Democrats worried anti-Israel riots at Chicago nominating convention could throw wrench in campaign - Mary Lou Masters

 

by Mary Lou Masters

Several Democratic operatives are worried such demonstrations could resemble the chaos of the 1968 convention, also in Chicago, where Republican Richard Nixon went on to defeat Democrat Hubert Humphrey months later.

 

Democrats who spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation are concerned that the optics of the expected anti-Israel protests at the party’s nominating convention in August could harm President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.

Biden has received criticism from his left flank over his support for Israel following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack, which murdered roughly 1,200 people. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is reportedly weighing options to minimize the effects such protesters could have on the convention, as dozens of organizations are set to join the “March on the DNC” when the event begins Aug. 19.

Several Democratic operatives are worried such demonstrations could resemble the 1968 convention, also in Chicago, where Republican Richard Nixon went on to defeat Democrat Hubert Humphrey months later.

“The anti-war protests in Chicago, fairly or unfairly, reinforced the reputation of the Democrats as the party of chaos, and reinforced Nixon’s pitch to the American people as the law and order candidate. And so I think those who ignore history are at risk of repeating it,” Len Foxwell, a Democratic strategist based in Maryland, told the DCNF.

“To the extent that people look at the images on their TV screens, or on their electronic digital devices, and see these rather unsympathetic protesters and associate them with the Democratic Party, it’s hard to see how it could have anything other than a deleterious effect on the campaign,” Foxwell added.

Violent riots broke out during the 1968 Democratic convention with individuals protesting the Vietnam War, while Nixon, who pledged to crack down on crime, quietly secured the GOP nomination in Miami, Florida. Nixon handily won the White House by a 20-point margin.

A Democratic pollster and redistricting consultant focused on working class racial minorities, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about his concerns, is skeptical former President Donald Trump could capitalize off of the protests like Nixon did. Still, the pollster said Democrats are concerned, telling the DCNF the historical context of the convention is “sort of eerily reverberant.”

“It’s not that these people stopped the war in Vietnam, they elected Richard Nixon, who ran very specifically against them,” the pollster said. “This is exactly the context that everybody is worried about with the optics for the convention.”

Steve Shurtleff, a Democratic New Hampshire lawmaker and former speaker of the state House, told the DCNF that while the pro-Palestinian activists have a right to protest, he hopes it “won’t turn into Chicago of 1968.”

“A bump that the president might get from the convention could be impacted by what’s happening on the streets, and I think of the ‘68 election, how close it was between Nixon and Hubert Humphrey … and I’ve often wondered if it had been a more peaceful convention, if [Humphry] could’ve gotten his message out to more people across America,” said Shurtleff.

Those close to Biden are pushing for bringing back parts of the 2020 convention, which was largely virtually-held due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Politico. The DNC is reportedly considering limiting in-person speeches; pre-taping the delegation roll-call; and moving some party business off of the convention floor.

Adolph Mongo, a Democratic strategist based in Michigan, told the DCNF that the party “should be concerned” about the optics of such protests, arguing that Biden already “has a lot on his plate.”

“He has folks in the black community not feeling it like they always used to feel for the Democratic candidate. He’s got students, they’re not feeling it. The Arab population is not feeling it. Then he’s got the immigration [issue],” said Mongo. “Man, he’s fighting several fronts.”

Biden has been losing ground with crucial voting blocs that typically back Democratic by large margins, including black and youth voters, according to polling this cycle. For instance, a New York Times/Siena College survey released May 13 found black voters supporting Biden over Trump 70% to 18%, and the president only held a four-point lead among 18-to-29-year-olds.

Black voters backed Biden at 87% in 2020 compared to only 12% who supported Trump, while the president won those aged 18 to 29 by 24 points, according to Edison Research exit polling.

