Democratic congressman slurs National Guard

"The other 75 percent are in the class that would be the large class of folks who might want to do something."

CNN screenshot

Rep. Steve Cohen has long been a circus clown known for radical antics and immaturity, yet his hard left Tennessee district — which has elected only one Republican in 150 years — keeps re-electing the 71-year-old Democrat by large margins every two years.

In 2019, Cohen brought a bucket of KFC and a ceramic chicken to a House Judiciary Committee hearing because he was angry Attorney General William Barr did not attend. He’s also called Republicans Nazis, liked racist commentary about a black senator, and more.

Perhaps Monday was his nadir, because when even CNN anchors are perturbed by and rebut a liberal politician, you know it’s bad.

During this Martin Luther King Day interview, host Jim Sciutto asked in part, “We now have the remarkable step in this country of the U.S. military running background checks on its own people like it might do in a foreign country with partner forces to see if there are any sympathizers. Based on what you’ve seen, what is your level of concern of an insider threat?”

Cohen responded that his Twitter account told him “the guard is 90 some odd percent, I believe, male. Only about 20 percent of white males voted for Biden. You have got to figure that the guard, which is predominantly more conservative and I see that on my social media, and we know it, there are probably not more than 25 percent of the people that are there protecting us who voted for Biden. The other 75 percent are in the class that would be the large class of folks who might want to do something.”

This is a U.S. Congressman slandering military members with his ideological bigotry. And of course, Twitter failed again, since Cohen’s numbers are way off.

Just a glance at TV shows how diverse the Guardsmen are, but according to 2020 exit polls, nearly two in five white males voted for Biden. As of 2018, the Army National Guard is about 18% percent female, and the Air National Guard is more than 20% percent female — not the “90-some odd percent male” Cohen asserts. I am sure many service members reside in his congressional district.

To his credit, Sciutto asked for evidence, noting, “to have voted for Trump does not make you an insider. I mean, that is far different from being a threat of violence inside, whether the National Guard or law enforcement. I’m curious, is there anything you’ve seen to substantiate just how broad this insider threat may be, if it exists?”

Cohen had no substantive reply. The congressman should be embarrassed by these bigoted, ignorant accusations. Considering his checkered history, however, that’s doubtful.

 

A.J. Kaufman

A.J. Kaufman is an Alpha News columnist. His work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, Israel National News, Orange County Register, St. Cloud Times, Star-Tribune, and across AIM Media Midwest and the Internet. Kaufman previously worked as a school teacher and military historian.