Chellie Pingree should
be part of “The Squad”

There exists a minority group of rabid antisemitic Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives that have been given the title “The Squad” by the news media. Sadly, even though 1st Congressional District Representative Chellie Pingree has voted with this squad against most laws against antisemitism, she has been denied inclusion. By paying attention to The Maine Sunday Telegram’s weekly article “How Maine’s members of Congress voted…” since the Oct. 7th massacre, you would see that Pingree should be part of this celebrated group.

In a previous letter to the Courier back in February, I documented where Pingree logged an uncommitted “present” vote on House Resolution HR894 that denounced antisemitism in the United States. This was followed by a “nay” vote against House Bill HB5933 requiring that colleges report funding from “countries deemed to be of concern” (Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, etc.). She then went on to vote against HR927 condemning antisemitism on college campuses. Since then, Pingree has doubled down on efforts to get herself on the squad by voting against HB4691 upholding sanctions against Iran, and HB6046 sanctioning the Houthi terrorist organization. Then she tops that with a vote against HR883 condemning the slogan “from the river to the sea” which calls for the genocide of Jewish people from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. But wait there’s more… On April 20th, Pingree voted against HR8038 which would “… ensure the Iranian regime doesn’t have access to the funds necessary for it to finance terror”. And finally on May 1st, Pingree voted with the Squad against HR6090 that would help the Department of Education “… identify instances of anti-Semitism and protect all students including Jewish students.” With all the votes Pingree logged supporting antisemitism, it’s time that the news media finally recognizes her as a prestigious member of “The Squad.”

Ted Sirois