Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said policy differences toward Israel between her and President Biden won’t stop her from supporting him in the November general election.
“Of course,” Omar said Tuesday, when asked by CNN’s Abby Phillip on “NewsNight” whether she would vote for Biden if the election were held that day, in a clip highlighted by Mediaite. “Democracy is on the line, we are facing down fascism.”
“And I personally know what my life felt like having Trump as the president of this country, and I know what it felt like for my constituents, and for people around this country and around the world,” Omar continued. “We have to do everything that we can to make sure that does not happen to our country again.”
You can’t assume the 80% of people who voted for Biden would abandon him the minute he withdrew his support of genocide. They might as easily believe the fud I keep hearing here that an uncommitted vote is tantamount to a vote for Trump.
Likewise, not all of the 20% would withold their votes if he continues to support Israel.
But regardless of the actual number, it’s pretty clear that “votes at risk if I continue to support Israel” is a much smaller number than “votes at risk if I denounce Israel”. The resulting political calculus is unavoidable. Biden can work for a ceasefire, but acting or speaking in direct opposition to Israel is a terrible idea.
It’s not clear at all that a smaller number of votes are at risk. And the whole idea that whether Biden supports genocide should the result of a political calculus is abhorrent.
That’s life, if you can’t handle it go get therapy or something. “Stop all bad things” is not always an option, you have to pick the least bad sometimes.
No matter how many mental gymnastics you do, you are still voting for genocide if you vote for Joe Biden.