Michigan governor says not voting for Biden over Gaza war 'supports second Trump term'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Sun 25 Feb 2024 13.15 EST

Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan governor, pushed back on calls to not vote for Joe Biden over his handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict, saying on Sunday that could help Trump get re-elected.

“It’s important not to lose sight of the fact that any vote that’s not cast for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term,” she said on Sunday during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union. “A second Trump term would be devastating. Not just on fundamental rights, not just on our democracy here at home, but also when it comes to foreign policy. This was a man who promoted a Muslim ban.”

Whitmer, who is a co-chair of Biden’s 2024 campaign, also said she wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to the protest vote.

Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat who is the only Palestinian-American serving in Congress, urged Democrats last week to vote “uncommitted” in Michigan’s 27 February primary.


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/25/michigan-gretchen-whitmer-biden-israel-gaza-war

[RandomNumbers]

1. She is 100% correct.

And, for the record, I cannot wait until conditions are right for her to run for President herself.

[kimbutgar]

2. And all those Muslims and Jewish people should fear a second TFA term

His maga cult members will demand that Muslim and Jewish people be deported or put into camps.

[comradebillyboy]

3. She's right and I'd like to se her run for the nomination in 2028.

[jimfields33]

30. I'm sure she will along with a huge number of others.

I think both sides will have a record number of candidates running.

[comradebillyboy]

31. We have a bunch of good candidates. I want to see how Whitmer,

Newsom and the rest do on the national stage. Some will shine and some will wilt under the bright lights.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

4. So far, this appears to be a protest vote that only affects the primary.

If Tlaib pulls this stunt in November, then yes, it could hand MI's electoral votes to Trump.

"Whitmer for Prez in '28" might be a good lawn sign.

[padah513]

29. This protest vote won't just affect the primary

I guarantee you that there will be voters come November who will not vote for Biden because of this.

[Happy Hoosier]

34. Unlikely....

The folks leading stuff like this tend to get in a frenzy of hate for the subject.

I guarantee that once Biden wins the primary, these folks will support a 3rd party candidate to "tech the Democrats a lesson."

I've seen this movie before. This movement is utterly stupid....

[Oopsie Daisy]

5. I look forward to the END of the political "careers" of anyone who opposes Biden *

* we need loyal Democrats in Congress. Not people who engage in this type of self-serving, headline-seeking, dangerous TREACHERY!

I'm grateful that the Governor is speaking out.

[Pototan]

40. Rec.

[MadameButterfly]

6. The title to this post can be interpreted to mean the opposite of what is intended.

I first read it to mean Whitmer was not going to vote for Biden over Gaza, and that she supports a second Trump term.
i knew this could not be true, but some people won't. I know my interpretation requires a comma after "war", and a "she's" after says", but headlines often leave out such things.

If there's a "that" after "says" or quote marks before "not" and after "term "that would also clarify.

I don't mean to be picky, not eveyone has read Eats Shoots and Leaves. But if Dems need to work on their messaging this is a place to start....

Referring to Post title:
Michigan governor says not voting for Biden over Gaza war 'supports second Trump term'

[BumRushDaShow]

8. "The Guardian" is a UK news outlet

so you can blame their headline writers.

[MadameButterfly]

10. yes, I do despite

my respect for the Guardian

[BumRushDaShow]

11. I'm just glad they have a relatively "short" headline

as some outlets want to use a whole sentence or long phrase as a "headline", which often won't fit into the LBN OP form's "Story title" field.

[MadameButterfly]

37. I'm sure that's why this happened but

they should re-read their work. There's a version that works

[littlemissmartypants]

18. The writer is an American in New York, Sam Levin...

I looked him up on LinkedIn.

About
I am a national reporter covering voting rights in the United States at the Guardian. I write about issues such as voter ID, partisan gerrymandering, voter purging, felon disenfranchisement and the 2020 census I have cultivated a significant audience and have a proven track record of developing high-profile sources, using
multimedia techniques, and breaking exclusive scoops.

https://www.theguardian.com/profile/sam-levine

It's a shame that someone else gets to write his headlines. This one makes him seem like a MAGA.