Pro-Palestinian protests and encampments popped up on college campuses across the country before the school year ended, including at Columbia University, Emory College, Yale University, George Washington University and the University of California at Los Angeles. Various colleges cancelled classes or moved them online as the demonstrations broke out, with some making changes to graduation ceremonies, as well.

Trump has blamed Biden for the protests ensuing on college campuses, and accused him of being “nice” to Hamas while abandoning Israel.

Foxwell noted that the protests are not an issue to Republicans, as they “don’t need this constituency.”

“They actually benefit from the perception that they have a hostile relationship with this constituency, because so many of these protesters do come across as privileged complainers, and many of whom just are interested more in performance art than a legitimate policy discussion,” said Foxwell. “The Democrats do not have that luxury.”

Some of Biden’s primary victories this cycle have been marred by protest votes, with significant campaigns like the Uncommitted National Movement, formerly Listen to Michigan, and Abandon Biden encouraging those who disagree with the president’s handling of the war in Gaza to vote for nameless ballot options.

Over 100,000 Democratic primary voters in Michigan at 13.2% supported the “uncommitted” ballot option, as well as roughly 19% in Minnesota, nearly 10% in Washington, approximately 8% in Tennessee and 6% in Alabama, according to Associated Press estimates. Other nameless ballot options secured 12.7% support in North Carolina, 9.4% in Massachusetts, 9% in Colorado and 8.4% in Wisconsin.

Conversely, Democratic strategist Andres Ramirez isn’t concerned about the optics of such demonstrations, and argued that “protests are nothing new to Democratic conventions.”

“We’ve seen very little impact that conventions or coverage of conventions have played on an actual outcome of an election,” Ramirez added. “I think what matters most to me, again, is where candidates and campaigns and their messaging will be, come September, when voters decide to tune in.”

Biden has yet to lead in the RealClearPolitics average against Trump since September 2023, and is currently down in every battleground state.

Neither Biden’s campaign nor the DNC responded to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

***

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

 
Mary Lou Masters

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/deleterious-effect-dems-worried-anti-israel-riots-convention-could-throw

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Loose Talk About the End of Everything - Victor Davis Hanson

 

by Victor Davis Hanson

Take heed that what almost never happens in war can certainly still occur.

 

[Order David Horowitz’s new book, America Betrayed, HERE.]

After a recent summit between new partners China and Russia, General Secretary Xi Jinping and Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin issued an odd one-sentence communique: “There can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be fought.”

No one would disagree, even though several officials of both hypocritical governments have previously threatened their neighbors with nuclear attacks.

But still, why did the two feel the need to issue such a terse statement—and why now?

Rarely has the global rhetoric of mass annihilation reached such a crescendo as the present, as existential wars rage in Ukraine and Gaza.

In particular, Putin at least believes that he is finally winning the Ukraine conflict. Xi seems to assume that conventional ascendant Chinese military power in the South China Sea has finally made the absorption of Taiwan practicable.

They both believe that the only impediment to their victories would be an intervention from the U.S. and the NATO alliance, a conflict that could descend into mutual threats to resort to nuclear weapons.

Thus the recent warnings of Xi and Putin.

Almost monthly, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un continues his weary threats to use his nuclear arsenal to destroy South Korea or Japan.

A similarly monotonous, pro-Hamas Turkish president, Recep Erdogan, regularly threatens Armenians with crazy talk of repeating the “mission of our grandfathers.” And he occasionally warns Israelis and Greeks that they may one day wake up to Turkish missiles raining down upon their cities.

More concretely, for the first time in history, Iran attacked the homeland of Israel. It launched the largest wartime array of cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones in modern history—over 320 projectiles.

Iran’s theocrats simultaneously claim they are about ready to produce nuclear weapons. And, of course, since 1979, Iran has periodically promised to wipe Israel off the map and half the world’s Jews with it.

Most ignore these crazy threats and write them off as the braggadocio of dictators. But as we saw on October 7, the barbarity of human nature has not changed much from the premodern world, whether defined by savage beheading, mutilations, murdering, mass rape, torture, and hostage taking of Israeli elderly, women, and children.

