In the shameless shambles that is Morning Joe, they can report on Ilhan Omar -- but only the parts where they think Republicans look ridiculous.
On today's show, Joe Scarborough, with an assist from Eugene Scott of the Washington Post, whom the paper's official bio describes as a "reporter covering identity politics," criticized the Alabama Republican Party for adopting a resolution calling for the expulsion of Omar from Congress.
Scarborough approvingly cited Omar's tweet in response to the resolution, in which she mockingly noted the 2016 Senate nomination of Roy Moore. Scarborough also quoted Scott to the effect that the Alabama GOP "get its own house in order before throwing stones." Scott weirdly said "It was a fascinating statement from the Alabama Republicans accusing the representative of using anti-Semitic language." It's just an accusation that Omar's used anti-Semitic language??
Okay, fine, Alabama isn't the best state to "throw stones." But what of the latest controversies swirling around Omar? Not merely the fact that the married Omar is reportedly having an affair with a married man. That might be tawdry, but what is more concerning are the indications that she has been funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to her new boyfriend for consulting fees and travel expenses, in possible violation of campaign-finance laws.
The allegations are serious enough that even NBC, Morning Joe's parent network, was obliged to report them online.
But when it came to that story, a veritable swarm of crickets descended on the Morning Joe set today.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: What we were just talking about regarding Trump’s campaign saying this is our country, not theirs, I saw yesterday you commented on Alabama’s state Republican Party approving a resolution that called for the congressional delegation to actually have freshman Ilhan Omar expelled from Congress. USA Today reported the resolution cited previous controversial comments that Omar made about Israel and terrorists. Omar hit back at Alabama’s GOP in a tweet, writing in part, "I was elected with 78% of the vote by the people of Minnesota’s fifth district, not by Alabama Republican party. If you want to clean up politics, maybe don’t nominate an accused child molester [laughing heard off-camera] as your Senate candidate. That refers, of course, to failed Senate candidate Roy Moore, and Gene, Eugene, you actually brought up another troubling statement that Roy Moore had made in the past, and once again suggested that the Republican Party of Alabama get its own house in order before throwing stones at anybody else.
EUGENE SCOTT: Absolutely. It was a fascinating statement from the Alabama Republicans accusing the representative of using anti-Semitic language. The fact is that more than 90 percent of Republicans in Alabama supported Roy Moore.
