“We are not powerless as American Muslims. We are powerful. We don’t only have the money, but we have the actual votes. And we will use that vote to save this nation from itself,” Hussein said. “Families and children are being wiped out with our tax dollars,” he added. “What we are witnessing today is the tragedy upon tragedy.”
From behind a lectern that read “Abandon Biden, ceasefire now”, leaders from Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania issued similar warnings that the president could not afford to lose the support of the Arab-American community in states critical to his chances for re-election.
A recent poll showed Biden’s support among Arab Americans has plunged from a comfortable majority in 2020 to 17%.
About 3.45 million Americans identify as Muslim, or 1.1% of the country’s population, and the demographic tends to lean Democratic, according to Pew Research Center. Like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are also home to significant Arab-American populations and critical to Biden’s re-election mathematics.
“The anger in our community is beyond belief,” Hussein, who is Muslim, told the Associated Press. “One of the things that made us even more angry is the fact that most of us actually voted for President Biden. I even had one incident where a religious leader asked me: ‘How do I get my 2020 ballot so I can destroy it?’”
Against a backdrop of pro-Palestinian protest in the US, Muslim leaders gathered in Dearborn said Biden or the likely Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, were not their only choices next year, and they could choose to sit out the election.
Third parties exist at the local and, arguably, state level. And there are strong reasons to get a third party in office. I have a lot of issues with him, but Sanders was a third party (who would run as a Democrat to ensure he had no competition…) and undeniably influenced the current rise of progressive Democrats in government.
But once you get to the presidential election? A third party vote just means you are voting against your own interests. Because if you are left leaning and vote for a Green party candidate? That is a net vote for the republican. Same if you are a right wing fascist and vote for a libertarian.
At the end of the day: vote your heart in local and state elections. Same with Primaries. But when it comes time for the presidential election? Swallow your pride, lay back, think of England (and how much they fucked themselves over), and vote for your own self interests even if you hate the wannabe cop with an outright cop VP.