Haley Stevens of Michigan endorses Rogers the Republican and becomes a pariah
Haley Stevens is a Democrat member of the House who ran against El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate primary and lost by just a hair. So there probably wasn’t a lot of love for him on her part to begin with.
But she was willing to endorse him – if:
Stevens has pressed El-Sayed to condemn an outside group’s ad linking U.S. support for Israel to higher grocery prices, which she called antisemitic.
El-Sayed said the ad was not produced by his campaign and that he disagreed with its contents.
Then El-Sayed disinvited Stevens to a planned “unity rally” at a church, and said she shouldn’t attend any of his other election functions. At which point she endorsed Rogers, his GOP opponent.
There’s also this:
Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., who helped organize the planned appearance, said Stevens was asked to skip it after the dispute became a distraction and upset the church’s bishop.
I’d be very curious to know what aspect of this upset the bishop. There are many possibilities.
Haley also is engaged to a Jewish man who had previously said publicly that he will vote for Rogers because of the Israel question.
Not all that long ago (pre-Obama, anyway) that would have been a mainstream Democrat position. No more. Absolutely no more. And endorsing a Republican is a bridge too far, although when it happens in reverse (Liz Cheney, anyone?) Democrats of course applaud it.
Stevens’ stance has been widely condemned by the party regulars. This isn’t just about Stevens, either. It’s to show others what happens when you break ranks. It’s not a pretty sight.
James Carville just might be the worst:
“If you think that these Republicans are going to treat you as anything other than what they view you as…a used condom,” he fumed, addressing Stevens in a low-quality video. “The Democrats don’t even think you’re worth a used condom.”
“You made your bed, sleep in it; you sh*t in your mess kit, eat it,” he sneered. Carville then made a fat joke about Stevens and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) maybe needing to open up a cheeseburger restaurant. As always, putting the a** in classy.
Bill Kristol was milder, saying that Stevens had suffered a ‘breakdown,'” and Axelrod and Van Jones and Debbie Dingell said the same thing. Must be the approved talking point for those not willing to go as far as Carville.
Schumer called it a “despicable betrayal.” . As we used to say as kids, it takes one to know one, because Schumer is the king of despicable betrayals.
There’s also the argument – presented here in a USA Today opinion piece – that Stevens is merely a sore loser whose feelings got hurt when El-Sayed disinvited her from events.
Hakeem Jeffries – who is poised to become Speaker of the House if the Democrats gain control as expected, says there is more trouble in store for Stevens:
“Haley Stevens made a terrible decision, blindsided everyone and isolated herself from the House Democratic Caucus,” Jeffries told Politico on Monday. “We will have a discussion about appropriate next steps upon our return.”
Warning to all who would fail to support a candidate like El-Sayed, or who actually endorse a Republican: beware.
I read over and over that Stevens has ended her political career with the Democrat Party. But it turns out she may have been finished anyway – she is not running for re-election to the House, and of course she lost in the Senate primary. Stevens has had four terms in the House, but when she announced her Senate primary run she also said she wouldn’t be running for House re-election. My guess is that she wanted out of politics for a while.
I mentioned that Stevens is engaged to a Jewish man, and here it says that she has been contemplating converting to Judaism in connection with her marriage. That certainly indicates that she is defending a principle here, although Democrats don’t seem to credit her for that at all. In addition, Stevens had a previous short marriage and divorce, and she is forty-three. I wonder if her contemplation of political retirement for a while has to do with a desire to try to have a child before it’s too late.
None of this matters to the Democrats who are enraged at her. Whether her endorsement of Rogers will hurt El-Sayed is anybody’s guess. He has cast his lot with the Israel-haters and Jew-haters and cannot afford to offend them even if he wanted to (which I doubt he does). He believes this is a winning position.
El-Sayed’s campaign says that after the Stevens endorsement of Rogers he had his biggest fund-raising day:
Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign says it raised more than $2.4 million in a single day, setting a fundraising record in the final stretch of the Michigan race.
The Democratic candidate’s campaign said Sunday’s haul came from more than 65,000 donors, who gave an average of $36.74. Nearly 29,600 people contributed to the campaign for the first time.
I wonder where they’re from and what motivates them. Could even be Tucker Carlson fans.
It occurred to me today that, as far as I know, Gretchen Whitmer has not endorsed El-Sayed.
Not to say that she hasn’t, but one would think that we’d be hearing about it if she has (I don’t live in Michigan).
This is an outgoing term-limited Governor who was reelected by 11 points after Covid and has been mentioned as a potential Dem Presidential candidate in ’28.
And here in FL, another D endorsement of a Republican. I don’t think it means as much here as it would in some deep blue state.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/union-boss-stuns-major-republican-endorsement-election-nears
Ho hum. Carville is just another one of the long list of Democrat activists and office holders who come off as a cartoon character. And he’s got a LOT of company: Al Sharpton, Maxine Waters, Gloria Allred, Rachel Maddow, AOC, Katie Porter, the list is endless. I would bet that all of them know on some level how foolish they look, but hey, the pay’s not bad and they get what they all want: attention. Actual grownups don’t behave this way.
Would be interesting to see breakdown of donations. Expect 2 one million dollar donations, the rest 10 bucks or less
”I wonder where they’re from and what motivates them.”
I think we have to come to grips with the fact that a sizable fraction of our countrymen — perhaps 30% or 40% — have as their highest allegiance the Democratic party, not their faith, not their country, not even their family. We are seeing the implications of that play out in real time now as crowds of Democrats shriek in ecstasy at the reenactment of a murder.
So if the Democratic Party endorses the murder of of a campus speaker, they will too. If it supports the slaughter of an entire people, they will too. We keep expecting this trend to stop as they hit rock bottom, but the bottom is far deeper than many of us are prepared to handle.
The Democratic party is like the Mafia. Loyalty is everything. Step out of line, and you figuratively get whacked.
Recall what Michael said to Fredo. “Don’t ever take sides with anyone against the Family again. Ever.”
I wouldn’t advise her to go on a fishing trip anytime soon.
There was a time, decades ago, when I could look at the D and R candidates and consider choosing a D if there seemed to be a good reason for it. No more. A Democrat, no matter how “nice,” will have to vote with the radicals who are now running the national party. Unless the national Democrat leadership denounces the socialists and radical Muslims, there is no way I can vote for anyone who runs on their ticket.
If you think that these Republicans are going to treat you as anything other than what they view you as…a used condom,” he [Carville] fumed,…
I have always assumed that when Dems engage in this type of projection, that it is a schoolyard bullying tactic. If one person throws an inflammatory accusation first, it makes a counterattack, with the same accusation, look silly. But recently, I’m beginning to think these many of these people are so mean spirited and deranged, that maybe they believe that everyone operates this way.
Several years ago, there was an instance of both the Dems and GOP holding these big tent national confabs, which are intended for discussion and to possibly welcome new people. A couple conservatives attended the Dem meeting and were subject to scathing attacks until they were ejected. One of the more moderate Dems attending was rather shocked at the sight and wondered what it would be like if she attended the GOP meeting.
So she did, and found it to be such a warm and welcoming experience that she felt she had to report both experiences to the media. Well, yeah… Not everyone is a Machiavellian-to-the-max cutthroat.