Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw blasted Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on Tuesday over a video of Arizona Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema being harassed in a bathroom, asking whether she is “liberal enough” for the social media giant to intervene.
Crenshaw’s tweet included a screen shot of Twitter’s bullying rule that said, “We prohibit behavior that encourages others to harass or target specific individuals or groups with abusive behavior.
“This includes, but is not limited to; calls to target people with abuse or harassment online and behavior that urges offline action such as physical harassment.”
“Hey [Jack] just wondering if you’re going to enforce this bullying rule? Or does it not count when the victim isn’t liberal enough?” Crenshaw asked.
Crenshaw is one of a growing number of Republicans who have publicly spoken out against the bathroom video incident.
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz blasted CNN commentator Ana Navarro-Cardenas for seemingly justifying the harassment in a Tuesday tweet.
“Ridiculous. [CNN] ‘journalist’ rationalizing & justifying harassing Sinema in the women’s bathroom,” Cruz tweeted. “Unacceptable, regardless of your politics.”
Sinema released a statement Monday, calling the action “unacceptable” and “unlawful.”
“Yesterday’s behavior was not legitimate protest,” Sinema said. “It is unacceptable for activist organizations to instruct their members to jeopardize themselves by engaging in unlawful activities such as gaining entry to closed university buildings, disrupting learning environments, and filming students in a restroom.”
It’s rare to see Republicans agree with Democrats, much less step up to defend them. But Crenshaw knows this is not a partisan issue; it’s about calling out Democrats hypocrisy and standing up for what’s right, no matter which side of the aisle someone is on. If activists can get away with following lawmakers into restrooms and posting it on Twitter, what’s next?
The fact that Twitter has been silent in response says all we need to know. If the lawmaker had been AOC or Ilhan Omar or even Bernie Sanders, the video would not have lasted even a few hours on the app before it was pulled for harassment. But for Senator Sinema, who has served as a holdout against Biden’s enormous multi-trillion dollar spending and infrastructure bills, she has become an enemy to many in her own party.
Remember when Biden promised to bring America together and encourage unity? When asked about the incident with Sinema, he refused to stand up for her. Instead, he called it “part of the process.”
If he doesn’t stop throwing his own teammates under the bus, Senator Sinema and a few other Democrats could soon be wearing MAGA hats and calling for Trump to return to office. Harassing lawmakers is not “part of the process.” It’s actually criminal. Unless you’re Twitter. Or apparently Arizona State University. So far, no charges have been mentioned.
It would have been nice to see every single Republican and Democrats unanimously support Sinema, but it didn’t happen. At least Crenshaw was bold enough to call out the hypocrisy of one social media founder. This won’t be the last time the left attacks its own, so it’s a good lesson to learn and apply for future similar issues.
