Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) rejected calls from within her party to curb progressive sloganeering such as “defund the police,” asserting that such calls amounted to “silencing” her and her voters.
Tlaib pushed back against the calls to moderate in an interview with Politicoon Tuesday. Moderates in the party have blamed poor results in a number of close races, with several incumbent Democrats losing to their GOP challengers, on the extreme stances of many prominent Democrats such as Tlaib and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Tlaib said that the moderate Democrats’ complaints are an attempt to shift blame and avoid responsibility. Tlaib also accused the moderate members of the party of attempting to sideline the party’s progressive wing as former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden is likely to win the presidency, according to Politico.
“We’re not going to be successful if we’re silencing districts like mine,” Tlaib said. “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.”
“We are not interested in unity that asks people to sacrifice their freedom and their rights any longer,” she continued. “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.”