Weekend reader comments.

October 28, 2023

          I have returned to civilization after eight hours in Sequoia National Park. The purpose of this short note is to encourage discussion in the Comments section after another momentous week. Because I was “off the grid” all day, I will quote liberally from two sources before signing off with a note about ignoring the spike in doomsaying by commentators.

 Biden’s comments on civilian casualties in Gaza.

          President Biden and his spokespeople spent much of the day defending US support for Israel in the face of increasing civilian casualties in Gaza. In response to a reporter’s question about casualties in Gaza, Biden said, in part,

I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war.

          There was more to Biden’s comment, but that phrase was quickly splashed across headlines in nearly every major media outlet. See, e.g., op-ed by Zeeshan Aleem,  MSNBC, Biden’s comments about Palestinian deaths in Gaza were a disgrace.

          What has not received as much attention amid the focus on the Biden administration’s staunch support of Israel is the administration’s efforts to discourage an invasion and limit civilian casualties. Crooked Media’s excellent daily newsletter, What a Day, reported on facts ignored by other outlets, See What a Day, What A Day: Blackout Friday (campaign-archive.com).

What a Day reports as follows:

The Biden administration is privately urging Israel to defer its plans for a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to The Washington Post, which spoke to five federal officials familiar with the discussions. The White House wants Israel to pursue a more “surgical” special operation with raids on high-value Hamas targets and infrastructure, especially since the death toll in Gaza now exceeds 7,000.

Senior Biden administration officials are now concerned that an invasion would both fail in eradicating Hamas and possibly derail ongoing negotiations for the safe return of the hostages. They also worry that a ground invasion would result in even more deaths of civilians and Israeli soldiers alike.

Importantly, however, Kirby also stressed that the United States has “had and will continue to have conversations with [the Israeli government] about the manner in which they're [executing their military strategy]. And we have not been shy about expressing our concerns over civilian casualties, collateral damage, and the approach that they might choose to take. That's what friends can do, and we're friends.”

          So, behind the scenes and in public, the Biden administration has been promoting the goals that many Americans are urging the Biden administration to promote.

Congressman for Lewiston area of Maine changes position on assault rifles.

          Rep. Jared Golden represents the Lewiston area of Maine—the site of the latest mass shooting that resulted in the deaths of eighteen people. “Last year, Golden was one of just a few Democrats in the House to oppose gun control measures, such as a ban on certain semi-automatic weapons and limits on high-capacity magazines. But Golden said that he now plans to work with colleagues to get a ban passed.” Democratic Rep. Jared Golden reverses course, now in favor of assault weapons ban after Maine mass shooting - CBS News

In a press conference of officials discussing the killing, Golden made the following remarkable statement:

"The time has now come for me to take responsibility for this failure, which is why I now call on the United States Congress to ban assault rifles, like the one used by the sick perpetrator of this mass killing in my hometown of Lewiston," Golden said.

"To the people of Lewiston, my constituents throughout the 2nd District, to the families who lost loved ones, and to those who have been harmed, I asked for forgiveness and support as I seek to put an end to these terrible shootings. In the days to come, I will give everything I have to support this community's recovery.”

          Rep. Golden’s change of heart and strong public statement deserve praise. If we want more politicians to follow Golden’s lead, we need to welcome them with open arms if they follow his example.

          Still, Rep. Golden’s change of heart would have been so much better if it did not take the deaths of his constituents, his neighbors, and (possibly) his friends to convince him to change his mind. Were the deaths of schoolchildren at Sandy Hook not enough? Or the killings at the Tree of Life Synagogue? Were those deaths an abstraction because they were in different congressional districts? I hope as Rep. Golden becomes part of the community of citizens seeking to stop gun violence, he will urge others not to wait until violence touches their lives in a direct way before changing their position on weapons of war.

Opportunity for reader engagement.

          I received the following note from Force Multiplier:

Force Multiplier (http://www.forcemultiplierus.org)  is excited to be hosting Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown on Zoom on Monday October 30th at 7 pm ET. Senator Brown has been a consistent champion of social and economic justice in the Senate.  His seat is one of the most vulnerable in 2024 as he will face one of three well-resourced Republican challengers in Ohio, which has been trending red. Losing his seat means we will almost definitely lose control of the Senate.  Register here to sign up to attend and share this with your networks. 

Concluding Thoughts.

          Readers sent a variety of articles today about bad polling for Biden, anger among young voters and the Arab American community over Biden’s support for Israel, and the vanity presidential candidacy of Democrat Dean Phillips. Some commentators and many readers are beginning to panic. Don’t!

          The exhaustion is real and the concern about overlapping crises is understandable. Biden’s presidency coincides with the post-Trump GOP strategy of “Burn it all down!” nihilism that is eroding faith in the government in general. Biden is getting beat up in the polls because he is the lens through which Americans are processing this season of our discontent.

          But Biden is doing a spectacular job of managing the economy and America’s foreign affairs. It could be otherwise! And he will be the surrogate for issues that matter to most Americans—reproductive liberty, gun safety, personal dignity, voting equality, climate change, and protection of Medicare and Social Security. Like 2022, Biden may go into the election with high unfavorable ratings (because of our general unhappiness with the political environment) but still deliver a strong performance because voters see Biden as the candidate who will advance their interests on issues that matter deeply to them.

          We are experiencing an emotional, volatile, and exhausting moment. Do not surrender to fatigue and anxiety. Yes, we face many challenges. But we have Joe Biden as our candidate—a decent, experienced, effective leader. They have a guy who is sitting in court most days and getting sanctioned for violating court orders (and so much more). We can’t count on Republicans to defeat themselves, but we should not lose sight of the fact that Democrats have substantial advantages working in their favor. If we execute on those advantages, we have every reason to be hopeful and confident going into 2024, but no reason to be complacent!

Talk to you on Monday!