Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota said this week that the United States will never be a just and equal place so long as our economic and political structures prioritize profit, adding later that we must dismantle "the whole system of oppression, wherever we find it.

She said verbatim on Tuesday:

As long as our economy and political systems prioritize profit without considering who is profiting, who is being shut out, we will perpetuate this inequality. So we cannot stop at criminal justice system. We must begin the work of dismantling the whole system of oppression, wherever we find it.

Right-leaning news sites quickly picked up Omars remarks, reporting that she had advocated for the dismantling of the U.S. economy and its political system. This coverage prompted the Washington Post into action, publishing an exceptionally generous defense of her comments.

Omars words are being rearranged, writes Washington Post senior political reporter Aaron Blake, and rather speculatively so.

He adds, Omar didnt directly connect the dismantling to the entire U.S. economy and political system. She instead invoked broader inequalities produced by how our economy and political systems have prioritized things, and then she said we should set about dismantling the whole system of oppression, wherever we find it.

The article goes on to say Omar herself "disputes" right-leaning news outlets' characterizations of her comments. However, by disputes, the report means only that the congresswoman tweeted an insult at Donald Trump Jr., who claimed this week that she wants to dismantle the United States economy and political system.

Does our education system know it has failed you? Omar said on social media. Your level of comprehension is such an embarrassment to our country, maybe someone can offer you free English classes.

This hardly reads like a rebuttal. Nor does it clarify what she meant when she said, We must begin the work of dismantling the whole system of oppression, wherever we find it."

The Washington Posts defense of Omar continues, suggesting that a less conspiratorial reading of her remarks is that she merely views the system of oppression as being a symptom of how weve prioritized things in our government and economy, without believing that setup is itself inherently oppressive that the system of oppression exists inside our government and economy, without it constituting the entire thing.

The article goes on:

If she was saying the entire system was oppressive and must be dismantled, why allow for the idea that this oppression exists in some places but not others? Why suggest the systems of oppression exist inside these larger systems, if you mean to say the entire thing is the system of oppression which must be dismantled?

Why indeed? Perhaps Omar herself could clarify this. Her spokesman did not respond to the Washington Examiners request for comment.

Blake's defense of Omar goes on interminably. But why launch such a defense? If there is an ambiguity here, why not look at what the congresswoman has said previously about reforming and dismantling U.S. institutions? As it turns out, there is quite a lot to see, as cataloged by conservative commentator and Washington Examiner contributor Drew Holden.

For example, the congresswoman has said we need to dismantle capitalism. She says our economy, schools, and even our system are rigged. Omar called for the end to colorblind admissions. She has called for the dismantling of the police department in her congressional district. Omar has called for the abolition of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She claims the U.S.s refugee and asylum system, which her family used successfully and very much to their advantage when they fled Somalia, is oppressive. Omar claims employer-provided healthcare is part of an inhuman system.

At this point, it may be easier to catalog the institutions Omar does not think are "oppressive" and "inhuman" and need to be abolished, dismantled, or otherwise destroyed. It may even fill an entire cocktail napkin.

Honestly, perhaps the real marvel here is that right-leaning news organizations find it a story at all when Omar says we need to dismantle the U.S. economy and its political system. Indeed, her remarks this week about pulling down American institutions, which she has not actually disputed saying, are exactly in character for her. This is not new territory for Omar.

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Why is the Washington Post so eager to rescue Ilhan Omar from herself? - Washington Examiner