Democrats really need to rein in their hippie-punching tendencies

At the risk of slipping into the “don't-think-of-an-elephant” trap in mind, falsely accusing Democratic politicians of promoting “Jihad” is tacky at the very best.

Ryan Cooper takes a look at a current case of this:

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) … joined Fox News and accused [H]asan Piker [the Republicans’ “Willie Horton” of 2026] of putting out “an open call for violence against Jewish Americans … this is right out of the Nazi playbook.” Gottheimer added that [Democratic Michigan nominee for the Senate Abdul] El-Sayed’s clarification that Piker does not speak for him is “pathetic.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries made a similar implication. “There is zero justification for threats against the safety of our Jewish brothers and sisters at a moment of rising hate,” he posted. (1)

There really do seem to be senior Democrats who would prefer to lose with a “moderate” candidate than win with a progressive one.

For a prominent Democratic Congressman to accuse the Republicans’ favorite fake target of the moment of making “an open call for violence against Jewish Americans … this is right out of the Nazi playbook,” sounds pretty tacky to me. And downright dishonest unless somebody literally makes “an open call for violence.” Especially at a moment when the Trump has literally declared the whole concept of “antifa,” aka, anti-fascist, to be a domestic terrorist organization.

Yes, politics is politics. But some of these so-called moderates need to rein in the Chicken Little rhetoric.

At least Gottheimer had the decency to vote against a Republican measure to criticize “socialism” and to support Trump’s and the Republicans’ SAVE America Act that is actually an authorization for voter-suppression

For anyone interested in hearing directly from the Republicans’ current “Willie Horton” bogeyman, here’s one where he talks about “defamation” (3):

Notes:

(1) Cooper, Ryan (2026): Are Centrist Democrats Too Racist to Compete in Michigan? The America Prospect <https://prospect.org/2026/09/02/are-centrist-democrats-too-racist-to-compete-in-michigan/> (Accessed: 2026-09-03).

(2) Rogerson, Riley (2026): Handful of House Democrats split on GOP resolution condemning socialism. Politico 09/01/2026. <https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/09/01/congress/dems-defect-on-socialism-01061046> (Accessed: 2026-09-03).

(3) It's Intense Defamation': Hasan Piker Considers Suing His Democratic Critics. Semafor YouTube channel 08/28/2026. <https://youtu.be/ysMKki0V3SM?si=B1S3Sb91wGipUbW5> (Accessed: 2026-09-03).