Uncommitted delegates have been staging a sit-in outside the Democratic National Convention hall after being informed last night that a Palestinian American

Uncommitted delegates have been staging a sit-in outside the Democratic National Convention hall after being informed last night that a Palestinian American would not get be given a speaking slot in the event.

In response, a number of progressive lawmakers and officials, as well the United Auto Workers, have called on the Harris campaign and DNC officials to reverse the decision.

Several progressive lawmakers have issued public statements of support for a Palestinian speaker on the final night of the convention, including Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Summer Lee, D-Pa.; Delia Ramirez, D-Ill.; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Greg Casar, D-Tex.; Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; and Maxwell Frost, D-Fla.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also endorsed the idea today, as did Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison — who was the first Muslim elected to Congress before running for his current job — and actors and activists Mandy Patinkin and Mark Ruffalo.

“We’re not here to cause trouble, nobody is trying to sneak in or anything. We won delegates. We negotiated with the campaign. We did everything we were supposed to and we can’t even get a symbolic gesture," Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian American who was one the proposed speakers, said through tears Wednesday night.

  • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
    13·
    3 months ago

    This seems like the make or break issue for Democrats, and they’ve really set themselves up for failure on it by refusing to separate the concept of Israel from the concept of Judaism over the previous 12 months. Their votes in the house and senate on censoring protest speech wherein the specific definition cited conflates the two concept isn’t on accident.

    Harris really hasn’t done what she needs to do to create daylight between her and Biden on this issue and its likely going to cost her the campaign if she doesn’t end up on the right side of it. The problem she has is the previous 9 months of Democratic propaganda and intentional confusion around the concept in mainstream media that the Biden/ Harris administration has been directly fueling. Hence the student protest ban, hence the tictok ban; they’re entirely on the wrong side of the issue.

    Not allowing for a Palestinian to come up and speak at this convention more than enough to give Trump a viable chance in enough states that it entirely erodes the gains the campaign has seen over the previous month. Its an unforced error that the administration has continuously been on the wrong side of, and with better messaging and actually using the bully pulpit (a completely foreign concept to Biden), they never needed to have boxed themselves into this now untenable position of their own mediocrity and unwillingness to lead.

    Also, inb4 blue maga saying the voters just need to suck it up and vote for genocide. If that works for you, please understand that there are enough people who have an actually calibrated moral compass for whom the active support of a genocide is a deal breaker. You can’t expect them to come to your position when its 100% in the wrong.

    • katy ✨
      2·
      3 months ago

      yeah im sure trump should be much better for the palestinians /s

        • katy ✨
          1·
          3 months ago

          horseshoe theory perpetually online leftists want trump to win anyway so i don’t know what your point is.

          • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
            4·
            3 months ago

            If I could roll my eyes any harder.

            Yes, I’m sure the 100k undecided voters in MI, a make or break state for Kamala are just “perpetually online leftists”, a group for whom supporting a genocide was a bridge too far.

            Blue maga tried blame the voters schtick when Biden was candidate. It was giving us Trump. That approach is the problem and if I scratch beneath your tinfoil rafter of wanting to abuse people who have a stronger moral code than you, what will I find?