OPINION:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the socialist lawmaker from New York, lashed out at Kellyanne Conway on Twitter, accusing the White House counselor to the president of unfairly and unreasonably questioning her Christian faith on national television.
This is somewhat astonishing. Socialists, after all, aren’t really known for their faith — or, at least their faith in God. They do have plenty of faith in government, however.
Anyway, the spat, for Ocasio-Cortez, began this way: Conway, during a conversation with Jake Tapper on CNN, wondered aloud about politicians — like Ocasio-Cortez — who are riled about attacks on mosques, yet not quite so vocally upset about attacks on Christians.
“I see officials who get a lot of airtime and ink,” Conway said, The Hill reported, “like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, congresswoman, who tweets many times about the mosque (shootings in New Zealand) and never once about the Christians being killed in Sri Lanka.”
Yes — why is that?
That is indeed an interesting question. After all, more than 300 — Christians! — were killed and scores more wounded in an Easter weekend attack on churches and hotels filled with Westerners in Sri Lanka. Yet nary a tweet from Ocasio-Cortez?
Ocasio-Cortez answered this way, with her own tweet: “Hello Ms. Conway, On Easter I was away from tech visiting my grandmother in Puerto Rico, which continues to suffer from the White House’s incompetent disaster response. Are you trying to imply that I am less Christian? What was the point of you bringing this up on national TV?”
OK. So Ocasio-Cortez was out of town. She couldn’t tweet. She couldn’t phone in a message.
But doesn’t she have people to do this for her?
Particularly when you have Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton running around and calling the killed and wounded in Sri Lanka “Easter worshippers” — as if the Christians in church were actually pagans, worshipping some sort of holiday-slash-Easter-bunny, and not the risen Jesus Christ? Ocasio-Cortez, concerned as she is about her image, doesn’t have backup plans to keep in touch with her people when she’s out of town — doesn’t have a social media strategy that calls for someone on her staff to send out a quick and appropriate message in times of crisis or political necessity?
Ocasio-Cortez did write in another tweet that the Sri Lanka “massacre” “was horrifying,” and that “saying ’Easter worshippers’ matters bc Easter is the holiest day of the year for Christians, & to be targeted on Easter highlights how heinous the attack was.”
Yes. But saying “Christians” highlights how heinous the attack was, too — and in a more truthful manner.
“You are using this as an excuse to stoke suspicion around my Christianity + faith life, @KellyannePolls. The Sri Lanka massacre was horrifying. No one should be targeted for their religion. If you’re so moved, let’s do more to welcome immigrants fleeing religious persecution,” Ocasio-Cortez said, in another tweet.
OK. But you know what?
Democrats bring all this on themselves by sending out watery words when clarity is called for — by saying such things as “Easter worshippers” when the simple “Christian” would suffice.
By tweeting up a storm for certain victims but staying mum for certain others.
Conway, truly, was only wondering the obvious.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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