Ilhan Omar breaks with Stacey Abrams and says she supports Georgia boycotts as they have ‘allowed for justice to be delivered in many spaces’
- Rep. Ilhan Omar broke from Stacey Abrams and said she supported boycotts of Georgia businesses over the GOP-approved voting law
- ‘We know that boycotts have allowed for justice to be delivered in many spaces,’ she told CNN’s Jake Tapper on ‘State of the Union’
- Tapper had asked Omar if she supported boycotts or agreed with Stacey Abrams who said boycotting Georgia’s businesses was premature
- Abrams wrote in USA Today that she feared the financial fallout would end up only hurting working people
- On Friday, Major League Baseball announced the All-Star Game would no longer be played in the state in response to the Georgia GOP passing the law
Rep. Ilhan Omar broke from Stacey Abrams and said she supported boycotts of Georgia businesses including Major League Baseball’s decision to move the All-Star Game over the GOP-approved voting law.
‘We know that boycotts have allowed for justice to be delivered in many spaces,’ the Minnesota Democrat said Sunday on CNN‘s ‘State of the Union,’ when Jake Tapper specifically asked her if she supported a boycott or Abrams’ position.
Abrams had argued in an op-ed written for USA Today that Georgia-based corporations shouldn’t face boycotts ‘yet,’ as she feared financial fallout would end up only hurting working people – such as those who would have worked at the All-Star game.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (right) told CNN’s Jake Tapper (left) that she supported boycotts of Georgia’s businesses over the GOP-supported voting law. ‘We know that boycotts have allowed for justice to be delivered in many spaces,’ she said Sunday
Rep. Ilhan Omar was asked if she agreed with voting rights activist Stacey Abrams (pictured) who said Georgia’s companies shouldn’t be boycotted ‘yet,’ because the financial fallout might only impact working people
Abrams wrote that ‘leaving us behind won’t save us.’
‘So I ask you to bring your business to Georgia and, if you’re already here, stay and fight. Stay and vote,’ added Abrams, who’s expected to mount another run for Georgia governor next year.
Abrams previously ran against Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2018 after serving as the top Democrat in Georgia’s state legislature.
Omar, a member of the so-called progressive ‘squad’ in Congress, argued that there was a historical precedent of boycotts being successful.
‘The civil rights movement was rooted in boycotts. We know that apartheid ended in South Africa because of boycotts,’ Omar said. ‘And so our hope is that this boycott will result in changes in the law, because we understand that, when you restrict people’s ability to vote, you create a democracy that isn’t fully functioning for all of us.’
‘And if we are to continue to be a beacon of hope for all democracies around the world, we must stand our ground,’ she added.
She didn’t mention Abrams in her answer.
Tapper pointed out that while the new Georgia law does restrict voting in some ways, Georgia’s overall voting system is more open than some blue states, such as New York and Delaware, the Senate leader’s and president’s home states, respectively.
The CNN host if every state sould be reexamining voting laws.
‘They certainly should be,’ Omar said. ‘I mean, Minnesota is not number one in voter turnout and participation because we are special, even though we are. It’s because we have made voting accessible for people. And it is really important that every single state reexamine their voting laws and make sure that voting is accessible to everyone.’
‘It’s also going to be really important for us to continue to push H.R.1, which makes it accessible nationwide and strengthens our democracy,’ Omar added, referencing a voting bill that passed the House in early March, but has little to no chance of picking up 10 Republican votes in the Senate to bypass a filibuster threat.