Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Michigan Democrat and member of the far-left “Squad,” wants voters to cast ballots for “uncommitted” rather than President Biden in her home state’s primary election as a way to protest his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
As Congress’ only Palestinian American, Ms. Tlaib said Democratic voters should send a message to Mr. Biden.
“It is also important to create a voting bloc, something that is a bullhorn to say ’enough is enough, we don’t want a country that supports wars and bombs and destruction. We want to support life, we want to stand up for every single life,’” Ms. Tlaib said in a video posted to social media.
Voting “uncommitted” rather than for Mr. Biden in the primary is a trend among far-left groups who oppose the president’s support of Israel.
MSNBC analyst and University of Miami professor Fernand Amandi called Ms. Tlaib’s advocacy an “unforgivable act.”
“The best way for Democrats to respond to this unforgivable act by [Rashida Tlaib] is to recruit and contribute to a strong Democratic primary opponent to run against her and make sure she is not reelected in August as the Democratic nominee,” Mr. Amandi posted.
Mr. Biden has alienated many progressives, some of whom dub him “Genocide Joe,” over his handling of the Hamas-Israel war and the high number of civilian causalities in the Gaza Strip as Israel tries to root out the Islamist terrorist group. These leftists have demanded that the president call for a cease-fire.
While Mr. Biden will cruise to the Democratic nomination despite the defectors in his party, he’ll need to mend relations with the sizable Arab and Muslim communities in the crucial swing state of Michigan for his rematch against former President Donald Trump. Mr. Biden won the state in 2020 by only three percentage points.
Nearly three dozen state and local Democratic officials in Michigan plan to vote “uncommitted” in the Feb. 27 primary. That includes former Rep. Andy Levin.
On Monday, Mitch Landrieu, co-chairman of Mr. Biden’s reelection campaign, will host events in Flint and the Detroit area to “lay out the stakes of the 2024 election for Michigan’s workers.” He’ll be joined by several high-profile members of the state’s congressional delegation who are close allies to Mr. Biden, including Rep. Dan Kildee and Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
“While President Biden has created hundreds of thousands of good-paying Michigan jobs, brought back manufacturing to the state and championed investments to rebuild Michigan’s infrastructure, Donald Trump has a long record of hurting workers, shipping jobs overseas, and lining the pockets of the super wealthy and big corporations,” a press release said.
Ms. Tlaib, in the online video where she was standing outside of an early voting location, said Palestinian supporters “feel completely neglected and just unseen by our government.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.