Every Tuesday, Michael Arria examines the 2024 U.S. election horserace and Palestine’s impact on it. Subscribe to The Shift below to receive this special election-season newsletter and the regular Thursday newsletter.
Since last week’s disastrous debate, the calls for Joe Biden to step aside have grown louder.
Beyond Democratic insiders and media outlets, we have also seen political organizations call for a change.
“President Biden should now step aside so that the Democratic Party can identify and nominate a new, able, and qualified candidate who better reflects the values and views of most voters, including opposition to U.S. support for the Gaza genocide,” said the American Muslim 2024 Election Task Force, a national coalition of American Muslim 501(c)4 political organizations).
“The American Muslim community is not a monolith,” their statement continues. “We are politically diverse. But our community is united in supporting basic principles of justice that all people should support. Human rights. Racial equality. Religious freedom. Free and fair elections. Economic opportunity.”
“American Muslim voters expect anyone who wants to lead our nation to support all of these basic principles. Opposing racism, occupation, and genocide are not big asks. They are basic asks. Both President Biden and President Trump have failed to clear this very low bar. American Muslims and the broader American people demand better options now.”
Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA) National Political Committee has also called on Biden to drop out.
“Make no mistake, a return of Trump would be disastrous for the working class here and abroad,” said the group. “Democratic Party elites have cynically coronated an eighty-two-year-old who is aiding and abetting Israel’s genocide. This is not the candidate for the moment to defeat Trump, prevent the rise of fascism, and fight for democracy in America. The thousands of people who were essential to Biden’s victory in 2020 and turning out the vote have been alienated by the horrors in Gaza and Biden’s complicity in them. Biden must be replaced by a candidate who will stop the genocide in Gaza and will stand with the people of Palestine, who will fight for working-class people, and who can stand up with the masses against both fascism and the capitalist class.”
James Zogby, a longtime member of the Democratic National Committee, has pitched a process to replace Biden to DNC chair Jamie Harrison.
Zogby shared the plan with the New York Times, which involves the President stepping down to initiate a month-long campaign schedule to choose a new nominee.
“Given the relatively small number of D.N.C. members such a process will most likely result in not more than five potential nominees,” writes Zogby.
Abbas Alawieh, a spokesperson for the Uncommitted National Movement and DNC delegate for Uncommitted from Michigan put out a statement reaffirming the Uncommitted Movement’s support for an open convention if such a scenario became viable. However, he also underscored that the focus should remain on stopping the genocidal assault on Gaza.
“Our message to President Biden: if you want us to mobilize the 700,000 Democratic primary voters who cast Uncommitted ballots toward your re-election, you must ensure a permanent ceasefire by imposing an arms embargo and not sending another U.S. weapon for Israel’s war and occupation against Palestinians,” said Alawieh. “The battle for the soul of our nation demands Biden to change course —not another bomb.”
Last month Palestinian-American activist and Listen to Michigan Co-Director Lexis Zeidan spoke to Mondoweiss about the upcoming Chicago convention and how Uncommitted activists might be able to wield their power there.
“Again, we’re trying to remind folks that this is not just about Biden. It’s really about long-term advocacy for Gaza and Palestinians and human rights. So just ensuring that our calls for peace and justice in Gaza are heard and considered at all levels, especially the highest levels,” said Zeidan. “It would be outright crazy to have the DNC and not have any mention of what’s happening both in Palestine, particularly in Gaza. We really want to ensure that our delegates are uplifting Palestinian human rights and voices at the DNC. I think this presence is vital in both pushing the party towards more human policies, similar to the efforts by civil rights activists of the 1960s, and really trying to continue to exert pressure on Biden, the administration, and the party to really shift course on Gaza as quickly as possible.”
Cori Bush ad
A new ad from Congress member Cori Bush asserts that his primary challenger, prosecutor Wesley Bell, is taking money from Republican donors.
The numbers bear this out. By the end of March, Bell had raised almost $2 million, $640,000 of which came from AIPAC’s infamous Super PAC UDP.
A recent report from Sludge revealed that the group takes a large chunk of its money from GOP billionaires. Here’s Donald Shaw and David Moore in Sludge:
The largest donor has been Jan Koum, the billionaire founder of WhatsApp, and the largest donor to the pro-Nikki Haley super PAC SFA Fund. Koum donated a total of $5 million to UDP in September and October of last year.
Another large donor, David Zalik, has also been a Haley supporter. Zalik donated more than $80,000 to Haley’s campaign, super PAC, and joint fundraising committee last year, according to FEC records. He has also donated this year to the campaigns of Texas Republicans Rep. Mike McCaul and Sen. Ted Cruz.
A Politico report from last month found that AIPAC is the biggest source of GOP donations in Democratic primaries.
James Zogby has always been a reasonable and intelligent voice on the Middle East. His suggestion is a good one.
Joe Biden is an aged man who shows serious signs of mental decline. He needs to put the country before his delusional ambition. He needs to step aside and let a more able candidate face the evil Donald J. Trump.
It doesn’t matter who is in the White House when it comes to throwing Palestinians under the bus. Under the bus also is America’s credibility since October 7. So much for a rules based world order, human rights, the Geneva Convention and the rest. We will all pay a price in the near future for prioritizing Apartheid Israel over the security of the world.
“Biden must be replaced by a candidate who will stop the genocide in Gaza and will stand with the people of Palestine.”
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This will be far more doable for a Presidential candidate when voters have a grasp on what standing for the people of Palestine entails in practical terms. Stopping the genocide they will agree. “Free Palestine”, is yet to be determined/defined. A clear plan for co-existence will facilitate Americans standing behind the people of Palestine.