Good Tuesday to you,
Rabbi Charles Cytron-Walker of the Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, explained Monday how the hostage situation at the temple ended. They werenât freed. They escaped. âI made sure that the two gentlemen who were still with me, that they were ready to go,â he told CBS News. âThe exit wasnât too far away. I told them to go. I threw a chair at the gunman, and I headed for the door.â The FBI moved in and hostage-taker Malik Faisal Akram was killed. The FBI called it a âterrorism-related matter.â More broadly, itâs worth looking through this survey and study of antisemitism in America released by the American Jewish Committee last fall. About four in 10 Jews say, for example, that they take steps to hide their Jewishness online so as not to provoke certain reactions. American Jews also fear attacks from the nativist right more than extremism carried out in the name of Islam.
Over to Capitol Hill: Today Chuck Schumer proceeds on the sure-to-fail Senate votes on voting rights and the filibuster. Pointless? Well, at least it gets people on the record on both matters. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have come in for much-deserved criticism, especially the latter after that floor speech of hers last week, which Representative Jim Clyburn summarized so well, referring to both senators: âThese two Democrats have decided that it is much more important to them to protect the voting rights of the minority on the Senate floor than to protect the voting rights of minorities in this great country of ours, the minorities that made it possible for them to be in the position that theyâre currently in.â Disgraceful to put procedure ahead of the rights of people.
As much contempt as those two deserve, letâs not forget to throw some shade on âmoderateâ Republicans, too. Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins ⦠is this the legacy they want? Evidently it is. Romney whined that Biden never called him. Even if thatâs true, is that the basis on which United States senators make decisions of historical significanceâwhether the White House showed them deference?Â
But the Republicans will pay no price. Joe Biden will. Would it have changed anything if heâd done more earlier? I doubt it. And Politico reports today that Kamala Harris was much more active on this issue for a longer period of time than weâve known. But that was behind the scenes. A lot of politics, especially on an issue that you know youâre likely to lose, is about making your people feel like you tried your best. Obviously, activists donât feel like the White House did. A White House doesnât want to use political capital on an issue it knows itâs going to lose. On the other hand, it has to show the base that it went down fighting. The White House didnât accomplish that on this issue, and unless things turn around it will definitely be felt in midterm turnout.
This just in: Funny tweet from Mehdi Hasan on âNo-Vacâ Djokovic: https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1483416249233285121
At NewRepublic.com, read Patrick Iberâs review of a book about Smedley Butler, the early-twentieth-century U.S. general who turned against capitalism and empire; check out Grace Segersâs interview with Representative Rosa DeLauro about the future of the child tax credit and other matters; and look in on Jason Linkinsâs argument, related to my point above, about how Democrats can still make it so that Republicans take some blame for the stalling of Bidenâs agenda.Â
Stay safe, âMichael Tomasky, editor |
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