But what has radically transformed are the delivery systems of mass death—nuclear weapons, chemical gases, biological agents, and artificial-intelligence-driven delivery systems.

Oddly, the global reaction to the promise of Armageddon remains one of nonchalance. Most feel that such strongmen rant wildly but would never unleash weapons of civilizational destruction.

Consider that there are as many autocratic nuclear nations (e.g., Russia, China, Pakistan, North Korea, and perhaps Iran) as democratic ones (U.S., Britain, France, Israel, and India). Only Israel has an effective anti-ballistic missile dome. And the more the conventional power of the West declines, the more in extremis it will have to rely on a nuclear deterrent—at a time when it has no effective missile defense of its homelands.

In a just-released book, The End of Everything, I wrote about four examples of annihilation—the classical city-state of Thebes, ancient Carthage, Byzantine Constantinople and Aztec Tenochtitlán—in which the unimaginable became all too real.

In all these erasures, the targeted, naïve states believed that their illustrious pasts, rather than a realistic appraisal of their present inadequate defenses, would ensure their survival.

All hoped that their allies—the Spartans, the anti-Roman Macedonians, the Christian nations of Western Europe, and the subject cities of the Aztecs—would appear at the eleventh hour to stave off their defeat.

Additionally, these targeted states had little understanding of the agendas and capabilities of the brilliantly methodic killers outside their walls—the ruthless wannabe philosopher Alexander the Great, the literary patron Scipio Aemilianus, the self-described intellectual Mehmet II, and the widely read Hernán Cortés—who all sought to destroy utterly rather than merely defeat their enemies.

These doomed cities and nations were reduced to rubble or absorbed by the conquerors. Their populations were wiped out or enslaved, and their once-hallowed cultures, customs, and traditions lost to history. The last words of the conquered were usually variations of, “It can’t happen here.”

If the past is any guide to the present, we should take heed that what almost never happens in war can certainly still occur.

When killers issue wild, even lunatic, threats, we should nonetheless take them seriously.

We should not count on friends or neutrals to save our civilization. Instead, Americans should build defense systems over the skies of our homeland, secure our borders, ensure our military operates on meritocracy, cease wild deficit spending and borrowing, and rebuild both our conventional and nuclear forces.

Otherwise, we will naively—and fatally—believe that we are magically exempt when the inconceivable becomes all too real.

Victor Davis Hanson

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/loose-talk-about-the-end-of-everything/

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Egypt-Israel Tensions Rising as Egypt Refuses to Open Rafah Border to Palestinian Refugees - Christine Williams

 

by Christine Williams

Beware the two-faced Egypt.

 

[Order David Horowitz’s new book, America Betrayed, HERE.]

Pressure is building between Israel and Egypt over Palestinian refugees as Israel prepares its offensive on Rafah, where Hamas is hiding out and using human shields. According to an Atlantic Council report:

Relations between Egypt and Israel have soured in recent weeks as Israel prepares to launch a full-scale ground offensive into Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip—a move that Cairo has warned would put its peace treaty with Israel at risk and destabilize the region.

Egypt fears a sweeping assault on Rafah—where more than one million displaced Palestinians have sought refuge from Israel’s incessant bombardment of the northern and central Gaza Strip—may force hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees to storm the Rafah border and cross into the Sinai Peninsula with little prospect of ever returning.

As pressure mounts globally, with blame focused upon Israel, Egypt is now beginning to draw attention. Egypt has long warned of “catastrophic repercussions on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and on regional peace and security” from any Israeli ground attack in Rafah, as it continued to push for a ceasefire at Israel’s expense. This is despite the fact that Egypt knows firsthand the dangers posed by the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is an offshoot. Yet it has not issued any open condemnation of Hamas, leaving Israel isolated in the region and beyond.

