[ Some Democrats have blamed progressives for unexpected losses in
the House this election. But Tlaib and her fellow “Squad” members
aren’t having it.] [[link removed]]

PROGRESSIVE REP. RASHIDA TLAIB FIRES BACK AT CENTRIST DEMOCRATS: ‘I
CAN’T BE SILENT’  
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Hayley Miller
November 11, 2020
HuffPost
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_ Some Democrats have blamed progressives for unexpected losses in
the House this election. But Tlaib and her fellow “Squad” members
aren’t having it. _

Rep.Rashida Tlaib , REUTERS

 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib [[link removed]]
(D-Mich.) on Tuesday spoke out against centrist Democrats
[[link removed]] who are blaming
progressives like her for the party’s unexpected losses in the House
this election.

Though Democrats managed to hold on to control of the House,
Republicans [[link removed]]
have picked up at least six seats in the lower chamber. Some moderates
have pointed the finger at progressives, claiming their calls to
“defund the police” following George Floyd’s death in May and
their opposition to fracking may have alienated voters.

But Tlaib and other progressive House members are pushing back against
the criticism from their center-left colleagues.

“We’re not going to be successful if we’re silencing districts
like mine,” Tlaib told Politico. “Me not being able to speak on
behalf of many of my neighbors right now, many of which are Black
neighbors, means me being silenced. I can’t be silent.”

She continued: “We are not interested in unity that asks people to
sacrifice their freedom and their rights any longer. And if we truly
want to unify our country, we have to really respect every single
voice. We say that so willingly when we talk about Trump supporters,
but we don’t say that willingly for my Black and brown neighbors and
from LGBTQ neighbors or marginalized people.”

In a call
[[link removed]]
with the House Democratic Caucus last week, Rep. Abigail Spanberger
(D-Va.), who came dangerously close to losing her race this year,
lashed out at progressives, chiding them for opening up Democrats to
attacks about “socialism” and appearing to be anti-police.

“We need to not ever use the word ‘socialist’ or ‘socialism’
ever again,” Spanberger said on the call, audio of which was leaked
to the press. “We lost good members because of that.”

Democratic infighting has grown in recent years with the arrival of
progressives like Tlaib and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), whom
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has tried to distance herself
from in an effort to appease moderates.

Pelosi and other Democratic leaders have catered to centrist
Democrats, whose faction helped regain control of the House in 2018 by
winning conservative-leaning districts.

Republicans have seized on figures like Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez to
paint Democrats as extreme radicals — which is a version of GOP
attacks that have been used against liberals, including Pelosi, for
decades.

A memo being circulated by top progressive groups ― including
Justice Democrats, the group that propelled Ocasio-Cortez to topple
10-term incumbent Joe Crowley in 2018 ― lays out ways Democrats can
rally more support.

“While we are all happy about President-elect Joe Biden’s
resounding defeat of Donald Trump, Democrats are right to be concerned
about their underperformance down the ballot,” states the memo, a
copy of which was obtained by Politico
[[link removed]].

“As we speak, Congressional Democrats are debating why they
underperformed and some have been quick to blame progressives,” the
memo continues, adding: “We cannot let Republican narratives drive
our party away from Democrats’ core base of support: young people,
Black, Brown, working class, and social movements who are the present
and future of the party.”

The memo calls on Democrats to invest in that core base, connect
economic justice to racial justice and adopt an economic message that
“connects with all working people.”

“Scapegoating progressives and Black activists for their demands and
messaging is not the lesson to be learned here,” according to the
memo. “It was their organizing efforts, energy and calls for change
needed in their communities that drove up voter turnout.”

Tlaib and other members of the so-called Squad ― a group of
progressive members of Congress that includes Tlaib, Ocasio-Cortez,
Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts ― say
their agenda is a way to win voters not lose them.

“If [voters] can walk past blighted homes and school closures and
pollution to vote for Biden-Harris, when they feel like they don’t
have anything else, they deserve to be heard,” Tlaib told Politico.
“I can’t believe that people are asking them to be quiet.”

_Hayley Miller is a senior reporter based in New York with a focus on
breaking news. She covers politics, crime, the media and more.
Previously, she was a senior editor for HuffPost's contributors
platform._

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