Secular & Atheism
Published on November 2, 2026

What’s a Democrat to do?

Selected by Sam Flores · via Why Evolution Is True
What’s a Democrat to do?


As readers will know, I’ve been a lifelong Democrat, and though we don’t have to register by party in Illinois, I’ve always voted solidly Democratic, as I just did (it isn’t hard in Illinois). However, “liberal” Democrats like me, who are more towards the center than are “progressives” like AOC or “the squad”, are starting to face a dilemma, especially if they’re Jewish or sympathetic to Israel. (A hallmark of “progressive” Democrats is their demonization of Israel, sometimes flirting with anti-Semitism.)

I started to face this dilemma in the last Presidential election, which pitted Trump, who I see as an odious and unstable egomaniac, against Kamala Harris, a Democrat who I see as inexperienced, not overly bright, and a disser of Israel. I couldn’t vote for either of them, so I wrote in the Democrat Gretchen Whitmer (now I’d probably write in Democrat Pete Buttigieg).  I wasn’t worried that that would promote a Trump victory, because Illinois is a reliably Democratic state and my vote wouldn’t affect the outcome.  But were I in some other state, I’d have been a bit more hesitant to write in a Democrat rather than vote for Harris.

But were I voting in Michigan now, I would certainly not vote for Abdul el-Sayed, nor would I vote for Mike Rogers, even though Haley Stevens, el-Sayed’s opponent in the Democratic primary, who was defeated, has endorsed Rogers and said she’ll vote for him. Stevens withdrew her support for her fellow Democrat because he refused to condemn the odious ad (made by Cenk Uygur’s PAC) blaming Israel for the rise of grocery prices in America.  And El-Sayed has a history of anti-Israel actions and statements.

Now I’m not a one-issue voter, casting my ballot only for pro-Israel candidates, but up until recently Democrats have been pro-Israel candidates and were aligned with my values on most other issues.  But the party is moving leftwards towards “progressivism”, espousing policies that irk me—not just anti-Israel views, but open-border policies, defunding the police, emphasizing equity as opposed to equal opportunity, eliminating all private health insurance in favor of “Medicare for all” (I do favor healthcare for all, just not solely a government system), allowing trans-identified men to compete in women’s sports (and again I emphasize that this is one of the very few areas where I see women’s rights trumping trans rights), promoting drastic income distribution, like what Democratic Socialists favor, and so on.

On the other hand, I still differ—usually more seriously—with Republicans, who tend to be against abortion (I’m a full-on pro-choicer), against gun control (I favor strict regulation), in favor of more drilling and usage of fossil fuels, more willing to curb trans rights (like banning trans people from the military, a ban I oppose), historically less supportive of civil rights for minorities, and so on. The widespread Republican support for Trump—who I see as a narcissistic and unstable demagogue who, while he has done a few things that had good results, has damaged America—is something I cannot stomach, and I could never vote for a Republican who supported Trump.

Thus I can’t vote for nearly any Republican, and I won’t vote for Democrats who hold positions that oppose.  El-Sayed, for example, is not only a probable anti-Semite, but favors universal health care with the eventual abolition of private health care, which he sees as “redundant and unnecessary”, broader wealth taxes, and defunding the police.  His antisemitism and demonization of Israel—epitomized by his refusal to condemn Cenk’s “blood libel banana ad”—would alone erode my support for him, and, since I haven’t studied Rogers’s positions, were I to vote today I would probably write in a Democrat. This is worrisome because, of course, the Senate is at stake here because Michigan is more evenly divided politically than is Illinois. But my principles would prevent me from voting for an antisemite.

This post was prompted by two things. The first is the leftward move of the Democratic party, so that Stevens’s withdrawal of support from El-Sayed led Chuck Schumer, Democratic minority leader of the Senate, to denounce Stevens as committing a “despicable betrayal”, as if all Democrats are obliged to vote for El-Sayed. (And Schumer used to be a strong supporter of Israel.) Here’s Schumer’s tweet from yesterday.

It’s as if party must always override principle, and when it doesn’t, as in Stevens’s case, it’s a “betrayal.”

The second reason I’m writing this is an email I received from a friend urging me to stop saying I’m a diehard Democrat and start supporting Republicans.  I said that the GOP in general, and Trump in particular, was so offensive to me that I couldn’t contemplate that, even though the Democratic Party is becoming a party I can’t support in toto. I wrote that to my friend, who responded with this email (reproduced with permission):

I’ve been holding my breath on this issue forever. The straw that broke my back was the guy who commented that Michiganders should hold their noses and vote for Al Sayed. Why? Because he’s not a Republican. Now Chuck Schumer agrees. The Democrats have become the party of antisemitism. Like Amit Segal (and others) are saying: When the Democrats come into power they will recognize a Palestinian state; they will curtail (if not eliminate) arms sales to Israel; they will promote international financial sanctions against Israel, isolating the country internationally. In short, they will be an existential threat to the State of Israel. I get it that Trump provokes a certain visceral repulsion. But he is the only president we’ve had to stand up to Iran, he has stood up to DEI, he has stood up to campus antisemitism, he got Europe on the road to paying its own way in NATO.

I was a lifelong Democrat. We haven’t changed sides. The Democratic Party has. They’re the baddies now.

There’s a lot of sense in this, and a lot of things I agree with. I’m not quite as much a one-issue voter, but my friend is correct: the Democratic Party is isolating classical liberals by moving away from them, chugging inexorably towards the “progressive” Left.

I decided that from now on that I will simply study harder the positions of candidates (realizing that what they say may not wholly reflect how they feel, which I think is true in El-Sayed’s case), and then vote for the candidate whose values align better with mine.  Some readers will disagree, as this stand, if adopted by everyone, may lead to Republican victories in some swing areas. It could also do that by prompting people to write in candidates who don’t stand a chance. Yes, you may disagree, but never in a million years would I vote for Abdul el-Sayed simply because he’s a Democrat.



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