As our Tim Graham noted, on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, far-left Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) dodged and weaved and refused to unequivocally condemn Hamas' use of rape of Israeli women as a tool of war. The height of Jayapal's despicable evasion came when she said:
"I think that it happens in war situations. Terrorist organizations like Hamas obviously are using these as tools. However, I think we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians."
Yeah, "it happens." So much for feminist solidarity from this supposed feminist. So much for even basic human decency.
Today's Morning Joe raked Jayapal, and some other progressives and international organizations, over the coals for their contemptible evasions. The condemnation was unanimous across the panel. Joe Scarborough spoke somewhat elliptically of "some progressives on Capitol Hill," and "the Congresswoman." But Washington Post correspondent and MSNBC contributor Jackie Alemany named names:
"It is extremely confounding, especially to see, as you just noted, these progressive lawmakers over the weekend, just Pramila Jayapal twist themselves into knots to avoid speaking unequivocally on the issue, condemning something that is very clearly -- should be considered a war crime."
Scarborough described some of the unspeakable horrors to which Hamas had subjected its rape victims.
Whereas Alemany and Sam Stein were perplexed at the reluctance of Jayapal and others to unequivocally condemn Hamas' horrors, Willie Geist offered a plausible explanation,
"It probably amounts to a lot of people who think Israel is bad, generally, and wrong here. And so everything that happens in this war, they have to lump themselves on the other side."
Geist also pointedly summed up the moral depravity of the equivactors:
"My God, if you can't say what happened on October 7th is inhumane and grotesque and wrong and bad, there's just something wrong with you."
Faced with a wave of criticism for her statements during the Bash interview, Jayapal subsequently issued a new statement, "unequivocally" condemning Hamas's use of rape and sexual violence. Too little too late.
In addition to denying the depths of Hamas' evil, Jayapal is also an . . . election denier. In 2017, she objected to awarding Trump Georgia's 17 Electoral College votes to Donald Trump, despite him having carried the state by 200,000 votes. Joe Biden, in his role as Vice President and President of the Senate, shut Jayapal down, declaring, "It is over."
Note: There was a moment of unintentional comic relief during the segment. In midst of the horror of the descriptions of the abuse, as you'll see at 4:15 into the clip, Mika's phone goes off with an incoming message alert that sounds like a clown nose horn.
