It's almost like Democrats believed that the 2024 presidential election was going to be just like 2020, minus, at least for now, a global pandemic. They would use all of the same tactics, and they would sweep an increasingly confused and addled Joe Biden back into office. Never mind his beyond dismal record, and the fact that he is one of the most unpopular presidents in recent history because of it. A healthy dose of ignoring that record and some good old-fashioned gas-lighting by members of his administration and the media of the American people, and sleepy Joe is right back in the Oval Office. But Democrat lawmakers are starting to realize just how bad things might be for them on election night, and they are beginning to visibly sweat.
The problem is the pro-Hamas protests erupting on college campuses around the country. In a recent statement to Axios, one Democrat lawmaker said aloud what a whole bunch of other Democrats are no doubt thinking:
"The longer they continue, and the worse that they get, the worse it's going to be for the election overall." The demonstrations are "bringing out [the public's] most conservative side."
Videos and other accounts of the antics of the pro-Hamas protesters are on full display on television and the internet. Scenes of pro-Hamas encampments and students occupying buildings on campus at Columbia University and, at UCLA, Jewish students being blocked from entering campus just to go to class. And in one of the most appalling instances, at the University of Washington in Seattle, one Jewish student, a great-grandaughter of Holocaust survivors, was told to "go back to the gas chambers."
More than a few Democrats see the writing on the wall and are well aware of the fact that the protests are a massive gift to Republicans. The GOP has wasted no time creating campaign ads out of video footage of the protests. The ad campaign rightly ties the protests to Democrat policies, like student loan forgiveness, with verbiage like Democrats "think hardworking taxpayers should cover pro-Hamas students' tuition" and that they "cower to the whims of dangerous Antisemites in their party."
Surprisingly, there may be an attempt to drag the Democrat Party back to some reasonable form of center-left with something called the New Democrat Coalition. Rep. Annie Kuster (D-NH) chairs the group and said that many of her fellow Democrats "have been, kind of, holding back" and are reluctant to comment on the protests. Kuster herself took a middle-of-the-road approach, saying:
"It's complicated enough for us with the range of opinions and height of emotions we have, without weighing in on what [colleges] should be doing. It just has become this confrontation. And in certain states like Michigan, there are big Arab American populations, big Jewish populations, it's roiling all kinds of groups."
Another one of Kuster's colleagues also went the safe route, saying, "It's hard because ... the more thoughtful approach is the more difficult approach. It's easier to pick a side and start yelling."
A perfect example of the acrobatics Democrats are now faced with performing comes from Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who is in one of the toughest and most watched senatorial races in the nation. Brown seemed to be all over the map when talking about the protests. In a recent interview, he stated that he is "not going to talk about the politics of that. People always have the right to speak out and should." But in a fit of verbal gymnastics, he stated,
"There's no place for antisemitism or hatred in our state or in our country. Every Ohioan has the right to speak out and make their voice heard and need to do so in a way that doesn't threaten others."
A question for Democrats might be: How much will the protests affect Jewish support for Joe Biden in 2024? Former Anti-Defamation League head Abe Foxman recently stated,
“I believe that this administration, because of its political season, is taking American Jews for granted or has written us off. If they’re worried that the Arabs in Michigan will vote with their feet, they need to worry that Jews can also vote with their feet.”
But even with that threat, a recent survey showed that 44 percent of American Jews said they would be more likely to vote for Biden because of his public support for Israel.
So, even as the pro-Hamas protests show no signs of letting up and Republicans appear to be smartly making the Democrats own them, one Democrat lawmaker says it is "just a question of focus" and that they "have to talk about the issues where we're strong and trusted: Reproductive freedom, protecting Social Security and Medicare."
Americans are also coming to a realization — the realization that liberal Democrats have created the anti-American, anti-Semitic indoctrination centers colleges and universities have become, and now it is not a question if they are unwilling, but the reality that they are unable to control the monster they created.