New York Magazine said this regarding Egypt:

It has railed against Israel, and it has refused to condemn Hamas. But the government hasn’t actually let any Palestinians come out of Gaza and into the Sinai Peninsula. I may be missing something, but I don’t think Egypt’s refusal to do so has stirred much international outrage.

It’s no secret that Egypt is also concerned about Muslim Brotherhood and other terrorist influences among the Palestinians. Egypt largely eliminated its own Muslim Brotherhood problem in 2013, killing up to 2000 Muslim Brotherhood members in a single  day and imprisoning others.

But Egypt should not be let off the hook so easily. A March 2016 report by the Carnegie Endowment, Egypt’s Shifting Hamas Policies, noted a contradiction in Egypt’s stance toward Hamas:

 A high-level Hamas delegation visited Cairo for security talks. The visit was preceded by an article published in the government daily Al-Ahram calling Hamas a “resistance movement,” dropping the previous label of “terror organization.” This visit was followed by a public visit by Ismail Haniyeh in January 2017 and another in September after his election as leader of Hamas. In the September visit, Haniyeh spoke of a new chapter in bilateral relations, pledged respect for Egyptian national security, and increased security cooperation with the regime.

Although the Hamas-Egyptian alliance was said to be for the purpose of fighting the Islamic State, questions remained. Middle East Eye has noted that “the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is highly secretive about its activities in Rafah.” Also noteworthy is the fact (which Israel has confirmed) that Hamas used the tunnel system to smuggle weapons and ammunition from Egypt into Gaza in the run-up to October 7.

One certainty is that Egypt is vocal about supporting the “Palestinian cause,” from the River to the Sea:

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has made clear from the start that he categorically rejects any attempt to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at the expense of other countries. Sisi has also rejected the displacement of Palestinians into Egypt, saying that would be tantamount to “the liquidation of the Palestinian cause.” Moreover, Egypt does not want to be seen as being complicit in the “ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinians.

Al-Sisi has also stated this regarding the “Palestinian cause”:

My decision was resolute, and it was the same decision of Egypt – the state and people- namely to be at the forefront of the supporters of our brothers in Palestine and to spearhead action for their sake. This firm decision is embedded in the heart of our nation and its conscience. The history of Egypt’s struggle has been inextricably intertwined with sacrifices for the Palestinian cause. Egyptian blood blended with Palestinian blood for seven decades. By virtue of its history and geography, Egypt is destined to be the backbone in supporting the struggle of the brotherly Palestinian people.

In January 2024, al-Sisi was accusing Israel of “impeding aid deliveries to Gaza.” Why the world has been so understanding toward Egypt as it shuts its doors on its own declared “Palestinian” brethren, but so enraged at Israel, a tiny state that has suffered persistent attacks on its citizens since its founding, culminating in the savagery of October 7?

The situation is in flux:

If Israel goes ahead with its planned incursion, Egypt will most certainly come under immense internal and external pressure to open the Rafah border crossing and allow a mass influx of refugees into Sinai. This has long-term implications for the country. Hamas and members of other extremist groups might make their way into Egypt among those who enter.

Egypt is now in a quandary. On the one hand, it rejects Palestinian refugees. On the other hand, it embraces them as brothers. Its strategy is to exert more pressure on Israel…..

After Israel’s rejection of the ceasefire deal, Netanyahu defiantly announced he would go ahead with his planned incursion into Rafah; the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) ordered the displaced Palestinians to evacuate into an even narrower strip of land—to the chagrin of the Egyptian leadership, which has since taken several retaliatory steps to pressure Israel to rescind its decision.

It will be intriguing to see how Egypt confronts a question of priority: its own national security vs. the Islamic Palestinian cause that is the central concern of both the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League. Egypt is a member of both. In fact, the Arab League was formed in Cairo in 1945. In the end, Egypt will likely attempt to deflect attention from its own hypocrisy and contradictions, and go into full blame-Israel mode. Egypt has already joined the International Court of Justice genocide case against Israel.

