# Abdul El-Sayed vs Haley Stevens - Progressives vs Centrists, gloves-off discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 3, 2026, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371 "2026-11-03T17:14:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/101 "2026-11-03T22:34:12Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > If El-Sayed was a Democratic socialist I probably would have abstained on the suspicion of anti-Semitism alone. But he said pretty clearly he is a capitalist. Everyone knows that it’s a sin to vote for a Republican. Only slightly less famous is the fact that it’s a sin to facilitate the election of a Republican by failing to vote against them. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/102 "2026-11-03T22:40:47Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > And, for that, he apologized, Means nothing unless he changes his behavior. > [@RitterSport](#): > > condemned all forms of antisemitism I mean, no, he hasn’t, that’s exactly the issue. A bunch of Jewish groups told him “Hey, this Hasan Piker character you run around with is kinda anti-Semitic” and he brushed them off. A bunch of Jewish groups told him “Hey, this ad is really antisemitic” and he refused to condemn it, instead just saying “well it wasn’t me”. > [@RitterSport](#): > > celebrated a Jewish holiday with a Jewish family This is some “I have a black friend” level shit. You’re joking putting that on the list, right? > [@RitterSport](#): > > reached out to various Jewish communities. And brushed off a bunch of other Jewish communities. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/103 "2026-11-03T22:49:52Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Saw a survey the other day…meaning to make a thread about this at some point…saying that 80% of self-identified anti-Zionist American Jews think Zionism is about supporting whatever Israel does, while only 15% of self-identified Zionist American Jews feel that way. In other words, both the Zionists and the Anti-Zionists think that supporting Israel is something that others do, not them. In that context, someone who, likewise, doesn’t support Israel should sit just fine with all of them. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/104 "2026-11-03T22:53:16Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > And, for that, he apologized, condemned all forms of antisemitism, celebrated a Jewish holiday with a Jewish family, reached out to various Jewish communities. I think for some people it’s too little too late. I think it’s a raw wound for a lot of people, and not something you can easily forget. I can’t speak for Jews, but I get the feeling that a lot of them are not feeling safe here, in this country. That’s been a pretty significant focus of Jewish organizations in my area. I live in the same county as Temple Israel where the attack took place. We periodically receive money from this Jewish teen board that teaches kids about how to make grants. So teenagers set the priorities and make the funding decisions. For the last several years they have shifted focus away from general human services and toward addressing anti-Semitism and addressing the mental health of Jewish teens. And the last annual meeting I attended for the parent foundation focused on a camp for Jewish teenagers who had survived October 7. And the overarching message is this: Jewish kids are scared right now, and it’s messing with their mental health. So an already frightened population suffered a terrorist attack, they didn’t feel protected by their representatives at a moment it really mattered, and that trust is going to be hard to rebuild. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/105 "2026-11-03T22:54:12Z")
The relevant distinction is between “supporting Israel” and “supporting whatever Israel does”. What that means in practice is a lot fuzzier. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/106 "2026-11-03T22:54:45Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > to turn as fast as she did suggests, to me, some mental instability. My friends are discussing this hypothesis. But I suspect some skullduggery is afoot. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/107 "2026-11-03T22:57:13Z")
I think she’s in an abusive relationship. She and her fiance (who she’s only dated a few months) dined with an ex-Governor of Michigan the night before she made her big announcement, and the Governor says he was berating her at the table for continuing to support El-Sayed. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/108 "2026-11-03T22:58:28Z")
Well, that sucks. I hope for her sake it isn’t true. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/109 "2026-11-03T22:58:47Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > What I’m saying is, people want me to choose, and I don’t want to choose. I feel sympathy toward both communities and there’s a progressive push lately to indicate I should only feel sympathy for one. Is it worse to be Arab American or Jewish right now in America? Seems like both are having a rough go of it, and whatever you feel about the Israel/Palestine clusterfuck, American Jews and American Arabs had fuck-all to do with it. Yeah, me, too. Really, American Jews and American Arabs have a lot in common. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/110 "2026-11-03T22:59:37Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Really, American Jews and American Arabs have a lot in common. Soon, one of those things will be counting a Senator from Michigan among their number! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/111 "2026-11-03T23:01:03Z")
I hope so. He certainly looks a lot better than the alternative. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/112 "2026-11-03T23:01:20Z")
Man, you’re impossible on this subject. Ok, enjoy your RO. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/113 "2026-11-03T23:05:52Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Well, that sucks. I hope for her sake it isn’t true. I highly doubt that it is; it has all the tropes of a standard anti-semitic conspiracy. Her nefariously Jewish fiance is controlling her from behind the scenes! Spooooky! I doubt that’s why anyone here is sharing the story, but that’s undoubtedly where it originated. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/114 "2026-11-03T23:10:32Z")
So you’re saying that this former Governor of Michigan is lying? It has been pretty widely reported that he said that. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/115 "2026-11-03T23:14:36Z")
I thought he was saying that he see antisemitism absolutely everywhere? Look a puppy! Probably an antisemite. Hey, this guy is tying his shoes. Probably an antisemite. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/116 "2026-11-03T23:22:43Z")
That’s a very antisemitic thing to say. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/117 "2026-11-03T23:23:40Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Hey, this guy is tying his shoes. Probably an antisemite. Is he tying them into little Nazis? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/118 "2026-11-03T23:28:24Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > I highly doubt that it is; it has all the tropes of a standard anti-semitic conspiracy. Her nefariously Jewish fiance is controlling her from behind the scenes! Spooooky! I work at an agency that serves survivors of domestic violence, so I guess I’m generally more receptive to claims like that. I think people are just trying to understand how this happened. Not that it happened at all, but the way it happened so suddenly is really strange. My understanding is she did a total about face in just a handful of hours? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/119 "2026-11-03T23:34:47Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I work at an agency that serves survivors of domestic violence, so I guess I’m generally more receptive to claims like that. I think people are just trying to understand how this happened. Not that it happened at all, but the way it happened so suddenly is really strange. I guess I just don’t find it all that strange? She asked him to condemn the ad, he responded by disinviting her from his rally. He told her she had no place in his campaign; what did he think was going to happen? Maybe the endorsing Mike Rogers part is surprising, but denouncing El Sayed? After what he did to her? Not surprising at all. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371/120 "2026-11-03T23:40:15Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > I guess I just don’t find it all that strange? She asked him to condemn the ad, he responded by disinviting her from his rally. But haven’t you said that this whole thing isn’t about the ad? Everything but the ad has been on the table for months. Why didn’t she make her fascist turn earlier? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abdul-el-sayed-vs-haley-stevens-progressives-vs-centrists-gloves-off-discussion/1034371.md?page=7)