Although President Biden handily won last night's Michigan Democratic Primary garnering 81.2% of the vote there is much attention concerning the fact that 13.2% of Democratic voters in the Wolverine state voted uncommitted.
They did so at the behest of the virulently anti-Semitic Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and her younger sister Layla Elabed who organized the Listen to Michigan campaign both of whom are angry with President Biden's stalwart support for Israel since Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
Over at The Bulwark, Jonathan V. Last, a noted pessimist, thinks the uncommitted vote is much ado about nothing as he compared last night's results to the results of Michigan's 2012 Democratic Caucus:
In Michigan there was a concerted, organized effort to get Democrats to vote “uncommitted” as a protest against Biden. This effort resulted in 13.3 percent of the vote for “uncommitted.”
In 2012, with no organized movement and no dissatisfaction with Obama, 10.69 percent of Michigan Democrats voted for “uncommitted.”
So a jump from 10.69 percent uncommitted to 13.3 percent uncommitted is a “notable showing”?
Well, I wish I could share Last's newfound optimism. Last night's showing is notable for a couple of reasons. First, while President Biden received 81.2% last night from Michigan Democrats, President Obama received close to 90% (89.3%). Second, although 10.7% of Michigan Democrats were uncommitted to President Obama in 2012 they numbered just over 20,000 voters (20,833). Last night, there were nearly five times as many uncommitted voters numbering over 100,000 (101,436) many of whom are part of Michigan's large Arab and Muslim population.
Mind you, President Biden won Michigan in 2020 over defeated, former President Donald Trump by more than 150,000 votes. While Biden will probably take a big hit in Michigan this November, he might have sufficient wiggle room to pull out another victory. But it will come at an enormous price.
It is worth noting that vote for uncommitted was large enough to earn 2 delegates at the DNC. Perhaps those seats could be filled by Congresswoman Tlaib, her sister or someone like Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud who recently wrote in the New York Times, "I worry Biden will be remembered not as the president who saved American democracy but as the president who sacrificed it for Netanyahu." Keeping in mind the turbulent nature of the Biden-Bibi relationship, it is hard to see how President Biden's support for Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, undermines American democracy. The only conclusion at which I can arrive is that Hammoud says Netanyahu, he means Jews.
In the grand scheme of things, two delegates might be small beans, but it might be sufficient to embarrass President Biden in front of a worldwide audience and do him untold damage in the 2024 election. The result of which would be Donald Trump's return to the White House. Tlaib, Hammoud and others are doing everything they can to deny President Biden a second term. As I have previously argued, this is something the Democratic Party cannot tolerate.
Because make no mistake. The 100,000 plus Michigan Democratic voters who would not commit to President Biden are committing to Donald Trump. That doesn't mean they'll necessarily pull a lever for Trump, but they certainly won't pull one for President Biden. By not choosing Biden, you are choosing Trump.
If Congresswoman Tlaib believes President Biden is supporting genocide now, it is hard to imagine she will change that view in November. One uncommitted Michigan voter put it like this to MSNBC, “Why is our democracy more important than thousands of men, women, and children being killed? Mind you, Hamas has no trouble murdering men, women and children but I suspect this voter and many others would be more than happy to justify the murder of Jews as has been done publicly and visibly since October 7th.
I'm also not sure how the abandonment of American democracy will save Palestinian lives. What I am sure of is the return of Donald Trump will bring about tyranny. If Trump does return, we will have Congresswoman Tlaib, Mayor Abdullah and hundreds of thousands of "uncommitted" Democratic voters in Michigan and elsewhere to thank.
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