Biden – Uncommitted Voters
Updated 2024-08-24
2024-08-21 ‘Uncommitted’ Backs Israeli-American Speakers at DNC, Says Palestinians Must Have Voice Too “Excluding a Palestinian speaker betrays the party’s commitment in our platform to valuing Israelis and Palestinian lives equally.”
While welcoming a scheduled Democratic National Convention speech by the Israeli-American parents of a young man kidnapped in Israel by Hamas militants on October 7, the co-founders of the Uncommitted National Movement on Wednesday implored the DNC to ensure that Palestinian voices are also heard on the event’s main stage.
Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin, whose 23-year-old son Hersh was abducted from the Nova rave near the Gaza border, are set to speak Wednesday night in what Forward, a progressive Jewish news site, described as “a counterpoint to the powerful appearance at last month’s Republican convention by Ronen and Orna Neutra, the parents of hostage Omar Neutra, who led the crowd in Milwaukee in chants of ‘Bring them home!'”
In a Wednesday statement, Uncommitted National Movement co-founders Abbas Alawieh and Layla Elabed said the 30 Uncommitted delegates attending the DNC “urge the Democratic Party to reject a hierarchy of human value by ensuring Palestinian voices are heard on the main stage.”
“We are learning that Israeli hostages’ families will be speaking from the main stage. We strongly support that decision and also strongly hope that we will also be hearing from Palestinians who’ve endured the largest civilian death toll since 1948,” the pair continued, referring to the year in which the modern state of Israel was established amid the ethnic cleansing of more than 750,000 Arabs from Palestine, an event known among Palestinians as the Nakba, or “catastrophe.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/dnc-palestine
2024-08-09 “Uncommitted” Co-Chair Layla Elabed on Meeting Kamala Harris, Pressing VP for Arms Embargo on Israel We speak with the co-chair of the Uncommitted National Movement, who briefly met with Vice President Kamala Harris this week as the Democratic presidential candidate is under pressure to define her platform on Palestine. Layla Elabed spoke with Harris before her rally in Michigan to press her on a ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo on Israel. “I was very emotional in that brief exchange. I did feel like her sympathy and empathy towards me was very genuine, but Palestinian children cannot eat words,” says Elabed. “We need action.” Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0j4084JBVc
2024-08-01 Uncommitted Movement Demands DNC Speech for Doctor Who Volunteered in Gaza The Uncommitted National Movement on Thursday launched a campaign demanding that the Democratic Party allow a doctor who spent two weeks volunteering in a Gaza Strip hospital to speak at the Democratic National Convention later this month.
Uncommitted—a coalition of pro-Palestine, peace, and progressive groups that urged people to vote “uncommitted” in U.S. Democratic presidential primaries in a bid to pressure the Biden administration to push Israel for a Gaza cease-fire—and its 30 delegates want Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, an American pediatric intensive care physician, to address the DNC in Chicago.
“As American bombs fuel violence and suffering in Gaza, it is imperative that the Democratic Party hear directly from those who witness the atrocities firsthand,” said Uncommitted, which launched its campaign with a Thursday morning press conference on Zoom. https://www.commondreams.org/news/uncommitted-delegates-dnc
2024-07-22 Uncommitted Movement: Harris Must Speak Out Against Gaza Genocide The grassroots pro-Palestine movement behind hundreds of thousands of protest votes in the Democratic primaries against President Joe Biden is now urging Vice President Kamala Harris to come out against sending more weapons to Israel now that she is likely going to take Biden’s spot as the Democrats’ presidential nominee.
“For months, we’ve warned that Biden’s support for Israel’s assault on Gaza would hurt his electability,” the Uncommitted National Movement wrote in a statement shortly after Biden dropped out and endorsed Harris on Sunday. “Now, it’s crucial for Vice President Harris to take a clear stance against weapons for Israel’s war and occupation against Palestinians.”
The Uncommitted movement made waves during the Democratic primaries, earning several dozen delegates nationwide after over half a million voters selected “uncommitted” rather than voting for Biden. The movement, first organized in Michigan, was aimed at sending the Biden administration a message that Biden was losing the support of a huge swath of voters due to his unwavering support for Israel as it has slaughtered tens of thousands — if not hundreds of thousands — of Palestinians in Gaza.https://truthout.org/articles/uncommitted-movement-harris-must-speak-out-against-gaza-genocide/
2024-06-10 A Poll of Arab American Voters’ Message for Biden? Reverse Course on Gaza An Arab American Institute poll shows that if the president, even at this late date, were to dramatically change policy on Israel and Gaza, he could potentially win back much of the support he has lost.
