Pence Tries to Dismiss Ilhan Omar on Venezuela, Fails Miserably

Progressive United States lawmaker Ilhan Omar has called out U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's implict racism and sexism for seeking to dismiss her comments in support of the legitimate government of Venezuela without engaging her on the merits of the argument.

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US Economic Bullying Devastates Venezuela: Ilhan Omar Denounces

Speaking to Democracy Now! Thursday, the freshman congresswoman had issued critiques against the U.S.-backed attempted coup in Venezuela saying, “"A lot of the policies that we have put in place has kind of helped lead the devastation in Venezuela, and we've sort of set the stage for where we're arriving today. .... This particular bullying and the use of sanctions to eventually intervene and make regime change really does not help the people of countries like Venezuela, and it certainly does not help and is not in the interest of the United States."

The response came in an interview with the vice president that aired on Fox News  Friday, in which was asked about her comments. He replied simply that “she doesn’t know what she's talking about.”

Omar was quick to point out the arrogance behind his dismissive remarks, saying; “Women of color have heard this before. Instead of 'we disagree,'  it's 'she doesn't know what she's talking about.' They have to make us feel small. This from an Administration that thinks climate change is a Chinese hoax.”

Ilhan Omar is one of the only politicians in the U.S. to not only oppose war on Venezuela, but also to oppose economic sanctions that have sought to asphyxiate the Bolivarian country.

Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, a representative from Hawaii, has also been vocal in opposing the coup attempts in Venezuela saying, “This administration and the neocon war hawks that surround President Trump have made no secret about what their intentions are to further this regime change effort both in Venezuela as well as in Iran.” 

However, other progressive Democrats have not engaged a great deal on the issue. Brooklyn's well-known House Represenative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez has refused to say whether the U.S. should back Maduro or Guaido, and has generally failed to take any strong stances on foreign policy issues.