[BumRushDaShow]

20. I know - I looked him up too - although much of his work has been for foreign publications

Sam Levine Verified

Voting Rights Reporter, The Guardian

New York
Crime and Justice, Environment, Metro New York, Politics, U.S.
As seen in: The Guardian, HuffPost, MSN (US), MSN Australia, MSN Canada, MSN Ireland, MSN South Africa, MSN UK, Yahoo Canada, Yahoo News, Yahoo News UK, Yahoo Singapore, Aol, Yahoo, Inc., Pew Research Center, AlloCiné, CartaCapital, Flipboard, Irish Times, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Sports Canada, El Diario, HuffPost UK, Mother Jones, ProPublica, Irish Examiner, El HuffPost, Tampa Bay Times, AOL UK, Yahoo Life UK, OpenSecrets, Grist, Taipei Times, Brookline TAB, HuffPost Brasil, HuffPost India, Forward, Arutz Sheva/Israel National News, The Penny Hoarder, The Journal of the American Dental Association, BillMoyers.com, Eesti Päevaleht, GreenBiz, WISC-TV (Madison, WI), NewsBreak, The Brown Daily Herald, The Stanford Daily, Filmstarts, JNS, Commoncause, Money Talks News, The Tufts Daily, Atlanta Daily World, Chicago Defender, The Gary/Chicago Crusader, Reader Supported News, fmkorea.com, The Atlanta Voice, Washington Jewish Week, Wisconsin Watch, Portside, Michigan Chronicle, Lucianne.com, New Pittsburgh Courier, WMSN-TV (Madison, WI), The Jewish Voice (New York), Yahoo! Malaysia US, Inkl Blog, PrepHoops, Osceola Sun, The Austin Villager, Bermuda Real, Carson City Current, Currently, The Briefing - AlbertMohler.com

(snip)

https://muckrack.com/srl

Apparently these outlets have others do the headlines.

[littlemissmartypants]

23. Cool website. I couldn't figure out how to look anyone up though.

[BumRushDaShow]

24. Sometimes the news sites will include a bio for the reporter

but I'll often just use the term "bio" with the person's name to get more search results!

[littlemissmartypants]

26. I was asking about the Muck Rack site where you found his particulars.

But that's OK. Thanks!

[BumRushDaShow]

27. I have actually popped in and out of that site before

The site name always cracked me up but they often have some comprehensive info!

(ETA I don't try to search within there but the site will often come up in general searches for notable people)

[littlemissmartypants]

28. Where did you search for his info?

[BumRushDaShow]

45. I usually type in the names in Google

and go from there (including additional terms with the name as necessary).

[MadameButterfly]

38. i'm not critiquing the writer's career

only one headline.

[Pototan]

17. If you can't correctly interpret this headline

you need to work on your reading comprehension skills.

[MadameButterfly]

35. i'm a writer and writers learn to avoid possible ambiguous interpretations

of what we write. The first thing we learn is to not blame the reader if they don't understand what we write. It's our job to communicate and our readers are not required to take IQ tests. Neither are voters.

Yes I was able to figure out the meaning, but I pointed out an ambiguity. Guardian writers should do better on something that important. That title would be a D- in a writing class.

[Evolve Dammit]

7. The governor is correct

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

9. K&R

[DownriverDem]

12. My Governor

is right. Tlaib is also telling them to vote for Biden in November. It is a mess.

[lees1975]

13. Representative Tlaib is everyone's Congresswoman, not just her constituents of a Palestinian background.

She needs to have a clearer understanding of how democracy works, as well as a better perspective of the whole picture. The October 7th attack was horrific and inexcusable by any standard, but it does have a background in history. And what's transpired since is not excusable, either, since it now appears to be more straight up retaliation than it is aimed at a permanent solution to the problems that caused all of this in the first place.

One thing is sure. If Trump gets elected, Representative Tlaib, and the predominantly Arabic-American constituency that elected her will become second class citizens, and any hope she might have that the United States can use its considerable influence to hold Israel in check, while working to resolve the problems for everyone's benefit, will be gone. The plight of Gazans, Ukrainians and anyone else Putin wants to blast with missiles, will get tremendously worse in very short order.

I suggest the Representative, who clearly wants to be heard, take a different approach, and instead of hard line, impossible demands, approach the President with a "What can you do for the Palestinians in Gaza and how can I help you?" approach. As the leader of her party, she owes him that respect and that kind of approach. And I'm betting that Biden, who has a lot of experience in foreign policy and knows how all of this works, has a way to make this work for the benefit of the population of Gaza, and better serve their interests than Hamas would ever do.

[BumRushDaShow]

22. "I'm betting that Biden, who has a lot of experience in foreign policy"

For perspective - Rep. Tlaib was born in 1976.

Here was then-Sen. now President Joe Biden in 1976 -

[SoFlaBro]

14. 100% right. All the Hamas lovers and all the "from the river to the sea" lowlifes might as well don the shitty MAGA cap.

[marble falls]

15. It's hard to belive what some people will risk when that same attitude at least contributed to TFG 2016.

[MadameButterfly]

36. While we hope these voters will come around, telling them they have to put up with whatever

is not the way to bring them in. i agree with Whitmer's point but Biden also has to listen and give these voters something to vote for. Lesser of 2 evils doesn't win elections.

Biden is taking steps, I'm just saying we need to understand that people whose famiies have been massacred they aren't going to just roll over.