The AAI poll received good coverage, all of which noted that while in 2020 U.S. President Joe Biden bested former President Donald Trump by 59%-35% among Arab Americans, Biden is now losing to Trump by 32%-18%. This was true, but what was missed were the details that make this picture so much more revealing. For example, while “not sure” and third-party candidates received less than 10% support in 2020, that goes up to 50% this year. The main reason for this is that 40% of Arab Americans say they are “not enthusiastic at all” about casting a vote in November, while another 21% are “not really enthusiastic”—increasing the percentage of those who aren’t sure for whom they’ll vote (or if they’ll vote at all) in November. Importantly, the lack of enthusiasm is most evident among Democratic voters, 50% of whom aren’t “enthusiastic at all.” That’s only the case for 11% of Republicans.
The AAI poll also shows that 79% of Arab Americans have an unfavorable view of President Biden, while 55% have an unfavorable view of Donald Trump. Biden’s negative ratings are largely driven by the 56% of Democrats who view him unfavorably. On the other hand, Trump’s numbers are higher because he retains the near total support of those who identify as Republicans. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/arab-american-voters-poll
2024-03-21 Why Biden’s Strident Support for Israel Could Lose Him Critical Youth Turnout While few of these young anti-war voters will vote for Donald Trump, they are now far more likely to vote third party or not vote at all.
A recent poll showed that 72% of voters ages 18 to 29 disapprove of Biden’s handling of the war. That is a higher percentage of young voters than those who disapproved of George W. Bush’s war in Iraq, Ronald Reagan’s wars in Central America, or even Richard Nixon’s war in Vietnam. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/biden-israel-lose-youth
2024-03-19 Dem Donors Warn Biden’s Support for Israeli War on Gaza May Hand Trump the White House More than 100 Democratic donors and activists on Monday warned U.S. President Joe Biden that his administration’s “unconditional support” for Israel’s catastrophic war on Gaza “is increasing the chances” that former President Donald Trump will win this year’s election.
In a letter, the Biden supporters—who according to The New York Times include some six-figure donors… “However, the ongoing military actions by the [Israel Defense Forces] are not achieving those goals,” the signatories argued. “Instead, nearly all civil structures in Gaza, including hospitals, schools, mosques, and civilian accommodation are being systematically destroyed. Food, temporary shelter, and medical aid are being prevented by the Israeli government and Israeli extremists from being delivered to the civilian population. Gaza has become a humanitarian catastrophe.”
“Regrettably, President Biden has provided what appears to be unconditional support for the Israeli operation,” the letter states. “The Biden administration has been providing armaments, including 2,000-pound bombs which have been used to flatten entire civilian neighborhoods, causing massive casualties with a high ratio of women and children.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-support-for-israel
2024-03-15 Who’s Defending Democracy Better: Joe Biden or “Uncommitted”? Voters protesting U.S. policy in Gaza are sending a powerful message about the lack of choice in contemporary elections. “All we did is register at the ballot box what we know is happening on the ground,” says Abbas Alawieh, political strategist for Listen to Michigan, the group that lead the “uncommitted” effort in that state. It hasn’t just been Muslim and Arab American communities fueling the success of “uncommitted,” though. Young voters, as well, have made up a large percentage of “uncommitted” voters in Michigan, Minnesota, and elsewhere. A poll conducted last November found that 71 percent of Democrats in Michigan support a cease-fire. Another poll published in late February by Data for Progress found that two-thirds of likely voters nationwide—including 77 percent of Democrats and 69 percent of independents—support “the U.S. calling for a permanent ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Gaza.”
It hasn’t just been Muslim and Arab American communities fueling the success of “uncommitted,” though. Young voters, as well, have made up a large percentage of “uncommitted” voters in Michigan, Minnesota, and elsewhere. A poll conducted last November found that 71 percent of Democrats in Michigan support a cease-fire. Another poll published in late February by Data for Progress found that two-thirds of likely voters nationwide—including 77 percent of Democrats and 69 percent of independents—support “the U.S. calling for a permanent ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Gaza.” https://newrepublic.com/article/179841/uncommitted-michigan-gaza-biden
2024-03-13 48,000+ Democrats Vote ‘Uncommitted’ in Deep-Blue Washington More than 48,000 voters and counting marked “uncommitted delegates” on their ballots in Washington state’s Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday, far surpassing organizers’ expectations and further showing that President Joe Biden’s unconditional support for Israel’s war on Gaza has angered significant chunks of his base. Organizers said they campaigned for just two weeks ahead of the primary and spent $20,000. They predicted a surge in “uncommitted” votes in the coming days, given that progressive ballots in Washington are “notoriously late.”
