The controversy surrounding Rep. Ilhan Omar Ilhan OmarOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' Democrats scramble on COVID-19 relief amid division, Trump surprise MORE’s (D-Minn.) comments about Israel and AIPAC highlights a crisis of proportionality in American politics. At a fraught moment in our history, when the Republican Party under Donald Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE is unapologetically running roughshod over constitutional norms and principles, it is disturbing that the House of Representatives would prioritize a resolution intended to rebuke Rep. Omar, who, while standing by her argument, apologized for her choice of words.

On Feb. 11, 2019, Omar issued a statement saying that anti-Semitism “is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes. My intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole. We have to always be willing to step back and think through criticism, just as I expect people to hear me when others attack me for my identity. This is why I unequivocally apologize."

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The fact that Rep. Omar, a progressive Muslim woman, has been singled out for reprimand, is an unacceptable double standard. As attorney and author Rabia Chaudry commented, the House resolution “is not about what was said. It's about who said it.”

The overly aggressive response to Rep. Omar’s comments reflects a larger problem in American politics: the distorted priorities that are a result of the false equivalence peddled by mainstream pundits and politicians. Claiming both sides are equally at fault makes it possible to devote as much, if not more, attention to Rep. Omar's words than to far more urgent and significant breaches that have come to light during the same period.

For example, at the same time that Rep. Omar was the subject of a media and political firestorm, reports surfaced that Donald Trump had pressured White House officials to grant top secret security clearance to his daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner Jared Corey KushnerAbraham Accords: New hope for peace in Middle East Tenants in Kushner building file lawsuit alleging dangerous living conditions Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing MORE against the advice of the intelligence community. "It’s called clearance by nepotism and a serious abuse that endangers our security," tweeted Rep. Adam Schiff Adam Bennett SchiffChris Matthews ripped for complimenting Trump's 'true presidential behavior' on Ginsburg Trump casts doubt on Ginsburg statement, wonders if it was written by Schiff, Pelosi or Schumer Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence MORE (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Our democracy is not functioning properly when Rep. Omar is singled out for weeks of harsh criticism and subjected to a public display of disapprobation (even after she apologized) while actions by the president and his GOP apologists that involve our nation’s secrets receive less attention.

The disproportionate response to Rep. Omar is not without serious consequences. Sen. Kamala Harris Kamala HarrisButtigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice First presidential debate to cover coronavirus, Supreme Court Harris joins women's voter mobilization event also featuring Pelosi, Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda MORE (D-Calif.) warned that although "we all have a responsibility to speak out against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, racism and all forms of hatred and bigotry ... the spotlight being put on Congresswoman Omar may put her at risk." Indeed, a poster linking Rep. Omar to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks was featured at the West Virginia statehouse during a celebration of “WV GOP Day.”

It is an insult to America’s intelligence to pretend that Ilhan Omar, one of only two Muslim women elected to Congress and herself the target of Islamophobia, is the true culprit when it comes to bigotry and intolerance.

The Republican-led White House has presided over a border policy that forcibly takes migrant children from asylum-seeking parents and locks them in frigid holding cells. GOP lawmakers have found common cause with the most radical elements of the far right. The Republican president said there were “some very fine people on both sides” of a neo-Nazi and white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. These offenses deserve far more congressional censure than the words of a single member of Congress.

Perhaps most discouraging in this entire episode is that the Democratic Party leadership has enabled the crisis of proportionality. Yes, the language of the House resolution, which passed on March 7, ultimately condemned hate of all kinds, but bending to the GOP’s hypocrisy is a failure of politics, principle and priorities. It does virtually nothing to address the culture of hate and fear fostered by an increasingly extremist Republican Party. If anything, it exacerbates the problem by perpetuating the myth that both sides are equally culpable; they are not.