Christine Douglass-Williams is Associate Editor of Frontpage, regular writer for Jihad Watch, a nine-time award-winning journalist, past Canadian government appointee to the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and the Office of Religious Freedom; author of "The Challenge of Modernizing Islam" and "Fired by the Canadian Government for Criticizing Islam".

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/egypt-israel-tensions-rising-as-egypt-refuses-to-open-rafah-border-to-palestinian-refugees/

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Bryan Leib took a lead in fighting antisemitism, now he wants to unseat a longtime Jewish Democrat - Charlotte Hazard

 

by Charlotte Hazard

"This is about fighting for the future of our country," Leib said on the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show.

 

Longtime political and public relations executive Bryan Leib took the lead in fighting antisemitism, and now he is jumping into the election in an bid to oust one of the highest profile Jewish Democrats in Congress.

Leib recently announced his candidacy as a Republican to challenge Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. 

"I am excited and honored to share with you that I've decided to jump into the Republican Primary for #FL25 to fight for the future of our nation! I'm a proven fighter for #AmericaFirst and Judeo-Christian Values!" he wrote on the social media platform, X earlier this month. 

"This is about fighting for the future of our country," he told the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show earlier this month. "And with all due respect, so many men and women serving in Congress right now with the average age being in the mid 60s.... we need some young people with fresh ideas and new blood coming in there to shake things up and sort of take us into the next generation."

Schultz is the current congresswoman in the 25th district of Florida. She is also the first Jewish American to represent Florida. 

Earlier this month, Schultz voted against the "Israel Security Assistance Support Act," arguing it would "threaten American national security and use the indispensable U.S.-Israel relationship as a partisan wedge issue."

Leib, who is also Jewish, criticized his Democratic opponent, calling her a "rubber stamp" for the Democratic Party. He also slammed her for not speaking up enough for Israel as it continues in its ongoing war with Hamas. 

"Debbie is the same person that has remained silent as Joe Biden has now twice unfrozen billions of dollars to the Islamic Republic of Iran after October 7," he said. "She's remained silent as Chuck Schumer has meddled into the affairs of Israel after October 7. So again, Debbie is very much a rubber stamp for the Democratic Party."

Other Republicans running for the seat include Christopher Eddy and Rubin Young. The primary will take place Aug. 20 while the general election is set for Nov. 5.

Leib predicted that due to the way the Biden administration is handling Israel, more Jewish voters will move to the GOP. 

"Short answer is yes," Leib said when asked about it. "It's more than just what I see. It's what I've been hearing over the last two weeks alone. I personally have done 10 party registration switches......Jewish Democrats are now Jewish Republicans."

He predicted that more Jewish Democrats and independents would likely stop supporting Biden due to his bumpy relationship with Israel.

Leib has worked in conservative politics for a number of years. Besides being the founder of Henry Public Relations, he is also a senior fellow at the Center for Fundamental Rights in Budapest, Hungary, and the former executive director of Iranian Americans for Liberty.

Leib was announced last year as the head of a PAC dedicated to fighting antisemitism. According to the Jewish Journal, one of his goals is to raise over $1 million to utilize in the fight against antisemitism. 

“We’re going to take the fight directly to people,” Leib said. “It’s really a combination of two things: one, we’re supporting existing members of Congress, congressional candidates who we feel, based on their record, really support fighting antisemitism. And then secondly, we’re going to take the fight directly to anyone who traffics directly in antisemitism," he added.

Leib explained that he is concerned about the general direction in which the country is going, inspiring him to run in the first place. 

"I'm deeply, deeply troubled about the direction our country is going in right now," he said. "I've been fighting in a lot of different ways for our country. But there's no better way, in my opinion, to fight and get off the sidelines into the fight and run for Congress. And that's what we're looking to do here."

