AIPAC

Democrats In Michigan Reject Party Establishment, Nominate Abdul El-Sayed For Senate Race!

Ronald 12 Comments

Democratic Party voters, by a narrow margin of about 15,000 votes, have rejected the “Party Establishment” which backed Congresswoman Haley Stevens, and have nominated progressive leftist Abdul El-Sayed for the Senate nomination, against Republican nominee, former Congressman Mike Rogers, for the election in November, which will decide who will replace retiring Senator Gary Peters.

On first thought, it might be believed that the result is disturbing, but when one goes beyond the political propaganda, it is clear that while El-Sayed is critical of Israel’s war in Gaza against the Palestinians, he is NOT antisemitic OR anti the right of Israel to exist, but believes that the Palestinians also have the right to exist, and that the war in Gaza and the West Bank, which has led to 75,000 deaths, mostly women and children, needs to end.

One can be pro Israel, but not pro anything that nation and its leadership does, just as is the same with the United States and its leadership.

The battle to retain the Michigan Senate seat for the Democrats, and for them to gain the four seats from Republicans that are needed to gain control of the US Senate, is an urgent one.

Already, Donald Trump is calling El-Sayed a “Communist”, utilizing the old idea of the Red Scare promoted by Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin in the 1950s, and this despicable tactic must be vigorously opposed by every decent person in Michigan, and nationally.

Ironically, Trump consorts all the time with “Communists”, such as Vladimir Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of China, and Kim Jong Un of North Korea, wishing to be a tyrant and dictator as they are for sure.

El-Sayed is a very impressive and acomplished person, attending and graduating with high honors from the University of Michigan, and giving the commencement address. He had two years of medical school at the University of Michigan, followed by a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University in England, and then an MD degree from Columbia University, and went into public health epidemiology work, rather than pursue a medical license. He became a public health professor at Columbia University, and then, Health Director of Detroit, and then, of Wayne County, Michigan.

El-Sayed was endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Chris Van Hollen, and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, outgoing Senator Gary Peters, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and other establishment Democrats backed Haley Stevens in a losing, although, close margin campaign.

El-Sayed is an accomplished dynamic speaker and podcaster, and would be the first Muslim US Senator, although there are and have been a few Muslim members of the House of Representatives. To date, there have been five Muslim members of the lower house, with one, Keith Ellison from 2007-2019, who has been Attorney General of Minnesota since 2019.

Democratic Party Division In Michigan Could Affect Senate Race And Majority In The 120th Congress (2027-2029)

Ronald 26 Comments

In the first two weeks of August, the upper Midwest states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota will hold primaries for Governor and US Senate, along with House races and state legislative races.

The Democratic Party is facing splits, whereby “Democratic Socialists” are challenging establishment Democrats, which might lead to future problems against Republican opponents.

Today, the situation in Michigan will be discussed, followed by Wisconsin and Minnesota over the next two days.

In Michigan, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is running for Governor, while the likely Republican nominee is African American Congressman John James, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2018 and 2020, after graduating West Point and serving for eight years in the military.

More controversial is the battle for the Democratic Senate nomination between Congresswoman Haley Stevens and physician Abdul El Sayed, who was Health Director for Detroit and for Wayne County, and was a competitor in 2018 for the Michigan Gubernatorial race.

Abdul El Sayed is backed by Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Chris Van Hollen, and Elizabeth Warren, and is vehemently opposed by the pressure group AIPAC, since he is a major critic of Israel and its war in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank against Palestinians.

Stevens is supported by mainstream Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, among others.

The concern of many is that Abdul El Sayed, who would be the first Muslim Senator if he won the Senate race, would have major problems against Republican Congressman Mike Rogers in the election, when Democrats need to gain four seats in the Senate to win the majority of the chamber, and with Democratic Senator Gary Peters presently holding that seat.

The strong belief of many is that IF Michigan is lost to the Republicans, there is no way for Democrats to gain the four seats needed to be the majority in the US Senate in the 120th Congress (2027-2029).

Pending Nomination Of Chuck Hagel As Pentagon Head A Good Move In Many Ways!

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The pending nomination of former Nebraska Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to head the Defense Department is a good move in many ways.

It demonstrates that Barack Obama will not allow criticism and opposition to stand in the way of which person he wants to head the Pentagon.

It shows that Obama has faith in Hagel, a man of strong opinions, sometimes controversial, to clean up defense waste in the Pentagon.

It shows that Obama is willing to put into that office a man who is not a knee jerk “hawk”, and would prefer to avoid armed conflict if at all possible, such as with Iran.

It shows that Obama will not let John McCain and other “hawks” and neoconservatives promote an agenda of constant war, and the extension of our commitment to Afghanistan.

It shows that Obama is willing to back a man who simply made it clear that while we will always defend Israel, we will not allow any pressure group such as AIPAC (American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) to wield undue influence on American foreign policy.

Hagel is a man of his own mind, but also loyal to Obama, who he backed against his own party’s choice of McCain in 2008, and will be a good team player with Senator John Kerry, the choice for Secretary of State.

And both men, Vietnam veterans, with Hagel wounded, truly understand and appreciate the effects of war, and will work together in a smart and effective way to promote a foreign and defense policy that fits the second decade of the 21st century!

Yes, there will be opposition, including those who are upset at past anti gay comments by Hagel, but he has grown on the issue and will enforce the changes that have been made on this matter in the military, and the President is entitled to who he wants in his cabinet, and after a battle, which is nothing new for Obama, he will gain Hagel as his Defense Secretary, and the country will be better off for it!

