Bonchie reported earlier on how the civil war within the Democratic party has turned particularly volcanic, between the furious infighting over Sen. Joe Manchin’s and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s staunch opposition to nuking the filibuster and now with the numerous Jewish Democrats in the House calling on anti-Semitic member Ilhan Omar to “clarify” comments she made equating the United States and their ally Israel to the terrorist groups the Taliban and Hamas.

To quickly recap, Omar caused an uproar among Jewish Democrats in the House after telling President Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this week that “We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.” After meeting Wednesday to discuss her remarks, 12 of the 25 members of the unofficial Jewish Democratic caucus decided the best response was this letter, which read:

Equating the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban is as offensive as it is misguided. Ignoring the differences between democracies governed by the rule of law and contemptible organizations that engage in terrorism at best discredits one’s intended argument and at worst reflects deep-seated prejudice.

The United States and Israel are imperfect and, like all democracies, at times deserving of critique, but false equivalencies give cover to terrorist groups. We urge Congresswoman Omar

Not surprisingly, Omar’s most staunch defenders rushed to condemn her critics, with “Squad” leader Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez the most prominent among them. As per the norm, instead of directly addressing what was said in the statement, AOC immediately defaulted to the “they’re putting her life in danger by criticizing her!” line, a tiresome tactic Republicans who have criticized Squad members in the past are all too familiar with:

Pretty sick & tired of the constant vilification, intentional mischaracterization, and public targeting of @IlhanMN coming from our caucus.

They have no concept for the danger they put her in by skipping private conversations & leaping to fueling targeted news cycles around her.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 10, 2021

The Pro-Israel group “Israel War Room” sent her straight to the burn ward by setting the record straight and essentially telling her to shove it:

Calling out antisemitism doesn't put people in danger.
Not calling out antisemitism puts Jews in danger.
Making moral equivalences between democracies and terrorist organizations and trying to disarm those democracies (as @AOC did just a few weeks ago) puts Jews in danger. https://t.co/pjzYpk0JhO

— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) June 10, 2021

As I’ve noted before, this is a frequent tactic of Ocasio-Cortez’s, Omar’s, and Tlaib‘s. They invoke the Woman Card, the Woman of Color card, or the “you’re putting me in danger!” card as if that’s supposed to insulate them and shield them from legitimate criticisms of what they say and do.

As a woman, I view their frequent card-playing as embarrassing and hypocritical. These are the same “fierce women” who tell you they “don’t flinch” when under attack but then turn and dive straight for the fainting couches when their feelings get hurt.

In the eyes of the Squad members of the world, it’s okay for them to say the vilest things and make the most despicable accusations possible, but don’t you dare respond in kind or you’re a misogynist who suffers from Islamophobia.

It’s a shutuppery tactic, a way for them to try and shut their opposition up and declare the debate over. In reality, it speaks to the weakness of their “arguments” that they continually fall back on this line of “defense” when their backs are against a wall.

Unfortunately for them, it won’t work, not with Republicans, and not even with members of their own party – not anymore.

Related: AOC’s ‘Orange Man Bad’ Argument on Puerto Rico Relief Delays Backfires on Her Big Time