Politicians' 'no response' shuffle
The war in Gaza, triggered by the unprovoked Hamas raid into Israel on Oct. 7, in which the terrorist group massacred 1,200 Israeli civilians, has provided us with an opportunity to observe some politicians perform a rather sad dance. Asked a question deserving of a straightforward answer, they engage in the "no response" shuffle to avoid answering. Others have no issue providing a direct response because they feel comfortable doing so – possessing the moral ground to take the position they do while the "shufflers" do not. One would think, however, when the issue focuses on the morality of beheading Israeli babies, all politicians would embrace the same moral code. Regrettably, that is not the case.
Three days after the massacre, Fox Business reporter Hillary Vaughn caught Rep. Rashid Tlaib, D-Mich., walking down the halls of Congress, ambushing her with questions about Hamas. She queried if Tlaib had any comment to make about the shocking report of Hamas beheading Israeli babies. As Tlaib picked up the pace hoping to reach a get-away elevator, Vaughn queried, "Congresswoman, Hamas terrorists have cut off babies' heads and burned children alive. Do you support Israel's rights to defend themselves against this brutality?" But Tlaib refused to respond to her question.
While Vaughn repeatedly bombarded Tlaib with questions, the congresswoman (who is the first member of Congress of Palestinian descent) made no attempt to answer them. One could sense Tlaib's relief in finally reaching the elevator doors as an escape route to her office opened up. Vaughn hit Tlaib with one final question that, once again, went unanswered as the elevator doors shut, "Congresswoman, why do you have the Palestinian flag outside your office if you do not condone what Hamas terrorists have done to Israel? Do Israeli lives not matter to you?"
There was reason for Tlaib to remain silent. Both before and after the Hamas raid, she had demanded a free Palestine – one extending "from the (Jordan) river to the (Mediterranean) sea." This geographical demand is only achievable by Israel's total eradication. As this phrase reveals, Tlaib is promoting the genocide of Israel – which resulted in her being censured by a House resolution. Despite Tlaib's flagrantly false defense that the phrase "is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate," her fellow members of the House failed to buy into it. Their censure resolution left no doubt that the phrase "from river to sea" was "a genocidal call to violence to destroy the state of Israel and its people." Tlaib, in a telling response to the censure vote, remained silent again by failing even to mention the phrase for which she was condemned.
Tlaib's complete silence to Vaughn's questions reflected her support for Hamas' actions by engaging in the no-response shuffle. And, as if her censure and shuffle were not enough, she later revealed her true colors. Unable to shed a tear for Israeli babies intentionally decapitated by Hamas, she shed tears for Palestinian babies unintentionally killed by Israel in its bombings.
It is interesting to compare Tlaib's complete silence when asked about Hamas to the response given by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., about a Gaza ceasefire. Like Tlaib, Rubio was similarly ambushed with questions – his from a confrontational inquisition by far-left activist and CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin. Benjamin's support clearly lies with Hamas – a group she has defended in her postings.
First asked if he will call for a ceasefire, Rubio definitively responded, "No, I will not. On the contrary." Unlike Tlaib, Rubio makes no effort to outpace Benjamin, even stopping at one point to answer another question. He also wanted to make sure his response was being filmed by the leftist group as "I want you guys to get this."
Rubio then unloaded on Benjamin saying, "I want them (the Israelis) to destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on. These people are vicious animals who did horrifying crimes, and I hope you guys post that, because that's my position."
Benjamin responded with another question, "And what about the civilians that are being killed every day?"
Unfazed by her line of questioning, Rubio answered, "I blame Hamas for that. Hamas should stop hiding behind civilians, putting civilians in the way. Hamas knew that this was going to lead to this." Before Rubio could complete his statement that "Hamas must stop building their military installations underneath hospitals, underneath civilian …" Benjamin cited an exaggerated number of Palestinian casualties provided by the propagandist Gaza Ministry of Health and queried if he did not care about innocent lives being lost.
Rubio emphatically stated, "Absolutely I do. I care, I think it's horrifying, I think it's terrible, and I think Hamas is a hundred percent to blame. That's what I think," adding as he stepped away, "Make sure you post that please."
Rubio could not have provided a more complete response as to where he stood on the Gaza war; Tlaib could not have provided a more incomplete answer as to where she stood on the issue of Hamas' brutality and the genocide of Israel. Tlaib performed the no-response shuffle, adding a new step: fuzzing up her answer by trying to give a contrary meaning to a Palestinian phrase long understood to have but one meaning – the genocide of Israelis.
Fortunately, even her Democratic colleagues recognized what she was doing and have held her accountable.
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