These days, civil speech seems to be more theory rather than practice. That’s why the fights in Congress regarding the war involving Israel and Hamas have gotten so heated. One recent example is a fight involving two Democratic lawmakers over a motion that would back Israel’s efforts to get rid of the terrorist group.
The trouble began when Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) used X, the social media site that used to be called Twitter, to attack other Democrats who had voted against the measure that criticized Hamas. He wrote, “They are disgusting and don’t speak for our party.”
In response, Representative Andre Carson (D-IN) said some mean things on CNN. His words were “cowardly” and “punk,” and he added, “If he wants to pretend to be a tough guy or a gangster, we can deal with it like men, or we could turn it into something else.”
Carson’s response sounds a lot like a line from Snoop Dogg’s song “U Betta Recognize,” which you may not know.
“You understand the rules of the game; your b*tch picked me. N*gga, we can treat this like a gentleman or get into some gangsta sh*t.”
Gottheimer, someone who has presumably never enjoyed listening to Snoop Dogg and didn’t seem to get the point, said this in a statement to CNN:
“I will sit down next to Mr. Carson at any time for a discussion on how we can safely return the hostages back home which includes all Americans, offer immediate humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians who have been utilized as human barriers, and destroy Hamas and all terrorists wanting to do us harm.”
Carson’s response was, of course, criticized, especially by Jonathan Greenblatt, who is the head of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). He wrote this on X:
“It is unacceptable for any member of Congress to intimidate their peers, and it is particularly offensive that @RepAndreCarson has threatened a Jewish member for raising their voice during a period when antisemitism is on the rise. Why bother? Does he believe that scaring @RepJoshG is a good idea?”
At the heart of this round of trash-talking in Congress is the growing split in the Democratic Party over how to deal with ties with Israel as the war in the Middle East gets worse. The far-left “Squad,” which includes Carson, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Cori Bush (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and others, have been against Israel for a long time and voted against the bill.
