This is somewhat surprising given how subservient the Democratic party has been to the self-described “squad” up to this point. For the most part, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib have been handled with kid gloves. As a result, they’ve become emboldened, attempting to exert more and more influence.

This culminated with the three pressuring Nancy Pelosi to water down an antisemitism resolution into nothing more than a general screed against hate, avoiding any actual rebuke of Omar for the anti-Semitic statements she had repeatedly made.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has apparently had enough of their grandstanding and whining. With other Democrats boycotting AIPAC, he not only attended, he gave a fiery speech in which he went right at the three aforementioned freshman representatives.

.@LeaderHoyer gets a standing ovation while jabbing @IlhanMN @AOC @RashidaTlaib before an @AIPAC audience: ”By the way there are 62 freshmen Democrats. You hear me? 62, not 3. “ — Sheryl Gay Stolberg (@SherylNYT) March 24, 2019

He also spoke out directly against dual loyalty smears, such as the ones Omar has dabbled in.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., delivered a veiled reproach of controversial comments made by fellow Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar in an impassioned speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy conference Sunday. Hoyer told the crowd at AIPAC he stood with Israel “proudly and unapologetically.” “When someone accuses American supporters of Israel of dual loyalty, I say: Accuse me,” Hoyer said to applause.

This is earning him no love from the far left.

Wow. DEMOCRATIC House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer (@LeaderHoyer) is at @AIPAC throwing his own colleague, Ilhan Omar, under the bus. Shameful. And in one fell swoop, to fawning applause, he basically confirms @IlhanMN was right all along. https://t.co/yVKEibMGJq — Shaun King (@shaunking) March 24, 2019

Hoyer and the old guard in the Democratic Party leadership stand with AIPAC while attacking emerging leaders like @RashidaTlaib, @AOC, & @IlhanMN for fighting for a progressive and humane foreign policy. But as 2020 Democrats skip AIPAC, Hoyer & the old guard have already lost. https://t.co/ynjBZdapxE — Waleed Shahid (@_waleedshahid) March 25, 2019

Unfortunately, I think they are right. Hoyer is indeed part of an old guard that’s quickly being replaced by radicals, at least as far as influence goes. I also have a feeling his comments won’t sit too well with the progressive base and that he’ll be hearing about it in the coming days. Ocasio-Cortez is not ever one to ever take a punch without responding, so I expect a snarky tweet by tomorrow.

Hoyer’s remarks do hold some truth though. There are a lot of new Democrats and a lot of them aren’t happy with what the “squad” are doing, whether it be their rhetoric or their policies. Many of these new freshman were elected in Republican leaning districts and want to keep their jobs. Sacrificing themselves for the public elevation of a New Yorker in a deep blue district probably isn’t their preferred career path.

Hoyer’s remarks here will please a lot of new House Democrats who have no love for those “3" and resent that the party is to some extent being defined by them. https://t.co/T7bisSEZfR — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) March 25, 2019

Earlier this month, I opined about the fissures in the Democratic party and I think they are only going to get worse. A war is coming, it’s just a matter of whether both sides are willing to fight or if one will simply fold to the other.

For a moment, it’s nice to know there are still some somewhat sane Democrats out there who can see past the idiocy of some in their own party. Support for Israel is not only a moral right given our alliance, it’s practical as well given they are the only real democracy in the region. They represent a bulwark against Iranian aggression and the new Arab coalition that’s formed between Israel and other gulf states is a necessary development.

I may not agree with Rep. Hoyer on much in regards to policy, but good for him for standing up for our alliance with Israel and not being afraid to speak his mind. He represents a dying time when people could vehemently disagree and then go have a drink afterwards, not having to apply evil to their opponent. We’d all be better off if we could ever get back there.

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