 
Charlotte Hazard

Source: https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/wed-bryan-leib-discusses-congressional-bid-says-jewish-voters-are-moving

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American farmers suffer as water crisis escalates near the border - Olivianna Calmes

 

by Olivianna Calmes

Farmers near the border say the Mexican government is not fulfilling it's obligations

 

American farmers are suffering, and some say it's because Mexico isn’t living up to its end of a bargain. It isn’t cash the farmers need, it’s water. 

"This is the first year that I have zero irrigation water," said Brian Jones, who has been farming near the border for almost 40 years. He's seeing a huge drop in crops because of the lack of irrigation water.

Under a treaty from back in the 1940s, Mexico agreed to give a certain amount of water to the Lower Rio Grande region. Farmers in the area say the Mexican government is running behind on its obligations.

"I've got only half my farm planted. And the other half is sitting idle right now, because we don't have the water to take care of the crops," Jones said.  Luis Ribera, a professor and extension economist for Texas A&M helped create a report of the potential loss for the US if there continued to be no irrigation water in the region.

TEXAS FARMING CRISIS LOOMS AS US, MEXICO SPAR OVER LONG-STANDING WATER TREATY

 Economic impact of lack of irrigation water from Mexico into the US (Olivianna Calmes)

"Just the direct impact for producers is going to be close to $500 million….and over 8,500 jobs depend on on agriculture production and in distribution and everything. So we're talking about big numbers," Ribera said. Jones said the sugar mill just down the road from him was the only one in the state. It shut down this year because it didn’t have enough water for production. 

Jones said it was sobering to see the mill shut down and a reminder for his own farm.

US STATE AGRICULTURE LEADERS LOOKS TO CUBA'S PRIVATE FARMING SECTOR FOR POSSIBLE COOPERATION

Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers shuts down  (Olivianna Calmes)

"We're praying that Mexico starts doing what they're supposed to do what they said they would do," Jones said. 

With not enough water, farmer Brian Jones says he has much less crop than he should have. (Olivianna Calmes)

Professor Ribera says if this doesn’t get resolved, it could eventually start to drive up the price of groceries. 

Olivianna Calmes joined Fox News in 2024 as a Multimedia Reporter based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Source:https://www.foxnews.com/us/american-farmers-suffer-water-crisis-escalates-near-border

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Hey Norway, Ireland and Spain! This is the “Palestine” PA/Fatah say you recognized! - Nan Jacques Zilberdik

 

by Nan Jacques Zilberdik

--------

 

[Falestinona, website of Fatah’s Information and Culture Commission in Lebanon, May 23, 2024]

Following Norway, Ireland, and Spain’s recognition of a Palestinian state last week, PA Chairman Abbas’ Fatah Movement published the above cartoon. It shows exactly what “Palestine” the PA and Fatah say, the European countries endorsed.

The cartoon shows “Palestine” having replaced the entire State of Israel and the PA areas. The map is formed by three arms painted in the colors of the flags of the three European countries. The “Norwegian” arm writes the word “Palestine,” the “Irish” arm waves a Palestinian flag, while the “Spanish” hand makes a V-sign with its fingers, signifying “victory.”

Palestinian Media Watch has repeatedly shown that the PA/Fatah explain to their own people that since Israel has no right to exist, Fatah’s goal and Palestinian destiny is to replace Israel with a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea.”

It should have been the most basic preliminary investigation for Norway, Ireland, and Spain to check what the PA tells its own people that a “Palestinian state” means, before they recognized it. The shocking reality is that either these countries have no idea what “Palestinian state” they are recognizing, in which case the governments are a diplomatic disgrace and embarrassment to their countries, or possibly they all agree with the Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz who last week vowed that "Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea," in which case they are ideologically in the same camp with state sponsors of terror like Iran.

Nan Jacques Zilberdik

Source: https://palwatch.org/page/35132

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