There’s something of a hangover for a segment of the Left after the Democrat National Convention wrapped up last week, and it’s probably not a surprise to regular readers. The pro-Hamas wing is still big mad that a “Palestinian” voice wasn’t allotted time on stage to speak during the four-day event culminating in the nomination acceptance speech by Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday.
One of those disgruntled people is “The Squad” (AKA Hamas caucus) member, Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA); She just squeaked by in winning reelection to her Pennsylvania 12 seat in late April, after her campaign was plagued with controversy over the “Dear White People” scandal, as my colleague Sister Toldjah wrote.
PA12: Hamas Caucus Member Summer Lee Survives Primary Challenge, Proves Democrat Voters Never Learn
Then in June, Lee chose to wave away many Americans’ deep concerns over illegal aliens committing violent acts inside the country.
WATCH: Democrat Rep. Lee Shamefully Dismisses Question About Murder of 12-Year-Old Jocelyn Nungaray
The PA lawmaker appeared on CBS News’ “Face The Nation” on Sunday, and part of her message was that she and her radical progressive pals won’t soon forget the slight at the convention. They want Israel to give in on a ceasefire immediately, too–something the Biden-Harris folks haven’t given them. If you missed it, Rep. Lee was outside the convention with the pro-Hamas protesters and Uncommitted Democrat delegates on Wednesday:
The Uncommitted National Movement called for a Palestinian convention speaker for weeks, stating it would send a clear message by Harris that she was shifting away from President Biden’s stances on the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Lee and other progressive lawmakers joined Abbas Alawieh, one of the leaders of the 30 uncommitted delegates at the convention, for a sit-in last Wednesday.
The uncommitted delegates and their pro-Palestinian allies were deeply upset by the denial of a Palestinian American speaker at the convention, with some particularly upset because the parents of an American hostage held by Hamas were given time to speak at the convention.
Read related: DNC Crowd Chants ‘Bring Them Home’ for Parents of American-Israeli Son Held by Hamas—but Miss the Point
On Sunday, host Margaret Brennan, after sharing a poll on Americans’ support of Israel continuing to fight Hamas terrorists in Gaza, played a clip of Harris’ remarks at the DNC about Israel and the war in Gaza:
MARGARET BRENNAN: Our CBS polling shows that a majority of Americans, 59 percent of them, think the U.S. should encourage Israel to stop or decrease its military actions in Gaza.
At the Democratic Convention. Vice President Harris received loud applause for these remarks:
(Begin VT)
KAMALA HARRIS (Vice President of the United States (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate): President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(End VT)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Now that is largely just restating existing U.S. policy.
Do you think that’s sufficient outreach to those who felt the administration hasn’t expressed empathy?
REPRESENTATIVE SUMMER LEE: You know, I think that – you know, I think people who are experiencing this, right, who are – who are outside of the arena, who have been organizing since October, you know, that is a step.
But I think that what they really were asking for was a – of course, the opportunity to speak for themselves. I think that, like all people, when you are experiencing something, you want to be able to tell your own story. And a lot of the people who are Palestinian, Palestinian-American, Arabs and Muslims were asking for that opportunity.
So while, you know, we all obviously believe that there should be a cease- fire immediately and permanently, and that Palestinians, just like Israelis, deserve the right to self-determination, we have to do more than just say that we believe that. We have to actually take steps that are going to evidence that, take steps that are going to show that we’re willing to start to listen to people who have been outside of the political, I would say, conversation for so long.
It’s been a third rail. And there’s going to be a lot more work that we have to do to show to this demographic that the Democratic Party is – includes them in its big tent, includes them in our foreign policy considerations, and also includes them in our conversations around humanity and human rights.
Brennan then helpfully brought up the Democrats shutting out the so-called Uncommitted Movement from speaking at the DNC. She asked Rep. Lee to share her thoughts on why the Dems “resisted it, and is it a self-inflicted wound?” Lee picked that up and ran with it, calling out her party for making “Palestinians” a “taboo” subject:
.@RepSummerLee (D-PA) responds to criticism of the DNC for not making space for a Palestinian-American or member of the “uncommitted” movement to take the stage: “Long before October 7, it was almost taboo to talk about Palestinians, to talk about the experiences that they have,… pic.twitter.com/diHyzXr5Pb
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) August 25, 2024
REPRESENTATIVE SUMMER LEE: I think that there has been – and I think that, if you really look at this, long before October 7, it was almost taboo to talk about Palestinians, to talk about the experiences that they have and that they continue to have in our politics.
…
I think that, whether it’s the Black lives [sic] movement or the movement for Palestinian rights, there’s always this rush to say that their movement, the ways that they protest, the tactics, the strategies are inconvenient. And I think that that’s just the way that we’ve done it, especially when we’re nervous about a presidential election that we all know is incredibly important.
Defeating Trump is the top concern, but we can do that, and we can also give space, create space for people, voices that are marginalized.
There was more–the woman is not skilled at being concise when speaking–but you get the drift of her crying on a friendly legacy media outlet like CBS. This is an ongoing problem for the Democrat Party as we count down to two months before the November elections. Lip service from Harris and other leaders isn’t going to cut it for many on their left flank who hate Israel. You’ve got to hope they decide to sit this one out.
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