It speaks volumes that new House member Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) called for impeachment of President Trump hours after being sworn into Congress. The Palestinian-American declared her war on Trump Thursday night before a crowd of supporters: “we’re gonna impeach the motherf**ker,” which she boasted was the reassurance she had given her 13-year-old son. Bad parenting aside, that does not make Ms. Tlaib notable. Rather, it is her rejection of center-left politics and divided loyalty that should be a concern.
I believe in the great American melting pot, as long as immigrants accept that E Pluribus Unum (out of many one) prohibits outright rejection of our advanced society, which was born of Judeo-Christian ethics, the Reformation and Enlightenment, Anglo-American jurisprudence, and the US Constitution. The USA has no peer as the cutting edge of civilization, font of global peace and prosperity, and destination for migrants. And, while I welcome Rashida Tlaib from her troubled land, I insist she embraces the core values of what is widely known as Americanism.
A reasonable American must distinguish between a devout Muslim and devout Buddhist, and between a Palestinian and south Vietnamese. To wit, I have not observed Buddhist immigrants weaponizing young minds to kill Americans, or south Vietnamese killing innocents to draw attention to their “lost” homeland. Rather, I have observed how Muslims and Palestinians remain barbarously antagonistic to advanced civilization. How is it even possible for Rashida Tlaib to ignore the trigger-happy tribalism and Islamic terror that is the calling card of her Palestinian homeland? I suspect she is a Palestinian fox in a Judeo-Christian henhouse.
In a letter to the Detroit Free Press, Tlaib claims “overwhelming evidence that the president has committed impeachable offenses” and advocates not waiting “on the outcome of that [Mueller] investigation before moving forward now.” Her sense of emergency exists because “each passing day brings new damage to the countless people hurt by this lawless president’s actions.” However, she does not mention who the “countless people” are or cite a single “lawless” presidential action.
Like most of the mad-lib resistance, Tlaib is guilty of political mumbo-jumbo, because she included an odd disclaimer: “we cannot undo the trauma that he is causing to our people, and this nation.” I am sorry, but Senate Democrats have already played the “trauma” card during their Kavanaugh resistance. Furthermore, the only victims she cites are the “children and their families at the southern border.” In other words, she will impeach an American president for exercising the purview of his office to the detriment of non-citizens that want to enter the US illegally.
Does this make me an Islamophobe? Hard to say, because I know and do business with Muslims in many countries – and I like them. Likability is not the issue here: I don’t believe Tlaib is all-in on the USA and its core values. While her Palestinian roots understandably invite questions, her actions and public comments prove her resistance is a matter of national loyalty. She made this crystal clear by wearing a thobe (traditional Palestinian robe) and placing her hand on a Quran to take her congressional oath of office.
Don’t think her swearing-in was akin to Tip O’Neill wearing a green shamrock on his lapel, because Tlaib lied to the Detroit Free Press about the origin of the Quran. She alleged it had belonged to Thomas Jefferson, adding this deceptive spin: “Muslims were there at the beginning…some of our Founding Fathers knew more about Islam than some members of Congress now.” In fact, Ms. Tlaib placed her hand on a friend’s Quran to be sworn into Congress – and later walked back her claim in a tweet.
Her original deception was intentional, as was the Middle East map in her congressional office with a Post-it note over Israel that has “Palestine” written on it. When asked to explain her Trump-impeachment expletive, she claimed those words were “exactly how my grandmother, if she was alive, would say it” (source: New York Times). In other words, when Tlaib’s Americanism was challenged, she channeled a Palestinian, who had never sought US citizenship.
Tlaib holds radical views. She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and promotes Medicare For All, a $15 minimum wage, and tuition-free college for all. She wants to abolish ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) and opposes aid to “Netanyahu Israel.” It is plausible she wants to impeach Trump for political purposes, specifically for his unwavering support of Israel and criticism of Palestine’s culture of anti-Semitism and terrorism.
To be sure, I reject Rashida Tlaib’s worldview and politics. But I also reject her lack of gratitude for having American citizenship. Did you know she married Fayez Tlaib in 1998, divorced him in 2015, and gained custody of their two sons? Good for her that she was not married in Palestine, where polygamy is still the law of the land and men hold all the marriage cards. Let me clear: I support open and honest politicians, but Rashida Tlaib is no such thing. My views on this Palestinian-American are simple. I do not trust this congresswoman.