Rep. Jamaal Bowman and the Toxic Rot of the Squad

“We are gonna show f—ing AIPAC the power of the motherf—ing South Bronx.”

So declared Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) to an ecstatic audience in the Bronx last weekend in a profanity-laced tirade against Israel and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

“People ask me why I got a foul mouth,” Bowman mused to the crowd, offering this explanation: “What am I supposed to do? You coming after me. You coming after my family. You coming after my children. I’m not supposed to fight back? I’m not supposed to fight back? We’re gonna show them who the f— we are.”

Bowman once again showed who he is. His words speak volumes. Last fall, Bowman had dismissed reports of Hamas raping Israeli women after the October 7 invasion as mere “propaganda.”

Now, Bowman was at it again. He told his supporters who the real enemy is.

“We are not gonna stay silent while the U.S. tax dollar kills babies and women and children,” averred Bowman. He said of his Republican opponent in November: “My opponent supports genocide. My opponent and AIPAC are the ones destroying our democracy. And it is on us, it is on all of us to save our democracy and save our collective humanity. Because this race is about our collective humanity.”(READ MORE from Paul Kengor: You Can Never Have Enough Kids)

This, ladies and gentlemen, is Rep. Jamaal Bowman, an elected member of Congress. It is also the Squad and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

Initially, the Squad was defined by Congressgirl Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), the odious Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and the hysterical, perpetually weeping Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). The three young members of Congress literally became DSA poster girls, with their images splashed throughout the organization’s promotional material. They also comprised the worst, most radical, hard-left members of Congress. They hailed less from the Democratic Party than the Democratic Socialists of America, the self-proclaimed “largest socialist organization in the United States.” In its 2021 convention statement, the DSA addressed its 94,915 members as “comrades.”

As readers here know, I’ve tracked the DSA for years. As a researcher and scholar of communism/socialism, dealing with the ideological stench of groups like the DSA is an unfortunate occupational hazard. In one of my first dispatches on the DSA for The American Spectator, I quoted Young Turks founder Cenk Uygar, who had allied and plotted with the DSA. “What we need to do is take over the Democratic Party,” urged Uygar. “We’re going to primary all of the establishment Democrats…. We’re going to primary all vulnerable Democrats.” Scheming with the DSA and its members-candidates, Uygur hoped: “We want hundreds. We want to replace Congress.” He said that if they succeeded in electing a dozen or two AOCs, Omars, or Tlaibs, “People would freak the hell out.”

Well, the freak show is in process, as more and more DSA-affiliated members have gotten elected as Democrats.

In the process, the race-and gender-obsessed weirdos on the Left hoped that all elected DSA-types would be minorities. What could be better than that? Moving forward, a couple DSA guys got elected to Congress, too. And the guys weren’t white! Yahoo! Namely, in November 2022, Jamaal Bowman of New York and Greg Casar of Texas got elected. The Squad was expanding, diversifying, as was the DSA’s presence in Congress.

Since then, Jamaal Bowman has particularly stood out for his obnoxiousness. He has vigorously contended with Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib for the dubious distinction as the craziest member of Congress. It’s a tough call to judge who’s the nuttiest, though Bowman arguably became the front runner last year when he pulled the fire alarm in the Capitol Building while Congress was in session. This led the House to censure him, no doubt because those members of Congress are “RACISTS!!!”

Bowman yanked the fire alarm because there was a presumed “emergency.” He had to “save democracy,” after all.

When not pulling fire alarms in Congress, Bowman is setting other environs ablaze with incendiary statements, including his Bronx-burning diatribe against Israel last weekend.

I can attest as a close watcher of the DSA that such statements from Bowman are no surprise. Go to rallies or online chats among DSA members or read their literature and you’ll see that such anti-Israel sentiment is typical. You’ll hear as much about “Free Palestine” from DSA members as you’ll hear about their racist, anti-Semitic buddy Karl Marx. Dominant issues among the DSA rank and file are gender, sex, race, and Israel-Palestine. Much of the latter reeks of anti-Semitism. And of course, this isn’t just in online chat rooms. Tlaib and Omar have been two of the most open anti-Semites on the floor of the House of Representatives.

The anti-Semitic bilge spewed by its members has been a major wakeup call to Jewish members of the DSA, just as the campus uprisings at places like Columbia University have been so sobering to Jewish liberals nationwide. The liberal Jewish publication Forward recently reported, “The DSA was broadly condemned for celebrating the Hamas attacks on Israel at a demonstration in Times Square on Oct. 7 — the day of the assault.” (READ MORE: Countering the Criticisms Aimed at Ronald Reagan)

These fireworks have prompted a moment of reckoning within DSA.

As for Jamaal Bowman’s antics, he has presented a particularly challenging problem for the DSA to navigate in New York City. He has struggled to remain within the organization’s “good graces.” The DSA actually had looked to expel him in late 2021. As that internal battle raged, the Left’s lunatic fringe sided with Bowman. The hideous Jacobin magazine (sickeningly named after the French revolutionaries that beheaded over 40,000 people between 1793-94) urged in a March 2024 headline, “Jamaal Bowman Deserves the Left Support.”

The controversy has festered. Two weeks ago, on June 10 and June 11, there were major stories in both the New York Times and New York Post (respectively) on Bowman’s struggles. The Times headline estimated, “Bowman Makes Amends With Democratic Socialists After Rift Over Israel.” Or so it seemed. Or so Bowman hoped for electoral reasons.

Looking to get reelected, Bowman has scrambled to cover his tracks, which is about as easy as removing fingerprints from a Capitol Building fire alarm. The New York Post headline put it this way, “NY ‘Squad’ Rep. Jamaal Bowman exposed for ‘lies’ about Israel support as he pushes for Democratic Socialists’ backing.”

Bowman has been trying to recapture that backing. But then, last weekend in the Bronx, the old anti-Israel demon once again took possession of Bowman. He unleashed himself just as he seemed back in cahoots with the DSA. In fact, it was just last weekend that the DSA’s Action Network had launched a get-out-the-vote campaign for the congressman.

One wonders what those comrades thought as they watched Rep. Jamaal Bowman uncork himself in the Bronx. Any regrets, comrades?

The reality is that this toxic stench has stunk up the ranks of the DSA (and the Squad) for years. That rot has reared its ugly head yet again. I’m glad to see it finally getting exposed.

The post Rep. Jamaal Bowman and the Toxic Rot of the Squad appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.