Jamaal Bowman, one of the more outrageous members of the so-called “squad,” lost his bid for reelection. He was defeated by county executive George Latimer, a moderate Democrat – in one of the rare cases in which a Black Democrat is defeated by a White Democrat in a party primary.
Bowman was controversial for his over-the-top behavior. He was an impassioned antisemite, who rarely passed up an opportunity to express his criticism of Israel and his disdain for Jews. He gained negative notoriety for pulling the fire alarm in the Capitol Building to delay a vote.
Nothing he has said or done in the past, however, surpasses his pre-primary election performance at a rally of supporters – a small rally. He pounced around the stage in an unhinged rant against all those he sees as enemies – mostly Jews, Republicans and rich folks.
He screamed a series of (expletives deleted) into the microphone – mostly f-bombs. He performed like a WWE wrestler – rolling up the sleeves on his t-shirts to expose his oversized biceps. His rant was threatening.
While Bowman used the f-word with the frequency of a Mafia boss in a rage, he is not alone in dropping the f-bomb in otherwise civil conversations. Vice President Harris dropped the f-bomb when talking about university prejudice against Asians. She said sometimes you have to “kick the f-ing door down.” In talking about Obamacare, then Vice President Biden was caught on an open mic saying the programs were “a big f-ing deal.” Political potty mouthing is bipartisan. When talking about the poor quality of education in America’s segregated inner cities, President Trump lamented that “we can’t build a f-ing school in Brooklyn.” None of these were as extreme as Bowman.
Bowman was not performing alone on stage. Sharing the spotlight were Vermont’s socialist Senator Bernie Sanders and fellow squad member, New York Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. Rather than exit stage-left out of embarrassment, Sanders and AOC participated fully in the show – with AOC screaming hopping up and down across the stage like a cheerleader at a prep rally. Sanders was more subdued, but then again, he is 82 years old.
I have seen innumerable political rallies over the years, but nothing compared to the vulgar and unhinged exhibition that the Bowman/Bernie/AOC trio put on. Fortunately, Democrat voters were not impressed. They booted Bowman from Congress by a crushing margin. As Lincoln once noted, you cannot fool all the people all the time – especially when you act like a deranged fool. Congress, the Democratic Party and America are better off without Bowman.
So, there tis.