Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel confronted Abdul El-Sayed about the future of the Jewish people in the Democratic Party and endorsed him.
Despite her concerns that the Senate candidate has demonized Israel during his campaign and doesn’t truly care about the vote of the Jewish people, Nessel threw her weight behind El-Sayed. The conversation took place during a joint interview with the DSA candidate on the For the Sake of Argument podcast, where Nessel joined host Lori Goldman.
Watch:
“This is the conversation that I need to have with you right now, in that a lot of Jewish Democrats are in this position — is there space for a Jewish Zionist like myself, is there space for us in the big tent of the Democratic Party? Do we still belong in the Democratic Party? We need to know that,” she pressed.
“So look, I believe in a big tent, and there are Democrats who are going to believe different things about different issues, Israel being one of them,” El-Sayed responded. “And I am committed to having a tent where we march in lockstep on the 95% of things we agree on, and where we continue to have the conversation in that tent about the spaces where we disagree. So, yes.”
“And I will also say that it is critical for people to have the belief in our democracy; they have the right to advocate for what they believe in peaceably, and without risk of violence, regardless of what it is. And we can disagree, but we have that debate in public,” he continued, adding, “But it’s important for us to be able to sustain and realize that when you’re electing a public official, they’re never going to agree with you on everything, and on the things that you agree, if those things are the biggest things, then I hope, right, I hope I can earn your support on those. And I know for some people they say, ‘Listen, this is my number one priority. You disagree with me and I cannot vote for you.’ I respect that, and I understand that’s how democracy works.”
“But to your point, and part of the reason I’m so grateful to have this conversation is that you and I agree on 95% of things. The things that we disagree on happen to be deeply painful and very tied to identity, and I appreciate and understand that deeply,” El-Sayed noted. “And so my hope is that all of us, we use this moment of agreement and disagreement to lean into the democratic process, right? To continue to commit to have our conversations publicly and to hash out where we stand, to do that in good faith, to try to earn support in the broader public on our positions, but always, always to guarantee the peace and safety of folks who might disagree with us on issues.”
“Well, I don’t speak for all Michigan Jewish Democrats, but I do speak for many. And I guess the question that many of us have is are you are you seeking our votes? Are you asking for our votes? Are our votes important to you? Do they matter to you?” Nessel asked.
“Yes,” he said bluntly. “And even more important than that is that, in the scope of my leadership, should I be elected, that I can lead well for the community. And if you trust that I’ll lead well for the community, even if there’s an issue on which we deeply disagree, then I hope I can earn your vote.”
El-Sayed’s answers must have been good enough for Nessel, as a few minutes later she revealed she will be voting for him in November.
“We have one candidate that I know is going to fight against the Trump administration; who is going to fight to protect both our physical security, our safety, our health and our futures,” she said. “And then we have another candidate, Mike Rogers, who’s not going to do any of that and who only cares about self-enrichment and, you know, how many pats on the back he can get from Donald Trump. And so for me, I don’t want to say the choice is easy, but I am going to say there is no choice. And that’s why I’m supporting Abdul for the United States Senate.”
“Dana, are you going to vote for Abdul?” Goldman probed.
“I can’t be true to my values if I even consider voting for Mike Rogers. Yes, I’ll be voting for Abdul,” she admitted.
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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