Finally, recognize that many former military and naval leaders, and former Secretaries of State and Secretaries of Defense, and National Security Advisers under earlier Republican and Democratic Presidents, back Hagel, so let the politics of the Senate play themselves out, but at the end, we will have Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, another Republican in the Pentagon, as Robert Gates was in the first two years of the Barack Obama Presidency!

The Unwarranted Attack On Chuck Hagel’s Possible Nomination To Be Secretary Of Defense

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Former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska has been rumored to be the possible choice of President Barack Obama to be the next Secretary of Defense, but he has been assaulted by critics on the left and on the right since the rumors began about ten days ago.

This is totally unwarranted, as Hagel is an exceptional choice for the Pentagon.

The attacks are based on the following factors:

In 1998, Hagel was critical of an ambassadorial nominee of President Bill Clinton, because the nominee was a gay man. But that is nearly fifteen years ago, and Hagel, as many others, has grown in his tolerance on matters involving homosexuality, and should not be held as anti gay anymore, and has apologized for his past views and statements. It would be actually be great to have a Secretary of Defense who would be enforcing fair policies on gays in the military, and recognizes the wrong of his ways. if we are to say that having a view disqualifies anyone for the rest of his natural life, then no one could fill a cabinet position or any other political job! And for the gay Republican group known as the Log Cabin Republicans to be critical, is true hypocrisy as they backed Mitt Romney and other Republicans who took a stand against gay rights in the recent Presidential campaign!

The Republican Party seems to be working against Hagel, because he was a rare man of principle in his years in the US Senate, and had the “gall” to be critical of the neoconservatives who dominated the Bush Administration foreign policy, which got us enmeshed in Iraq and Afghanistan for so many years. So despite Hagel’s sacrifices in Vietnam, a fellow Vietnam warrior named John McCain, who wants to send US troops everywhere, it seems, has been a major critic of Hagel, as unacceptable for Defense Secretary because he advised against moving toward war against Iran in 2007, and believes in the continuation of diplomacy! Imagine a Secretary of Defense who actually wishes, if possible, to avoid war, and sees the chance to cut Pentagon spending as a priority, with any sane person knowing there is much unnecessary spending that can be cut, and needs to be cut. It is only a continuation of what former Republican Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was trying to promote under Obama in his first two years in office.

Also, the fact that Hagel has disagreed with Israel’s government at times, and had the “temerity” to say that the “Jewish lobby” had too much input into US foreign policy, has made AIPAC (American Israel Political Action Committee) to say that he is “anti Semitic”, which is totally preposterous!

As a Jew myself, this author is irritated that if someone disagrees with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or any other Israeli politician or government statement or policy, that right away that person is considered anti Jewish! This author and many other Jews and non Jews do not wish that ANY foreign government has the ability to have so much impact that it interferes with our President, any President, deciding what is good to do for America, particularly when it is perfectly clear that IF Israel is endangered in any viable way, America will come to their defense! But this does not mean that there cannot be disagreements on strategy or policy with the Israeli government, without being called anti Jewish, or anti Semitic. And the fact is that another Jewish group, J Street, has no problem with Hagel, and many objections to the policies and statements of Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government. America must have an independent policy from any other nation, but again, with the understanding, which certainly exists, that we will be there for the survival of Israel no matter what might develop!

So Chuck Hagel should not be passed over because some gays are unhappy with his past; because neoconservatives, Republicans and John McCain are unhappy with him; or because a group that is overly loyal to Israeli government policies is unhappy with him!

Chuck Hagel is the right man for the job, who would reform the bloated bureaucracy and budget of the Pentagon, while using his talents, courage, and abilities to be an outstanding Secretary of Defense for Barack Obama, and defend Israel in a pinch, as any leader or cabinet member under any President would do! And the President, having been reelected with a clear popular vote majority a second time, is entitled to have the cabinet members he wants to serve him in his second term!

The Case For A Team Of John Kerry And Chuck Hagel As Barack Obama’s National Security Team

Ronald 1 Comment

President Barack Obama has already faced problems with his thought to appoint UN Ambassador Susan Rice to the State Department, and she dropped out and allowed him to move toward the appointment of Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and 2004 Democratic Presidential nominee, to be his Secretary of State, but not yet announced officially.

But now, his planned but unannounced appointment of former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska to be his Secretary of Defense in his second term as President is meeting resistance.

The point to be made is that any President should be able to choose his team, particularly a National Security team, that fits his desires, and therefore, automatically, the President should be given slack to pick who he wishes.

The opposition to Hagel comes from those in the Pentagon who do not like that Hagel has said in the past that there is waste in the Defense Department that can be cut, a statement which has absolute validity. It is clear that Hagel would widh to “clean house” if he came to the Pentagon, but that is good, and should not be a reason to deny him the post.

Also, the Pro Israel Lobby, and particulary AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), is against Hagel because he has, at times, in the US Senate, been critical of Israeli policy in the West Bank, building Jewish settlements.

While certainly AIPAC can have its views on any nominee, it should not be allowed to deny a President who he wants, and the important point, that is necessary to say again and again, is that under no circumstances will Barack Obama and his government ever allow any harm to Israel, and this was made very clear in the recent Gaza Strip events when the IRON DOME system provided and financed by the United States, saved Israel from greater attack. But our government cannot and should not feel that it can be dictated to by ANY foreign government or pressure group to have to agree one hundred percent on every action and statement of a foreign government!

Also, in favor of Hagel, as well as Kerry, is that both were Vietnam War veterans, and understand the horrors of war, and it is great to have two such men, both having served in the Senate, and possessing great principles and courage, to head our National Security team under President Obama in his second term.

So, hopefully, the soon announcement of the appointments of Kerry and Hagel will be forthcoming!