From a Friend of McHenry County Blog:
Bushra Amiwala trying to out-left-flank other Dems
9th congressional district hopeful Bushra Amiwala is trying to signal to the base of the Democratic Party that she is one of them.
Another Gen Z female candidate who is pandering heavily especially on the Palestinian question is Kat Abughazaleh.
If it weren’t for Abughazaleh, Amiwala might be polling in double instead of single digits.
Here are the numbers from a poll commissioned by Data for Progress.
Undeterred, Amiwala is still putting effort into showing voters why they should choose her.
During the weekend following Thanksgiving while many people were returning home, watching football, or eating leftovers which dried out a bit, Amiwala was at the AMP (American Muslims for Palestine) 18th annual Palestine convention.
Among the attendees were former members of congress, Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, who were part of the left-wing “squad” before losing their primaries.
Amiwala took photos with them and posted the pics to social media.
Posting pictures with these two disgraced former members of congress is clearly a desperate attempt to virtue signal with the far-left base of the Democratic Party. She has reason to feel desperate. The poll cited earlier showed 72% of respondents had not heard of Amiwala. (I found the cross tabs fascinating.)
The only candidates who had at least half of the respondents recognize them were the frontrunners, Daniel Biss and Kat Abughazaleh. Excluded from the poll entirely were Justin Ford, Nick Pyati, Patricia Brown, Bethany Johnson, Howard Rosenblum, Natalie Angelo, and Mark Frederickson.
Nobody in the race is leaning into the moderate lane or at least doing it well. There are a few who are more sympathetic to Israel than the group average, but that is only one issue and in my opinion does not accurately represent a progressive vs conservative dichotomy as there are some people who could be considered far-right that don’t care for Israel.
My point is nobody is standing out by saying, “If you think Democrats have gotten too radical, vote for me” and I find that bizarre given how crowded the field is and the fact that most of them are trying to appear the most progressive.
But they can’t all be the most progressive…
Somebody who explicitly appeals to moderates or even conservatives might do well in a crowded field of progressives.
To be clear, Amiwala’s support for Palestine appears authentic and even passionate, but she is hardly the only person in the race with that stance (and the same can be said about many of her stances).
Arguably even outside of progressive circles, a two-state solution is not that controversial. The Pope (who is from the Chicago area) just came out in support of it, and a strong case can be made that the Pope is the most influential person in the world.
Being for Palestine does not set Amiwala apart.
Being a Muslim does, sort of, except everybody is trying to show off their “unique” something.
Taking pictures with Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman does, sort of, but they’re washed up.
Being so young almost sets her apart, if not for the presence of the pesky Kat Abughazaleh.
The problem for all of the Democrats is that Abughazaleh is the only candidate who
-Has momentum
-Is in the top tier
Amiwala has also gained a few points in the polls, but she isn’t up at the top. Polls consistently show this race as coming down to Abughazaleh and Biss.
Here’s the thing: While they are both progressive, they aren’t the frontrunners because of that. They have name recognition, they have fundraising advantages, and it’s sort of a loop. People did not consciously decide Biss is more progressive than Mike Simmons and that’s the reason Biss is doing better than Simmons.
It’s like this: A billionaire has more money to invest than a millionaire, so the billionaire’s profits will be higher than the millionaire’s (in absolute numbers).
It’s like that with politics too.
Fame begets more fame.
Abughazaleh didn’t get hundreds of thousands of followers by being the most pure disciple of Karl Marx; she comes from a rich family, she is attractive, and she gained a following criticizing Fox News which is basically the formula Jon Stewart has been using for over 25 years.
Now she is using that audience to build momentum running for congress.
Biss was a state senator, ran for governor and lost to Pritzker, and is mayor of Evanston. Of course Biss is polling ahead of Mike Simmons; people know him.
Still, expect more left-wing pandering until March 17. Almost everybody is moving to the left thinking that is the ticket to victory.
Even John Elleson, a Republican candidate, called out Rocío Cleveland for presenting Abughazaleh with holy water.
Elleson was mentioned in some article and quickly forgotten.
Civility apparently is deserving of a little attention, but not too much.
Cleveland is running as a very conservative, gritty anti-establishment Republican.
She is one of the few candidates who understands the importance of fame in politics, and she is using controversy to attract attention.
Authors like Russell Lissau fall for it.
If it weren’t for the fact that there are about 17 Democrats running, maybe Amiwala’s pictures with Bush and Bowman would be a bigger deal.
With that many options, people become less satisfied.
This is known as the paradox of choice.
How does anyone stand out or break out when it is so crowded?
By contrast, four people are running as Republicans.
All it took was a prank involving a gift bag and Cleveland’s story was everywhere.
Local news, national news, even international news outlets picked it up.
Amiwala and others aren’t going to be noticed by being the most progressive.
This is a common misunderstanding about modern politics.
It’s not only about pandering to the fringes that leads to success in a primary election.
There has to an X factor that creates fame.
Sometimes the radical positions juxtaposed to other more normal candidates itself can create the controversy and fame, but that doesn’t work if everybody is pandering.
Amiwala has gone to ICE protests.
I believe other candidates have too.
People remember Abughazaleh going because she got slammed on the ground on video (luckily her buttocks broke the fall) and was later charged with criminal offenses by the federal government.
Supposedly, Amiwala was pepper sprayed.
Meh.
Sorry, Bushra Amiwala, but the 21st century American voter is going to need to see video of you crying and puking.
You better be doing or saying crazy stuff, or be rich, or better yet crazy and rich if you want success in American politics.
I didn’t make the rules.
This is what democracy looks like.
