Abdul El-Sayed and the Survival of Our Democracy
I have read several op-eds and editorials vilifying Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Michigan and misrepresenting his positions. I am convinced that supporting Republican Mike Rogers over El-Sayed is “penny wise and pound foolish.”
Exhibiting a herd mentality, many in the Jewish community have jumped on the Rogers’ bandwagon. El-Sayed has been accused of being a Democratic socialist, which he is not — he embraces capitalism; of being antisemitic, when he has emphatically spoken out for Jewish safety; and of being opposed to the existence of Israel, when he has in his own words said he supports “equal rights to peace, dignity and self-determination for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis alike.”
While I do not agree with many of El-Sayed’s views on Israel and the U.S.-Israel relationship, the most important issue in the upcoming midterms is the survival of our democracy.
Simply put, support for Rogers is the same as support for Donald Trump and his corrupt, cruel, incompetent and dangerous administration. Like most Republicans in the House and Senate, Rogers is a Trump sycophant and will support anything that Trump does. If the Republicans hold on to the Senate, Rogers will confirm scores of lifetime judicial appointments in the federal judiciary (possibly individuals such as Aileen Cannon, who single-handedly prevented Trump from being brought to justice over his illegal retention of classified documents, as well as his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election).
There is the distinct additional possibility that Trump will appoint two more U.S. Supreme Court justices if Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito resign in order to give Trump that opportunity.
The U.S.-Israel relationship is vitally important, and I have devoted my entire adult life to ensuring Israel’s security and prosperity as a Jewish, democratic state. But when it comes to the November midterms, we should all focus on what is truly at stake. It is our democracy that is at risk if Trump and MAGA retain control of the House and Senate during his last two years in office. Israel’s survival is not on the line in our elections, but our survival as a constitutional democracy most decidedly is.
Michael Gelman
The writer is a member of the ownership group of Mid-Atlantic Media, which owns and publishes Baltimore Jewish Times.
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