(HorizonPost.com) – Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib over the weekend threw her support behind “Listen to Michigan,” a group of Muslim and Arab activists in the state that has launched a campaign to get Democrats to vote for “uncommitted” in the state’s primary next Tuesday, NBC News reported.
In a video posted on Listen to Michigan’s X account, Tlaib called on Muslim and Arab voters in her district to band together to “create a voting bloc” to stand up for the people of Gaza. She said the way to send the message “Enough is enough” would be to “vote uncommitted” in the Democrat primary.
Tlaib argued that voting for “uncommitted” would send a message to the Biden administration that Michigan Democrats did not want a government “that supports wars and bombs and destruction.”
The campaign manager for Listen to Michigan is Rep. Tlaib’s sister Layla Elebed, according to the Detroit News.
The Democrat Rep. has been outspoken in her opposition to the administration’s support for Israel since the war began in October and has helped to lead the effort among progressives in Congress to urge President Biden to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
When asked about Tlaib’s latest effort to undermine the president, Michigan Democrat Party Chair Lavora Barnes defended Biden, telling NBC News that he won Michigan in 2020 because he “promised to deliver” for the people of the state, and he kept his promises.
The blowback the Biden administration has faced from Muslim and Arab voters in Michigan over his support for Israel prompted the White House to send a delegation of high-ranking administration officials to meet with various Arab leaders in the state earlier this month in hopes of calming concerns and assuring them of the president’s support. However, many of the leaders walked away from the meetings less than satisfied, arguing that they would accept nothing short of a full and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Senator Bernie Sanders’ progressive group Our Revolution also joined with Listen to Michigan in urging Democrats to vote for “uncommitted” in the February 27 primary.
Senator Sanders disavowed the effort, saying he supported the president.
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