If you were on Twitter the past two weeks following The Bulwark, pro-Israel accounts, or centrist Democrats, then you’d know the number one issue for the Democratic Party is online personality Hasan Piker.
There has been breathless coverage, outrage, and finger-wagging about this 34-year-old progressive and Twitch streamer. It’s been curious, to say the least, considering America is immersed in a failed, unwinnable war, oil and gas prices are increasing, and Donald Trump is threatening to cheat and rig the upcoming elections. But, Hasan Piker, friends, is the number one issue for Democrats, who have the lowest favorability ratings in decades.
The hit job on Piker is a clear attempt to send a warning to progressive Democratic candidates who are anti-genocide and anti-billionaire. There’s also a lot of Islamophobia. It’s smear through association, which is why Abdul El-Sayed, the Muslim American Democratic Senate candidate for Michigan, has been attacked for campaigning with Piker. There was no such outrage against AOC, Bernie Sanders, or Summer Lee.
Speaking of outrage, Democrats are perfectly fine expanding the tent and going on bigot Bill Maher’s show. Kamala Harris campaigned with Liz Cheney, who voted for Trump’s agenda 93% of the time. Gavin Newsom had chummy conversations with Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon to “reach out” to new voters. But that tent only opens to the right, never for progressives, especially those who are pro-Palestinian.
The smear machine has now come for Effie-Phillips Staley, a progressive running to flip New York’s 17th District. She doesn’t take corporate money, calls for abolishing ICE, and supports Medicare for All. She is also opposed to Israel's genocide and even spent time in the West Bank. One would assume the Democratic establishment would support her, but they’ve turned on her in the past two weeks because she appeared on Piker’s show to discuss the apartheid conditions she witnessed in the West Bank.
Thank you Steward Beckham, Amy Gabrielle, Just Breathe, Grace Alexandra Hayden, Noble Blend, and many others for tuning into my live video with Effie Phillips-Staley! Join me for my next live video in the app.
