Texas GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw has been on a tear almost since his first day in Congress, and it’s pleasantly refreshing to watch someone brook no nonsense and do it all with a sense of humor, which he generally displays.

However, if you’re going to question the patriotism of a man who was a Navy SEAL for 10 years, served 3 tours of duty, lost an eye in the process, and then ran and won a seat in the House of Representatives, you may be going the right way for a smackdown.

To his credit, Crenshaw is likely capable of inflicting much worse, but he was relatively gentle on New York Times contributing op-ed writer Wajahat Ali.

“Anytime a Republican says they are ‘patriots’ ask them if they voted to fund the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. You know who’s for it? Ilhan Omar,” Ali wrote. “You know who hasn’t sponsored it? Dan Crenshaw. @DanCrenshawTX, I hope you do the right thing. If not, why aren’t you?”

The tweet has since been deleted, but was saved by Daily Wire reporter Ryan Saavedra:

Screenshot for when he deletes it pic.twitter.com/9G3zQ8waLK

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) June 11, 2019

It’s getting increasingly weird out there. Efforts to try to make people like Omar seem more patriotic (she has only her own words to blame) have people questioning the indisputable patriotism of people like Crenshaw to the point they’re outright willing to lie or just forgo a sacred part of their jobs as journalists, i.e. confirmation of information.

Ali, to his credit, followed up with this:

I deleted this b/c Dan Crenshaw supported the Fund in May after being a holdout. Apologies to him for the tweet. I have no problem admitting it & correcting the record with facts. For those trying to "own" me, especially as you still promote "alternative facts," enjoy Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/njJ9fcNKZK

— Wajahat "Social Distance Yourself" Ali (@WajahatAli) June 11, 2019

But he still couldn’t resist slamming people who had tried to correct him by painting them all with the broad “alternative facts” brush.

Just admit your mistake, apologize, and leave it there, “journalist”.