Former Democratic Ohio State Sen. Capri Cafaro said Thursday that “the Squad” ought to “tone it down” going into the 2020 election.
Cafaro made the comments during a segment of “Outnumbered” on Fox News, voicing her frustration over the fact that a small group of progressive freshman congresswomen — Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Ayanna Pressley (MA), Rashida Tlaib (MI) and Ilhan Omar (MN) — were being made the face of the Democratic Party.
WATCH:
GOP strategist David Avella began the segment by noting the power, particularly with regard to media, that members of “the Squad” have. “They have so much influence within the Democratic caucus that, in many ways, Nancy Pelosi is Speaker only,” he said.
Cafaro responded then, pushing back on the idea that “the Squad’s” ideas were a reflection on the position of the party writ large. “You mentioned Democrats a number of times. First off, I am frustrated that — frankly, we talk about media bias a lot on this show. I think there is a strong media bias of making ‘the Squad’ and their views and painting those views on the rest of the party, of which we do not share and we do not hold,” she said.
“It’s not a media bias when these people jump in front of the camera —” host Melissa Francis cut in.
“The bottom line is they do not represent the rest of us,” Cafaro continued. “We need to do it better job, the rest of Democrats —”
Francis pressed, “Do you want them to pipe down, then? They are hogging all of the oxygen. Where are the Democrats asking them to turn it down for a second?”
“They need to tone it down because we have a race to run in 2020,” Cafaro agreed. “But we need to be more vociferous about denouncing certain aspects. Back to your issue about the voting records, the BDS situation is not supported by most Democrats. I would say most Democrats have a voting record that does support Israel.”
“Why wouldn’t you name Omar as an anti-Semite when she is so clearly —” Francis continued.
“If I were in Congress I would have done so,” Cafaro shot back, noting that she had called out Democrats who had failed to address Omar’s comments at the time. (RELATED: Omar Has Gotten In Hot Water With Frequent Comments About Israel)
“Why do you think the rest of the House didn’t do it, then? I think that’s his question. On the Republican side, you are supposed to stand up and call them out,” Francis argued.
“Part of it is because they are hogging the spotlight,” Cafaro agreed. “I think there is this fear that if you cross them you end up with some ire among the Progressive base.”