It was a pleasure to welcome my friend, the venerable Dr. James Zogby, back to The Debrief yesterday. Jim is the President of the Arab American Institute, which he co-founded over 40 years ago; an influential pollster; a longtime advocate for Palestinian rights; an advisor to several Democratic presidential campaigns; and a leader within the Democratic National Committee.
The topics we spoke about included:
Abdul El-Sayed’s primary win as a “watershed moment”: Jim characterized El-Sayed’s win as a huge milestone for the Arab American community and a key moment in American politics in which Israel suffered yet another setback, AIPAC lost, and $60+ million in outside spending couldn’t tip the scales for Haley Stevens
El-Sayed’s victory as good for America: Jim spoke eloquently about America (“the transformative nation”) changing Arab and Muslim immigrants and in turn being changed for the better by including them — as has been the case for all immigrants! The Republicans’ Islamophobic, anti-Arab attacks against El-Sayed have already begun and Jim offered sage advice on how to deal with them:
Centrist Democrats’ ‘War’ on Victorious Progressives: We talked about centrists (e.g. James Carville) who are threatening to leave the Democratic party, and Third Way, a centrist Democratic group planning a $15 million campaign before the 2028 election — not to fight MAGA, but to “discredit democratic socialism.” So much for “vote blue no matter who”…
Ken Martin & the Democratic National Committee: Jim offered a more positive take on the state of the DNC than I expected, and articulated his support for chair Ken Martin (whom many progressives have called on to resign)
Need for a mea culpa from Kamala Harris and Biden admin officials on Gaza: Jim thinks Harris needs to speak publicly — and he predicts that she will. As for Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (about whom Jim told quite a story!) and Secretary of State Antony Blinken: “for God’s sake, they need to get down on their knees and beg forgiveness”
Concerns from some Jews about being welcome in the Democratic party: Jim knows what it’s like to be unwelcome. He has been pushed to leave multiple organizations — including the DNC — because of pressure from Jewish groups. When I asked him about Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s decision not to attend the Michigan Democratic party convention because of fears of harassment, Jim noted that despite his sharp disagreement with Nessel’s prosecution of pro-Palestinian student protesters, he believes in civil discourse and is pushing people to stop the harsh rhetoric and tactics used against Nessel
How Abdul El-Sayed should campaign in the general election: Jim counsels El-Sayed not to moderate his position or message, arguing that he will win some Republican voters who like his policy platform, integrity, and authenticity. He doesn’t think El-Sayed should modify his language on Israel “because there are those who, no matter what he says, they’re going to have an issue with it”
While Jim and I don’t see eye to eye on everything, we agree far more than we disagree. I deeply respect him and I think conversations like these are incredibly important.
As usual, I’m looking forward to hearing what you think!
I’ll leave you with this ad by the Democrats’ Senate Majority PAC — which Jim mentioned in our conversation — along with a shout-out to the Journey fans out there.
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Speaking of Civil Discourse — a Request
I love that The Debrief’s audience is able to ask questions and engage in discussions during our live podcasts. Most of what I see in the chat is smart, interesting, and respectful.
Let’s keep it that way, please.
You won’t agree with everything you hear on The Debrief — it might get boring if you did! But please always show respect for each other and especially for the guests who kindly accept invitations to come on the podcast.
We’re building a wonderful community here, one in which the awful norms of social media don’t apply. I greatly appreciate your partnership in this and thank you for your cooperation.
August is off to a great start on The Debrief. To make sure you’re up to date, here’s what else we did this week, in addition to the podcast with Jim Zogby:
Palestinian American journalist Dalia Hatuqa joined us for an important conversation on the terrible and ever-worsening situation in the West Bank:
I joined THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali right after Abdul El-Sayed’s victory to discuss implications for Democrats, AIPAC, and Jewish Americans:
In Office Hours, folks asked me anything, and I fielded great questions about Israel’s upcoming election and more. The post includes a poll about regular Office Hours sessions. Please take a second to respond:
Miles Taylor had to postpone (again)… lack of decent wifi while traveling. Apologies! Inshallah, we’ll be able to reschedule and get him on The Debrief soon. Details forthcoming as soon as I have them.
I’ll be taking next week (at least mostly) off. While you may hear from me, there are no podcasts scheduled on The Debrief.
I’ll miss you all (seriously!) and I look forward to seeing you the week of August 17, with more great podcasts.
I wish you all a pleasant weekend and a good week ahead.
Warm regards,
Debra
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