Thelma & Louise? Did the Wall Street Journal actually watch that film? With all due respect to the WSJ and editor Bill McGurn, this looks more like a satirical rendition of National Lampoon’s Vacation — which would have worked much better, too. The wacky score under this clip could easily have been replaced by Lindsay Buckingham’s “Holiday Road.” And the pratfalls from the upcoming tour of Israel and the Palestinian territories by Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar promise lots more laughs than soaring moments (via Power Line’s Scott Johnson):

The Democratic Party’s Thelma and Louise—Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar—are taking their act to Israel. In a great gift to Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going to let them in. In Hollywood’s feminist buddy flick, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon hit the road in a 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible. They make bad choice after bad choice, defying authority and turning the tables on men who abuse or annoy them. They thoroughly enjoy every minute.

Er … maybe go back and watch the source film again, dear friends. There were certainly moments of comedy and adventure, but for the most part they were on the run from male-imposed injustice and hardly “thoroughly enjoying every minute.” Vacation would have been a much better choice for this humorous shot at the Squad, especially since it would have eliminated the need to parody the feminist message of its source material — which will inevitably allow this to be castigated for an attack on their gender rather than their radical-progressive agenda.

This will still get laughs, and the commentary from McGurn certainly hits the mark. McGurn even manages to close the loop on his chosen analogy:

In the real-life Beltway version, the Michigander (Ms. Tlaib) and the Minnesotan (Ms. Omar) constitute half of “The Squad”—the four female House progressives who are defying the convention that freshman members of Congress are to be seen and not heard. Ms. Tlaib is the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress and speaks often of her grandmother in the West Bank. She has endorsed a “one state” solution under which Israel would cease to exist. … Part of their notoriety comes from their willingness to match President Trump’s outrages and raise them. More comes from their willingness to clap back at their own leaders, even if that means accusing Speaker Nancy Pelosi of racism. They remain largely unrepentant—and energized. … The Squad is now in the driver’s seat of the Democratic debate. They are not letting go of the wheel even it means, à la Thelma and Louise, taking the whole car over a cliff.

Zing! True, true, but in the film the two women did that to escape the predatory effects of Teh Patriarchy. Chevy Chase vaulted the Roadmaster into the desert because of his own incompetence and irrational zeal. It would have underscored the touristy nature of the Omar-Tlaib stuntn and could have been set up as a visit to “Pally-Wood,” a reference that goes way beyond Vacation.

Anyway, YMMV on the choice of satirical source material and the missed opportunities thereof, but the ludicrous nature of the Omar-Tlaib tour of the Holy Land will produce its own comedy eventually. It will also make headlines, forcing the pair to the top of the Democratic food chain and help push them into the position of being the face of the party. That helps Donald Trump, who spent today making sure to keep that spotlight firmly on “AOC Plus 3.” Trump also got off to a rocky start with this argument, but he’s refined it away from telling them to go back to their “original countries,” and he’s making them an even bigger headache for Nancy Pelosi.

And give Trump credit for his strength in branding, too. AOC Plus 3 is much better than “Squad.”

In 2016 I almost won Minnesota. In 2020, because of America hating anti-Semite Rep. Omar, & the fact that Minnesota is having its best economic year ever, I will win the State! “We are going to be a nightmare to the President,” she say. No, AOC Plus 3 are a Nightmare for America! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2019