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.

  • Zaktor@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    20·
    3 months ago

    I’m surprised they wouldn’t just find someone to do a speech compatible with the ambiguously pro-peace stance of the Harris campaign while also focusing on how much worse Trump would be. It’d be a hard thing to pull off if Biden were the nominee, but Harris can be a blank slate. And she probably actually will be less pigheadedly pro-Israel than Biden.

    “This is a horrible war and we need to do More™ to end it. Trump and the Christian nationalists would be happy supporting explicit genocide and annexation.” That’s the whole argument, get someone to say it in language of empathy and hope.

    • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
      10·
      3 months ago

      Idk. Harris has been part of the ticket that’s been giving billions of dollars in weapons and letting Netanyahu spit in their faces when they ask him to ease off on the killing at least for a little while.

      I used to be more opposed to things like the “uncommitted” vote than I am now. I do still think Trump will be way worse. But honestly, just seeing a still photo of Rashida Tlaib’s face at a Michigan event was enough to make me realize. They’ve got a right to be 0-tolerance furious and disgusted with all this “lesser evil” bullshit while their families are dying and watching their children suffer and starve, and the US government under Biden is bankrolling the whole operation. I don’t see how any Palestinian could speak at a DNC event right now without (a) selling out their home and their family in a laughably pathetic Uncle Tom fashion, or else (b) condemning the entire event from top to bottom, whatever the white people want to get up and say about how important a cease fire is.

      • Zaktor@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        12·
        3 months ago

        Harris doesn’t have shit for influence with Biden. She was treated as the dumping ground for bad issues and never given any of their successes.

        And the Uncommitted movement is all about making the Democrats better. There are plenty of people in it who want the Democrats to both win and simultaneously be better on Israel, and with Harris there’s a chance to chart a new course.

        • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
          4·
          3 months ago

          Harris doesn’t have shit for influence with Biden.

          Yeah, that’s fair I guess. US policy for the last four years is Biden policy; she’s not gonna go out and say “actually I think we should be doing this other thing instead.”

          She was treated as the dumping ground for bad issues and never given any of their successes.

          Well… I don’t think a VP is really supposed to do a lot of leadership. Supposedly she was pretty involved in a lot of the behind-the-scenes discussions, and she got given some moderately important things (e.g. going to Central America to investigate the root causes of the surge in migration). What did she get blamed for / used as a dumping ground for if you want to call it that?

          And the Uncommitted movement is all about making the Democrats better. There are plenty of people in it who want the Democrats to both win and simultaneously be better on Israel, and with Harris there’s a chance to chart a new course.

          Yeah. I hope so. I take some hope from the fact that she skipped Netanyahu’s address and met with him separately from Biden. But again it’s cold comfort if you’re watching month by month as your family is getting chased around in the blasted wasteland and dying, one by one.

          • Zaktor@sopuli.xyzEnglish
            3·
            3 months ago

            Well… I don’t think a VP is really supposed to do a lot of leadership. Supposedly she was pretty involved in a lot of the behind-the-scenes discussions, and she got given some moderately important things (e.g. going to Central America to investigate the root causes of the surge in migration). What did she get blamed for / used as a dumping ground for if you want to call it that?

            The Central American immigration issue was the biggest dumping ground of them all. She had no ability to fix the issue, it’s the right’s chosen attack line, and talking tough is unpopular with Democrats. “Important” doesn’t make it a beneficial issue for delegation. There was no “win” in that assignment. When Biden saddled her with that it completely blew apart my prior assumption that the plan was to to do the transitional presidency thing and prep her to run in 2024.

            The other two I remember were voting rights and abortion. Again, big important issues for Democrats, but without any possibility for success. She didn’t have the bully pulpit (or Biden’s own support) to shame or threaten the centrists into killing the filibuster, and without that her options just amount to ineffectual talking while women die. Even the efforts the administration did take were reported as coming from Biden, not from Harris (obviously the EOs have to come from the president, but they could have made it sound like her effort). I think he also dumped gun violence on her too. Just a whole heaping pile of issues where the Democrats were incapable of making headway and the right loves to attack.

            Meanwhile she was never part of the story on big win issues that just amounted to giving people and states money.

    • WanderingVentra@lemm.ee
      10·
      3 months ago

      That’s basically what the person they offered to speak said they wanted to say. It would build up Kamala and denigrate Trump like everyone else speaking. But they wouldn’t have it for some strange reason.