Joe Morelle: “I must say, and I have the highest regard for my colleague, anyone who would equate the Black Lives Matter movement and…”

“I must say, and I have the highest regard for my colleague, anyone who would equate the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests organized over the murder of George Floyd with white supremacists like the one who killed 10 people in Buffalo and targeted Black Americans, equating that is irresponsible and reprehensible at best. Talk about false equivalence. I am nearly speechless that we would even begin down that road. Maybe that says a lot about why the national Republican effort has changed so dramatically in just 2 years, when this Congress accepted by voice vote the Domestic Terrorism Act that we have before us. I also include in the Record an October 15, 2021, Washington Post fact check article titled ``The false GOP claim that the Justice Department is spying on parents at school board meetings.'' [From the Washington Post, Oct. 15, 2021] The False GOP Claim That the Justice Dept. Is Spying on Parents at School Board Meetings (By Salvador Rizzo) ``Attorney General Garland is weaponizing the DOJ by using the FBI to pursue concerned parents and silence them through intimidation. Florida will defend the free speech rights of its citizens and will not allow federal agents to squelch dissent.'' --Florida Gov. Ron Desantis (R), in a tweet, Oct. 5 ``Now the FBI is trying to silence parents. That's wrong.'' --Glenn Youngkin, Republican nominee for Virginia governor, in a campaign ad, Oct.…”