Commentary
Remember the game, Simon Says? Well, pardon the pun, but I just couldn’t resist a play on Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed’s name to make my point. It’s about what El-Sayed has “said” recently. Remarks that can’t help his chances to beat Republican Mike Rogers in his bid for the Senate in Michigan this fall.
First, it was a statement he made about Michigan’s Mackinac Island in a 2020 documentary that surfaced, in which he said, “I hate Mackinac so much,” referencing one of the state’s most recognizable vacation spots. “Every time I come here … I’ve hated it. Why am I here?”
Originally from Michigan, having been on the Island several times, I cannot believe Michiganders were happy to hear El-Sayed’s insult of the Island with its historic Grand Hotel, Victorian homes, waterfront streets, where horse-driven buggies provide transportation where no cars are allowed.
There’s more. He also took off on men’s sports in Michigan, where he said, “racism, misogyny and hemophobia were lingua franca,” as he escalated his feud with Rogers.
He ridiculously challenged Rogers, 20 years his senior, to a bout of tackle football after accusing Rogers of being “too afraid” to debate him.
Interestingly, while El-Sayed campaigns in a tight black T-shirt that allows him to show off his biceps, he once said, “toxic masculinity” is at the heart of football, America’s favorite sport – and men’s sports culture more generally.”
Like his insult of Mackinac Island, I cannot imagine his remarks about the football culture is going over well in football loving Michigan, home to five Division 1 college football teams – Michigan, Michigan State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and Western Michigan – along with nine popular Division II football programs.
And they like their Detroit Lions, a formidable team in the National Football League of late. Not for one moment do I think Lions fans agree with El-Sayed’s soft-spoken progressive rebrand of manhood, as he urged coaches to “abandon traditional toughness.”
Not all of El-Sayed’s commentary has disappeared from social media: In one episode that remains online, he questioned whether football could be “ethical” or “safe” and linked the sport’s “ethos” to narratives used to justify slavery and westward expansion.
In a non-deleted episode of his podcast from February 2023, El-Sayed questioned whether any version of football could be “ethical” or “safe” and said narratives that had justified slavery, westward expansion and other forms of oppression were “echoed in the ethos of football.”
As I prepare to publish this, Rogers leads El-Sayed 51 percent to 47 percent among registered voters, giving the Republican a four-point advantage in the closely watched contest, but within the survey’s margin of error. The race is expected to be competitive as Republicans look to hold onto their advantage in the Senate.
But the Fox News poll shows El-Sayed, the first Muslim Democrat nominated for the U.S. Senate, performing better among voters who are most engaged in the election. He leads Rogers by 11 points among those who are extremely interested in the election, by 7 points among those who are extremely motivated to vote and by 4 points among voters who say they are certain to cast a ballot, the poll shows.
However, Alyssa Brouillet, Communications Director for Rogers’ campaign, said in a statement to Newsweek on Friday, “Mike Rogers is carrying the momentum and defying the map–and it’s easy to see why.
“Turns out Michiganders have an issue with Abdul raising their taxes, taking over their healthcare, emptying the prisons, and killing their dogs. They know Mike Rogers will hold the line against this insanity and deliver real results for Michigan. We have a state to save.”
It depends on if Michigan’s voters have good recall for things El-Sayed has been saying for the past six years.
May God continue to bless those who oppose the socialist movement in this the year of our 250th birthday of liberty.
