'Cannot fathom what evil intent drives this behavior': Local Colorado paper calls out Lauren Boebert
It’s no secret that Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert is a mess who has consistently made headlines for her racist, xenophobic, and ill-informed commentary. While she may have a large following within the GOP and QAnon circles, though, not everyone in her state approves.
After Boebert refused to apologize for her recent comments directed at Rep. Ilhan Omar, in which she referred to the Muslim Congresswoman as a terrorist, an editorial published Wednesday by the Denver Post did so for her.
“Boebert is clearly incapable of remorse or reflection, so as her fellow Coloradans—a beautiful place of tolerance and respect, diversity and freedom—we will help her,” the paper’s editorial board wrote. “Omar deserved nothing short of a full apology.”
“We apologize to the Congresswoman and to the Muslim community for Boebert’s insensitive remarks,” it added. “Such remarks, no matter how innocently intended, have no place in American discourse.”
The newspaper noted that while it has “mostly tried to ignore” Boebert’s actions since she was elected to Congress in 2020 because “they add little to the public discourse,” they felt as though their wreckless state representative “crossed a line” and that they “must stand up for common decency.”
It added that the paper was “embarrassed a Colorado representative is engaged in widening this divide,” and addressed Rep. Omar directly: “[W]e are sorry we didn’t call her out the first time she used a derogatory reference toward you and other members of Congress who are women and minorities.”
The editorial board also acknowledged Boebert’s intent of using her “platform to peddle a gross and false narrative about Muslim Americans. We cannot fathom what evil intent drives this behavior, but after first apologizing, Boebert now has made matters worse.”
The apology piece also detailed what prompted the editorial board to speak up.
Last week, Boebert made comments referring to Omar, the only hijab-wearing Congresswoman, as a member of the “Jihad Squad.” Boebert then refused to apologize and was depicted in videos further confirming her hateful anti-Muslim rhetoric.
“Making a joke about suicide bombers and suggesting that a congresswoman is a threat to safety and security because she is a Muslim is both racist and a form of religious bigotry,” the editorial read.
Following the hateful remarks from Boebert, Omar received multiple threats from anonymous numbers, including one voicemail she played during a press conference Tuesday. Omar even mentioned removing her hijab to make herself less of a target for attacks, a thought she said she had never considered before.
“It was never an option for me to take off my hijab and run. And that should never be something that a Muslim woman or a girl has to contemplate if she wants to enter public life,” she said.
The Denver Post editorial piece ended by noting that, while the board was embarrassed by Boebert, they wish her no harm and hope she does not face the same hate Omar has had to deal with: