During his Sunday show, Rev. Al Sharpton lambasted Republicans who voted against the anti-hate bill that passed Congress this week.
"This week, Congress voted in favor of a resolution condemning, 'anti-Semitism, Islamaphobia, racism and other forms of bigotry,'" Sharpton said. "Sounds easy, right? Well, guess what? Twenty-three Republicans voted against it."
He explained that Republicans voting no said that they were angry that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) wasn't specifically named in the bill. Oddly enough, these Republicans didn't launch a bill denouncing Rep. Steve King (R-IA) when he was outed for racism. Nor did the Republican-led House or Senate pass a bill in wake of the Charlottesville Nazi riots and President Donald Trump's praise of "fine people on both sides."
Omar, by contrast, "voted in favor of this resolution, despite the backlash," Sharpton continued. "Guess who didn't? Iowa Congressman Steve King, who has already been rebuked by the House for his comments on white supremacy, was the only lawmaker to vote present. Maybe because voting for the resolution would be a vote condemning his own actions."
The host explained that Republicans could have condemned Omar's comments while also supporting a resolution that denounces hate. They didn't.
"The fact that Democratic parties spent days fighting over how to handle this, and when it finally came to a vote, the Republicans were the ones who couldn't unite," Sharpton said. "This is actually very simple. At a time when bigotry and hate crimes are on the rise, with a president who is promoting white nationalists and the like, all 23 of you could have led by example and voted yes. But then that takes courage."
He noted that the next time Republicans want to have a fight about hate speech, "at least make sure your entire party is behind you. because if there's one thing I hate, it's cowards."
Watch the commentary below:
