Never underestimate the power of anger of being dismissed as irrelevant. That is the grave mistake Democratic leadership, Biden, and Harris made and arrogantly dismissed Arab Americans as irrelevant and refused to give an inch on their genocidal Gaza policy. They thought Arab Americans, like Blacks and Latino, have no place else to go and in the end will come back home. In this election, Blacks and Latino voters also had enough for being taken for granted for decades, and started deserting Democratic party.
Democratic Leadership and Harris moved away from the winning coalition of minorities, championed by Obama, and instead cared for only one constituent-Israeli Lobby, at the expense of everyone else and every other cause-and spent our hard earned tax dollars to fund the genocide in Gaza. Democratic Leadership, Biden, and Harris brought this humiliating defeat upon themselves at the hands of most flawed and profane candidate-Donald Trump.
Unfortunately, it is not the end of Democratic Party’s problems, as there will be future elections, both at federal and local level, and many constituents who deserted Democratic Party, may never come back.
I personally don’t think the voting – or abstaining – of Arab Americans and like minded Muslims had anything to do with the Democrats’ defeat over the whole country; in Michigan maybe but not at the national level. There was a litany of other reasons: Biden retiring very late, Harris having very little time, Democrats not ending up with the best candidate (because of Biden’s late recusal), Black & Latino men’s macho thinking that a woman is not able to run the country, and Harris blurting on the “View” that she would not change a thing of Biden’s policies. Above all Harris was not a polished politician. Her answers during interviews and town halls were very measured and guarded as if she was thinking what was the best thing to say instead of spontaneously and confidently coming up with well thought out answers.
It was not just Michigan or Muslims only but other Americans were also appalled at Genocide in Gaza and has a dampening effect to vote for Harris or Democratic Party. Many young, progressive activits, black clergies who paly a big part in get out the vote were not enthusiastic about Haris or Democratic party. NYT article I posted answers your question. Quite a few columnists are expressing the same view. Lydia Polygreen of NYT writes; “To your point, people may not vote on foreign policy; they do vote on apathy. I think it will go down as a major mistake. I think it will go down as really an arrogance and a hubris on their part that I thought was really unfounded.
You lost to Donald Trump a few years ago, how dare you have any hubris about thinking you can write off parts of the Democratic base? I thought that was ridiculous. And I also think they underestimated how well the Republicans are doing with young voters on the other side.”
Article I posted on our website; https://www.thinkersforumusablog.org/archives/11267