'Must apologize': Vulnerable House Dem faces renewed backlash over comparison involving 9/11 terrorist

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FIRST ON FOX: Twenty-one-term Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur is facing renewed criticism from Republicans in her state over comments she made in a resurfaced interview where she appears to compare Usama bin Laden and the United States’ war against terrorism with the Founding Fathers of the American Revolution.

"Before launching a military strike against Iraq, Americans should consider their own history to remember how powerful the mix of religion and politics can be, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) said," a March 2003 article from the Toledo Blade reports about a conversation with Kaptur, who is running for re-election in November for a seat she has held in Congress since 1983.

"If you think back to our founding as a country, we are a country of revolution," Kaptur is quoted as saying as the country was preparing for an invasion of Iraq. "One could say that Usama bin Laden and these non-nation-state fighters with religious purpose are very similar to those kind of atypical revolutionaries that helped to cast off the British crown."

Kaptur went on to explain that the United States should not get "caught in the crossfire" of religious extremism in the Middle East.

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Democrat Rep. Marcy Kaptur (AP Photo/Ken Blaze, File)

"I think that one thing that people of faith understand about the world of Islam is that the kind of insurgency we see occurring in many of these countries is an act of hope that life will be better using Islam as the only reed that they have to lean on," Kaptur said. "I think that people of faith understand that for many of the terrorists, their actions are acts of sacred piety to the point of losing their lives. And I think that people of faith understand that there is a heavy religious overtone to the opposition."

Kaptur’s comments drew criticism from Republicans at the time it was made, including from then National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Thomas M. Reynolds, who called it "outrageous," Washington Post reported.

That criticism was renewed this week by Kaptur’s critics in Ohio, including her Republican challenger, Republican Ohio state Rep. Derek Merrin.

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Ohio state Rep. Derek Merrin talks to reporters on Feb. 15, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio.  (AP Photo/Samantha Hendrickson, File)

"It’s clear Marcy Kaptur left her values behind many years ago," Merrin told Fox News Digital. 

"Whether it’s comparing a terrorist to our Founding Fathers, voting in lockstep with radical Democrats, or failing to deliver results for Northwest Ohio, Kaptur has demonstrated time and again that she's lost touch with working-class people that love America. Our Founding Fathers created the best country on Earth," Merrin continued. "They should never be considered in the same sentence as a terrorist who has done immeasurable harm to Americans."

Mike Marinella, a NRCC spokesperson, also slammed Kaptur in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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L- Derek Merrin R - Marcy Kaptur (Getty Images)

"When you've only passed five bills in forty years like Marcy Kaptur, apparently you have time on your hands to contemplate radical deep thoughts," Marinella said. "No Ohioan agrees with Kaptur's sympathy for terrorists - she must apologize immediately."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Kaptur campaign who did not provide a comment.

In 2003, Kaptur told the Washington Post that Republican critics had "chosen to twist my words."

"My comments were intended to point out that what faces us is a rising revolution being felt across repressive regimes of the Arab and Islamic world," Kaptur said at the time. "The American people understand the power of revolution. It is in that context that I referred to the American Revolution."

The general election race in Ohio's 9th Congressional District is expected to be a tight one with Kaptur defending her seat in a district that Trump won by three points in 2020. The Cook Political report ranks the race as a "toss up" that Republicans are targeting as an opportunity to hold and improve on their slim majority in the House.