Progressive commentator Jack Cocchiarella is not a Muslim.
He doesn’t need to pray towards Mecca and acknowledge Allah as God to be repulsed by the normalization and mainstreaming of Islamophobia by politicians ahead of the midterms.
Earlier today, Trump’s Justice Department raided Ilhan Omar’s house in a bullshit investigation meant to intimidate political opponents and distract from his failed policies. If you’ve been paying attention, anti-Muslim bigotry is the GOP Hail Mary pass ahead of the midterms. They have nothing else to run on. The Iran War has spiked gas and grocery prices. Inflation is up, jobs are down, and the Epstein Files remain unreleased. People are worse off now than they were two years ago.
What to do? Incite hate against Muslims. Call Abdul El-Sayed “Muhammad” and tie him to religious extremism, because why not? Attack Somalis and Ilhan Omar. Announce a public execution of Nidal Hasan Malik, a radicalized Muslim American who shot and killed fellow soldiers. Double down on progressive streamer Hasan Piker but ignore all the bigots, freaks, and liars who are now part and parcel of the MAGA industry.
But MAGA couldn’t have done it without a big assist from centrist Democrats. Jack agrees and believes they have to take responsibility for their role in weaponizing Islamophobia to silence progressive candidates. They did it with Zohran Mamdani, and they’re doing it now against El-Sayed. They’ve thrown Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib under the bus for years to discipline any Democrats who call out Israel’s genocide, criticize billionaires, and refuse to take corporate PAC money. Even today, when a majority should unite and protect Ilhan Omar and speak out against MAGA’s Islamophobia, they just can’t stop. Look at the tweets by Third Way’s Matt Bennett, Neera Tanden, and The Atlantic’s Jonathan Chait.
Jack joins me to discuss why Democrats need to forcefully condemn the Establishment’s latest fearmongering tactic meant to silence and discipline any candidate fighting for progressive reform.
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