This we did not need.
The manufactured Ilhan Omar controversy is all over the news, so of course The View was going to cover it, so of course Meghan McCain was going to weigh in on it, so of course it was going to be bad.
Let’s, sigh, go to the video.
First, McCain explicitly compared Omar to the white supremacists in Charlottesville:
I don’t think we should be politicizing [anti-Semitism] on either side because, as we know, if it’s a tiki torch person in Charlottesville saying ‘Jews will not replace us’ or...these more dog-whistle moments, that in my view, Ilhan Omar is doing.
That’s right, Omar, a lone politician talking about the political influence that the pro-Israel lobby has in America is the same as neo-Nazis, tacitly supported by the White House, violently marching through Charlottesville and killing someone. Great, off to a good start.
Joy Behar, sigh, basically agreed with McCain. Sigh.
Then Sunny Hostin, a font of reason, said that maybe people should talk about the actual thing that Omar is being raked over the coals for, and that it’s not anti-Semitic to criticize Israel. Wow, crazy idea. (She also said that her grandfather is Jewish, so she has a personal stake here.)
“This selective outrage is kind of crazy because I don’t think that the Republicans have moral high ground here,” she added. Wow, another good point.
Now we get to the meat of it.
“I take this very personally,” McCain replied, adding, “I don’t have family that is Jewish but Joe Lieberman and Hadassah Lieberman are my family. I take the hate crimes raising in this country incredibly seriously, and I think what’s happening in Europe is really scary and I’m sorry if I’m getting emotional.”
She was choking up as she said this.
Sigh.
Now, look, far be it from me to attack someone for feeling strongly about anti-Semitism. But, as a Jew, can I just say to Meghan McCain: I don’t need this from you. And as a Jew, I find it wildly offensive to see you so casually compare Ilhan Omar to the literal Nazis who want to murder me. OK?