossed the line and now we stand up to her and ask her to stop spewing her hatred across this great nation.
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