Tim Walz makes direct appeal to conflicted Muslim voters
Tim Walz makes direct appeal to conflicted Muslim voters
Democrats are stepping up their outreach to Muslim and Arab voters, who could be critical in battleground states like Michigan but are concerned about U.S. support for Israel.
They’re about to bomb iran on behalf of Israel so this will need to be some pitch.
Some Sunni may even cheer Iran getting bombed. Sunnis and shiites really hate each others guts.
Not all of them all the time. Hamas are a bunch of radical Sunnis, who like Iran for example. However Al Qaeda and the Taliban really do hate Iran. Iran even told the US were to bomb Taliban positions, which was a big reason why the US could invade Afghanistan as easily as they did. Both Iran and the Taliban also fight the Islamic State.
The entire region is really complex and yes some Sunnis are going to cheer Iran being bombed, like the Saudis for example, others will not.
The most fundamentally disappointing aspect of Harris is that she's had all the room in the world for ambiguity and platitudes to sweep the problem under the rug. She doesn't need to even promise anything, just indicate she's concerned about the motivations of the far right Israeli government and will look at all options to promote a just and peaceful Middle East. Expressing the vague potential to confront a far-right Israeli government isn't going to lose her any Democratic votes, at least not in places as important as Michigan where not doing it is a potentially campaign defining choice.
It's like the centrist establishment has some inherent desire to force that "you have to vote for us" choice on disgruntled Democratic factions even though they could just solve the disagreement. If they start acknowledging the left side of the party as being worth listening to, even if doing so is trivially easy, then it sets a bad precedent.
"At the same time what has happened in Gaza in the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking,", "Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self determination."
https://www.npr.org/2024/08/23/g-s1-19232/kamala-harris-israel-gaza-dnc
So, she is saying that what is happening in Gaza is wrong(this was before the recent attacks in Lebanon) and is for a two state solution, which is about as far as you can go.
Harris said she told Netanyahu “it is time to get this deal done.”
https://www.npr.org/2024/07/25/nx-s1-5048285/harris-gaza-war
Hence direct claims to actually push for a ceasefire.
There are a few problems. First of all she is not president right now, so she can not stop Biden from sending bombs to Israel. Biden is about as bad as they get for Democrats. At the same time, her openly going against it is a big problem, as she is part of the administration. Secondly Trump already made a deal with Netanyahu, that they are not going to agree to a ceasefire until the election, to help Trump win. That alone should be a big endoresment of Harris.
She uses passive language when talking about the devastation in Gaza but direct language when talking about october 7. Even her 'concerned' language avoids even the implication that part of the suffering in Gaza is a direct result in Israel's extreme response and reckless bombing campaigns, let alone any indication that the ceasefire talks are stalling because Israel refuses to make any commitments to lasting peace.
Hell, even the US has said that they have had no intention of diplomacy with Hamas, affirming Israel's desire to eliminate them completely. It doesn't take a genius to see why there's been no ceasefire deal when the US and Israel both have publicly stated their intention to eliminate their negotiation partner.
No, Harris doesn't earn credit for sending thoughts and prayers like it's some unavoidable weather disaster.
That she's not president right now is the benefit. She can say whatever she wants and skeptical people have no way of testing her sincerity. The problem with your examples are that they're entirely content free wishes for a better world. Those statements don't imply she might do something to try to enact this ideal world where the heartbreaking thing doesn't happen or that she would even consider doing anything to incentivize Netanyahu to make a deal.
The key to my proposed ambiguity is that there is an explicit acknowledgement that Netanyahu's far right government might be not only an obstacle to peace, but an obstacle that she might confront. Current statements are just the same things Biden is already saying.
It worked for LBJ, however.
People have to hope Harris willing to change her mind after praising Dick Cheney and ass kissing Israel every time she is near a mic. I don't see that happening at all.
The difference is that even if Harris continues the policies of the Biden administration, the American citizens should feel safe enough to protest those policies and maybe something will change?
Under a trump administration the idea of people being able to protest safely is less certain.
"The American citizens should feel safe enough to ignore the issue because they are not impacted by it".
The fact that so many people refuse to recognize the chilling effect and implicit threat of AIPAC in the context of the election vis a vis “what you say about supporting Israel” continues to baffle me. Like, if any candidate says anything sharply critical of Israel, they’ll take their dump truck of money and just give it to the other candidate. That’s the game. That’s it.
Being reticent/“status quo” about Israel in the context of the campaign is (tragically, but also directly due to Citizens United and effectively uncontrolled political spending) is the best play here, and I hope her actual policy is materially different from the status quo. But I recognize she simply can’t say that unless she wants to score a campaign finance own-goal on herself.
The fact that so many people refuse to recognize the chilling effect and implicit threat of AIPAC in the context of the election vis a vis “what you say about supporting Israel” continues to baffle me.
Oh, we're not. We see that the centrist wing of the party is fucking delighted to support genocide in exchange for AIPAC shoveling money at centrist challengers to progressive incumbents.
They can maybe singlehandedly win some House races. $14M is a lot of money there. You'll notice however that Ilhan Omar is still in Congress despite their opposition and Bernie Sanders, who's much more influential, has nothing at all to worry about. They accomplish a lot more by targeting a couple of already weakened reps and others getting scared than they ever could if they actually had to directly confront them. Their money isn't endless and is kind of an irrelevant amount when talking about the scale of a presidential race.
Some speakers on Thursday's call with Walz made it clear that their support for Harris comes with reservations, with one prominent Muslim Democrat saying voting for her was the “least bad thing.”
Surely there will be no negative effect on turnout from forcing people into picking the "least bad" option. Very safe and sensible strategy.
Also Tim: the expansion of Israel is a fundamental necessity
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It's good to hear that the campaign is engaging with these folks now.
The pitch is pretty good too. Some choice quotes:
a distinction between Harris and Biden that Harris has been reluctant to draw herself. [VP] Harris .. cannot decide for President Biden” he said, noting her limited powers under the Constitution.
Harris has made some comments seen as more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause than Biden has
Harris is a good listener who is "able to change her mind."Basically trying to say that a vote for Harris opens the possibility of a President who backs away from a Middle East war, while not overtly stepping on Biden's toes.