Perhaps Louis Farrakhan thought the time was ripe for a Nation of Islam campaign against the FBI, considering the controversies in which it’s been mired. Instead of sticking to a coherent and fact-based argument, though, the leader of the NoI instead declared before a cheering audience that the problem with the FBI is the Joooooooooos. After accusing the FBI of being the biggest foe of “black advancement,” Farrakhan explained, “See, the Jews have control over those agencies of government,” to scattered applause and shouts of encouragement. He added, “If you go to work tomorrow and your bosses are Jews, don’t tell them where you’ve been.”
One might be tempted to consider the whole thing a joke that had been taken out of context, but no — Farrakhan himself underscores the message in his own tweet of this clip:
The FBI has been the worst enemy of Black advancement. The Jews have control over those agencies of government. #Farrakhan pic.twitter.com/DXKCRr1zpo
— THE HONORABLE MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN (@LouisFarrakhan) March 7, 2018
Yeah, that’s pretty blatant. Better catch this now before Twitter suspends Louis Farrakhan’s account for spreading hate. Just kidding! Twitter only does that when people on the Left complain about tweets. Or maybe it’s not so much of a joke, as people have begun calling out Democrats and progressives over their defenses of Farrakhan, and suddenly they’re feeling the heat. Cornell Brooks, the head of the NAACP likened Farrakhan’s speech to the use of the N-word:
Watching this video of Jews being ethno-slimed, I think about walking around cloaked in somebody’s fear of me as a N-word. The pseudo fears of bigots can make you feel the need to bathe your soul—w/ a soap that cleanses the filth of their stereotypes. #Antisemitism is WRONG. https://t.co/y1LCnbb9rf
— Cornell William Brooks (@CornellWBrooks) March 8, 2018
Good for Brooks. What about politicians? Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) called for Farrakhan’s rejection by “left, right, and center,” and got hailed by Chelsea Clinton:
Co-sign, Senator. Thank you for speaking up on this. There is no possible compromise with anti-Semitism. We must condemn it.
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) March 8, 2018
Jeryl Bier wondered just how far they’d go in these denunciations, though:
Would either of you care to comment on the longstanding associations of a good number of Democratic members of Congress with Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam?
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) March 8, 2018
In fact, ABC News wondered about that, too. After the Republican Jewish Coalition called for the resignation of seven members of Congress with ties to Farrakhan, Good Morning America followed up with each to see whether they would denounce the NoI leader. Thus far, they haven’t gotten any answers, but they did note responses from Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) and DNC deputy chair Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) after a Daily Caller story on Monday:
The lobbying group on Tuesday called for the following lawmakers to step down: Reps. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.; Barbara Lee, D-Calif.; Maxine Waters, D-Calif.; Danny Davis, D-Ill.; Andre Carson, D-Ind.; Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.; and Al Green, D-Texas. …
Davis told The Daily Caller in a statement Monday, without specifically addressing Farrakhan, anti-Semitism is “antithetical to everything I believe and everything that I work for on a daily basis.”
Davis also described Farrakhan as an “outstanding human being.”
A spokesman for Ellison, the deputy director of the Democratic National Committee, told Fox News on Tuesday that Ellison “has repeatedly disavowed anti-Semitism and bigotry, since his first campaign for Congress in 2006.” Ellison in 2007 became the first Muslim member of Congress, has been a vocal opponent of prejudice.
If a lawmaker called David Duke an “outstanding human being,” it would make national headlines — and rightly so, as Duke is a racist anti-Semite as well. The media outlets would also pose the same question to other politicians of the same party, forcing them to go on the record as either denouncing Duke or failing to do so. So far, though, only CNN’s Jake Tapper seems interested in shining a light on Farrakhan’s equally repulsive bigotry, exposing the leadership of the Women’s March for their association with Farrakhan. And no other outlets except ABC in this instance seem interested in applying the Akin test to Democrats.
Why not? Well, we know the answer to that question, but that’s why it’s worth asking out loud. Repeatedly. After all, it’s not like Farrakhan’s virulent and paranoid anti-Semitism is a recent development, and yet Democrats keep aligning themselves with him — from the top down:
https://twitter.com/JesseKellyDC/status/971592657851109382
Explanations are due. Will the media demand them of Democrats as they would Republicans? ABC and Jake Tapper at least have demonstrated how to do it.
Update: The New York Daily News editorial board steps up to the plate:
Tamika Mallory, an activist who serves as national co-chair of the Women’s March, is an apologist for the ragingly anti-Semitic, anti-white Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan.
Strike that. She’s not an apologist, she’s an enthusiast. And that must disqualify her from being a leader of a broad movement seeking positive change.
John has an upcoming post on Mallory, so stay tuned, but kudos to the NYDN for this blunt and accurate assessment.
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