What the Democrats' Ilhan Omar kerfuffle is really about

Who gets to define the boundaries of debate?

Ilhan Omar.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Mark Wilson/Getty Images, DickDuerrstein/iStock)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi must be pulling her hair out.

The Democrats had only just reclaimed the majority, had barely begun to hold the Trump administration accountable, when one of her own members handed the opposition a perfect wedge with which to divide her party. The objection of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to being forced to "pledge allegiance" to Israel has ignited a firestorm of criticism from pro-Israel Democrats. Attempts to censure her then prompted a vigorous pushback from progressives who say the proposed resolution imposes a double standard. The controversy continues to escalate, and unlike the "green dream or whatever they call it," it isn't even about the Democrats' substantive agenda.

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Noah Millman

Noah Millman is a screenwriter and filmmaker, a political columnist and a critic. From 2012 through 2017 he was a senior editor and featured blogger at The American Conservative. His work has also appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Politico, USA Today, The New Republic, The Weekly Standard, Foreign Policy, Modern Age, First Things, and the Jewish Review of Books, among other publications. Noah lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.