[Pototan]

39. Correct me if I'm wrong, but are there American troops in Gaza?

Joe Biden is Commander in Chief of the US military, not the Israeli military.

If Muslims and Arabs want to weaken Biden so Trump wins the 2024 election, they deserve what they get. Jason and Steven Miller are just waiting.

[MadameButterfly]

41. We are funding Israel. They can't do what they do without us

That makes us complicit. We are also complicit in what Ukraine does, so we'd better agree with their cause.

The issue isn't what "they" (Muslims and Arabs) get. It's what we all get.
Oh how I wish Trumpers could have their own private autocracy and see what it's like, but the problem is we get it too.

i'm just saying, the people who have lost family in Gaza are understandably upset. The MAGAs are just making up stuff. Either way these people may control our fate. I'd rather reason with the upset Muslims and Arabs than the MAGAs who think we drink the blood of children. The Muslims just want us to stop supporting Israel in killing children.

[Pototan]

42. Selling or providing arms...

...is not the same as making battlefield decisions. Unlike the MAGATs, who want us to abandon our allies in Europe, Biden refuses to abandon our most reliable ally in the Middle East.

As far as all of us suffering under a second Trump administration, Trump has already tried for a Muslim ban and wants to deport those immigrants that are not sufficiently loyal.

I'm 71 years old, white, a straight male and a retired US citizen in another country. I have no children. When Trump starts coming down on people, by any objective analysis, Muslims will be in the front of the line. I'll be in the back. Don't get me wrong, I will weep for my country of birth, but my life will see little personal change.

You see, I was prepared for this the day after the 2016 election. That's when I decided to move. Not just because Trump won an election. But because 40% of Americans thought he should govern them and a part of the 60% who thought differently, too many of them became unintentionally complicit.

[MadameButterfly]

43. Not the same but

we are nevertheless complicit.

i'm happy you are removed from the potential wrath of Trump but I'm sure you'll agree that everyone on his enemy list will not fit into the rest of the world. What he tried to do before will not compare.

And, I question whether anywhere in the world would be safe from the impact of a Dictator Trump

[Pototan]

16. I agree. 100% (NT)

[ancianita]

19. Good for her. Whitmer needs to relentlessly repeat this Earth 1 message to MI youth.

[Martin Eden]

21. Michigan governer states the obvious

It should also be obvious Trump supports the hard right in Israel and would be much worse for Palestinians than a Democratic administration.

[Vinca]

25. I wish the media would ask Trump what his plans are to remedy the situation. I imagine

it includes giving the green light to his buddy Bebe to level every square inch of Gaza and the people in it. Biden is in a no-win situation. He's not the leader of Israel and can only urge a ceasefire and eventual reconciliation. If Israel had a less Trump-like leader, Biden might be getting somewhere. I'm really, really annoyed about the suggestions for voting in the Michigan primary. They might as well write in "flush me" on the ballot because that's what it amounts to.

[quickesst]

32. Notice..

.... Rashida talib is not just urging Palestinian Americans to vote uncommitted. She is urging Democrats in general to vote uncommitted. If those who are siding with her views are so passionate about this, then shouldn't they also vote uncommitted as a show of support for Tru....er .. her agenda.

Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat who is the only Palestinian-American serving in Congress, URGED DEMOCRATS last week to vote “uncommitted” in Michigan’s 27 February primary.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer's assessment is spot on. An uncommitted vote is a vote for trump, and rasheeda talib is leading the charge.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

33. Gov. Whitmer nudges Michigan Dems to support Biden despite Tlaib's push to vote 'uncommitted'

A vote for uncommitted is a vote for TFG and against President Biden

Link to tweet

https://nypost.com/2024/02/25/us-news/gretchen-whitmer-urges-michiganders-to-ignore-rashida-tlaib-and-vote-for-biden/

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer nudged Democrats to back President Biden in her home state’s primary despite efforts by Rep. Rashida Tlaib to convince progressives to vote “uncommitted” in protest of his administration’s support for Israel’s war against Hamas.

Whitmer contended that not voting for Biden would amount to de facto support for former President Donald Trump.

She added that Trump’s potential victory in a general election “would be devastating” for the country.

“We will see differences of opinion,” Whitmer told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “It’s important not to lose sight of the fact that any vote that’s not cast for Joe Biden supports a second Trump term.”

[TBF]

44. Plenty of time before the general - but I do agree with her

that we'll need to shore up to keep Trump out. He was bad enough before and is a whole new level of irate with the court cases/judgments against him. I would not want to be any of those prosecutors if he can actually succeed in winning another term.

IMO, one of the biggest obstacles we face is the media. Nearly all the big outlets are owned by billionaires who love Trump (not only is he great for ratings but his tax policy is way favorable for them).

[Mysterian]

46. I really like Governor Whitmer

Thank you, Michigan, for electing her.