Democratic Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur of Ohio finds herself once again in the spotlight over remarks she made in a resurfaced interview from 2003. In the interview, she seemed to draw parallels between Osama bin Laden and the United States’ founding revolutionaries.
Kaptur, a stalwart representative of Ohio’s 9th Congressional District for an impressive twenty-one terms since 1983, faces criticism from Republicans, including her challenger, Republican Ohio state Rep. Derek Merrin.
The controversial interview, originally with the Toledo Blade in March 2003 amid the lead-up to the Iraq War, has sparked renewed debate. Kaptur suggested that before launching military actions, Americans should reflect on their own history. She drew comparisons between bin Laden and non-nation-state fighters with religious motivations to the unconventional revolutionaries of the American Revolution who opposed British rule.
Her remarks also shed light on the complexities of insurgency in the Middle East and the dangers of religious extremism.
Republican voices, then and now, strongly oppose Kaptur’s comparison. In 2003, then-National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Thomas M. Reynolds labeled her comments as “outrageous.” Today, Merrin and others condemn Kaptur for what they perceive as a misguided equivalence between terrorists and America’s revered Founding Fathers.
Merrin, in a statement to Fox News Digital, accused Kaptur of losing touch with the values of working-class Americans and failing to deliver results for Ohio. He emphasized the exceptionalism of the Founding Fathers and denounced any association with individuals who have caused harm to the nation.
Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the NRCC, joined the chorus of criticism, calling out Kaptur’s legislative record and demanding an immediate apology for her perceived sympathy toward terrorists.
In response to the renewed backlash, Kaptur’s campaign did not provide a comment to Fox News Digital. However, in 2003, Kaptur defended her remarks to the Washington Post, stating that her intention was to highlight the burgeoning revolution in repressive Arab and Islamic regimes, drawing a parallel to the American Revolution.
The upcoming general election in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District is expected to be fiercely contested. Kaptur, facing criticism for her past comments, is defending her seat in a district that leaned towards Trump in the 2020 election. With the Cook Political Report categorizing the race as a “toss-up,” Republicans see an opportunity to expand their slim majority in the House of Representatives.