“Tonight’s numbers show that President Biden’s current policies towards Gaza and Palestine are not in line with his voting base,” said Rami Al-Kabra, a lead organizer and spokesperson for Uncommitted WA. “Democratic voters want a permanent cease-fire and an end to America’s unconditional funding of Israel’s military.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/uncommitted-washington-primary
2024-03-06 ‘Uncommitted’ Wins Nearly 20% of Democratic Primary Vote in Minnesota “Tonight’s numbers showed that President Biden cannot earn back our votes with just rhetoric.” Nearly 20% of Minnesotans who took part in their state’s Democratic presidential primary on Super Tuesday voted “uncommitted,” the latest warning to President Joe Biden that his unwavering support for Israel’s assault on Gaza risks eroding his base ahead of November’s high-stakes general election.
Roughly 46,000 Democratic primary voters in Minnesota, which Biden won in 2020, marked the uncommitted option on their ballots just a week after more than 100,000 Michiganders registered their own protest votes against the incumbent president.
Leaders of the hastily organized uncommitted effort in Minnesota expect to win at least one delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Uncommitted won two delegates in Michigan. https://www.commondreams.org/news/uncommitted-wins-nearly-20-of-democratic-primary-vote-in-minnesota?
2024-03-05 Hey Biden, Listen to Michigan! The 13.3% of Michigan Democrats who voted uncommitted sent a strong message to the president: “Listen to us and give us a reason to vote for you, or you’re putting your re-election at risk.”
The message sent last Tuesday by more than 100,000 Michigan Democrats who cast their ballots for “uncommitted” was crystal clear. They were telling President Joe Biden to call for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and make dramatic changes in policy because they were having a problem voting for him or encouraging others to do so.
Make no mistake, this was a big deal. In the first place, it’s always hard to mobilize people to vote “uncommitted” as a protest. It’s much easier to win votes for an alternative candidate like Jesse Jackson or Bernie Sanders because supporters want to help them win. Getting voters to turn out for “uncommitted” is more difficult because the inclination of those in this camp is to not vote at all. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/biden-listen-to-michigan
2024-03-04 Minnesota Dems Aim to Repeat ‘Uncommitted’ Campaign Success on Super Tuesday On the eve of Super Tuesday, Minnesota Democratic primary voters are looking to replicate Michigan’s success with their own “uncommitted” campaign to protest President Joe Biden’s support for Israel’s unrelenting assault on the people of Gaza. The uncommitted vote in Michigan earned more than 100,000 votes—well beyond the campaign’s 10,000-vote goal—and secured at least two delegates for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.
While Minnesota is not a swing state, and therefore may not have the same leverage over the Biden campaign as Michigan, organizers hope they can still send a message and inspire voters in other states. “We’re hoping that what we do here will just continue to push the wave of uncommitted across the United States,” Amanda Purcell of MN Families for Palestine told The Guardian. https://www.commondreams.org/news/minnesota-uncommitted-super-tuesday
2024-01-24 Muslim and Arab-American Voters Show Black People How to Exercise Political Power Historically, Black people in this country have allowed themselves to feel trapped by the racialized political duopoly. A feature of U.S. politics is to allow only two parties to play a decisive role in elections and for one of them to be designated as the white people’s party and the other as the Black party.
But every group in the country has not been cowed. Voters who identify as Muslims or who have Middle Eastern ancestry have put Joe Biden on notice that his aiding and abetting of Israel’s war crimes in Gaza will cost him politically. Michigan has the largest Arab-American community of any state and plays a pivotal role in presidential elections. Democrats take great care to mobilize voters in this key “swing” state. Hillary Clinton’s failure to do so in 2016 resulted in Donald Trump’s victory there by a small margin of 13,000 votes and he prevailed in the Electoral College when Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were also neglected by the democrats and flipped to the republican column.
Joe Biden won in Michigan in 2020 by a 154,000 vote margin in a state where 200,000 registered voters identify as Muslim and 300,000 claim ancestry from the Middle East and North Africa. Michigan is not the only state Biden won by a small margin thanks to Arab and Muslim voters. In Arizona, Georgia, Minnesota, and Wisconsin he also owed his victory in part to members of this community. A group of Muslim leaders in swing states are rightly using their electoral power with the #AbandonBiden campaign. https://blackagendareport.com/muslim-and-arab-american-voters-show-black-people-how-exercise-political-power
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