2026 Mid-Term Elections

[ZiprHead]

It was a bigoted question. The same as you are doing here.

It's not a bigoted question given his ties to Islamist groups. Just because he is a Muslim does not mean we should not be able to question his ties with extremists. Especially when his position is that he does not want to support our ally in the case of attack by the islamofascists in Tehran.

Do you have anything to say about the questioner in the video and his ties to Christian nationalists?

 

[Derec]

Do you have anything to say about the questioner in the video and his ties to Christian nationalists?

No. The identity of the questioner does not change AES' Islamist ties. And just because Christian nationalism is bad does not mean that Islamism is in any way preferable. Pox on both their houses!

 

[southernhybrid]

https://www.bridgedetroit.com/fact-check-abdul-el-sayed-muslim-brotherhood/

Shortly after Michigan Democrats selected Abdul El-Sayed as the party’s US Senate nominee, Republican Mike Rogers invoked the Muslim Brotherhood to claim his general election opponent is “an extremist.”

El-Sayed “pledged his support to the Muslim Brotherhood,” Rogers claimed in an Aug. 5 statement.

There is no evidence that El-Sayed has ties to the organization or pledged support, although he has occasionally weighed in on Egyptian affairs and politicians associated with the group, according to a Bridge Michigan review.

But in the weeks since his primary win, Republicans have continued to try to link El-Sayed directly to the Muslim Brotherhood, which has historically advocated for political systems entwined with Islamic law. The US this year designated some chapters as terrorist organizations for supporting Hamas.

It’s among a series of similar attacks targeting El-Sayed, a practicing Muslim of Egyptian descent who was born and raised in Michigan.

Related:

• Fact check: Abdul El-Sayed attacks Mike Rogers over pharma industry ties
• Mike Rogers 2.0: After defeat, GOP Senate hopeful makes new pitch
• Rogers vs. El-Sayed: 7 issues defining Michigan’s US Senate race

Some critics have emphasized El-Sayed’s full Arabic name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed. President Donald Trump last month claimed “we have jihadists being elected all over the place.”

El-Sayed’s religion has also been a frequent topic of discussion on social media, according to analyses by the Washington Post and the Center for the Study of Organized Hate.

The claims ​

Muslim Brotherhood claims continue to appear elsewhere on Rogers’ website, in campaign materials alleging El-Sayed’s “defense of terrorism” and in an ad campaign by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

“In 2011, (El-Sayed) urged the United States to back Egypt’s revolutionary movement while dismissing concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood taking power,” reads a StopAbdul.com website created by Rogers’ campaign.

The Republican National Committee and other conservative groups have alleged El-Sayed has “disturbing associations with Islamic extremism” and have criticized his family members’ ties to Islamic organizations.

In a recent post on the social media website X, Rogers highlighted an article from the conservative Washington Free Beacon alleging El-Sayed’s father-in-law is “among the top leaders” of an Islamic organization that serves as a “public facing group for the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Michigan Republican Party Chairman Jim Runestad has downplayed those attacks, telling reporters the Rogers campaign asked the party not to refer to El-Sayed by his full name and telling Bridge that a wide gulf in policy positions between the candidates makes religion a moot point.

“Him being Muslim or being Arab or any of that — that’s irrelevant to me, and I think it is to Mike,” Runestad said. “There are so many issues that are important to the people of the state of Michigan. That’s going to be the focus.”

The context and the facts​

Though the scope and the scale has magnified in the 2026 cycle, it’s not the first time El-Sayed has faced this type of scrutiny.

When El-Sayed ran for governor in 2018, then-GOP candidate Patrick Colbeck faced widespread bipartisan condemnation for suggesting El-Sayed had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and that Muslim politicians were trying to “push Islam into our churches,” among other claims.

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded nearly a century ago in Egypt and has historically sought a greater role for Islamic principles in government.

Rogers and allies who have resurrected the Muslim Brotherhood claims this election cycle have pointed to a 2011 opinion column that El-Sayed wrote for HuffPost about a political revolution in Egypt.

In the piece, El-Sayed, then an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, urged the Obama administration to support protesters and downplayed concerns that “supporting democracy in Egypt might throw it to the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Even if that happened, the “ensuing state would look nothing like Iran,” he argued.

 

[laughing dog]

And yet you attempted to smear him with it. It appears you’te the one incapable of comprehending the written word.

Wrong. It's still you.
First of all, something is not a smear when it's true. Second, it was not intended to be a standalone argument for those incapable of reading past the first paragraph, but setting the stage for what AES himself did.

Something is a smear when it is irrelevant.

Maybe it is purely family ties.

It is not, as I have explained.

An assertion is not an explanation.

It is dodgy the conference has been jn the last year or two.

Huh? The fact remains that he spoke at the Islamist conference.

So?

And without knowing his reasons fir supporting the NB, dodgy is as far as reasonable person should go.

What possible reason would make it ok?

They were leading the push for change against a repressive regime. As I understand it he did not support them for forming a gov’t.

Put insinuating he agrees with the speakers who endorsed Islamic terrorism is just another smear attempt.

It is his responsibility to know what the conference he chose to speak at is all about.
You certainly would not be as understanding if a Republican chose to speak at a conference alongside Neo-Nazis. Or if he chose to accept Neo-Nazi funding from his Neo-Nazi funding. And you would at least look askance if his family was steeped in Neo-Nazism.

Neo-Nazis are equivalent to the Muslim Brotherhood? Are you serious or just desperate to justify your bigotry?

When you deviate from his statements and actions in their context, your posts are just sad bigoted and failed smear attempts.

His action is getting funded by Islamists affiliated with MB and speaking at an Islamist conference with MB ties.

So what.

You and your Ilk are bamboozled by him espousing "progressive" economic policies like M4A or wealth taxes. I think this is a Trojan horse. Same goes for the likes of Adam Hamawy (shoo-in for Congress in NJ and former associate of the terrorist mastermind the Blind Sheikh) and Avila Chevalier (shoo-in for Congress in NY and a Muslim convert who celebrated 10/7 atrocities and who is dating a former Al Qaeda lawyer).

Lookit you with the identity politics with idiotic “your ilk” and regurgitation of GOP propaganda. Your fear/hatred of Muslims is pitiable.

I don’t care one jot about this candidate. As far as I am concerned his only positive attribute is he is not a Magatard.

 

[Toni]

Who cares if some are far left? The Democratic Party has always been a big tent party with people with many different perspectives, unlike the party of sheep who bow to their dear leader. But, it appears as if even a few of the sheep are turning away from their master. Who woulda thunk it?

A tent can be too big to be functional. I do not think DSA members should be welcome in Democratic primaries. Islamists and terrorist sympathizers like Adam Hamawy certainly should not be welcome in Democratic primaries.

Why not?

Why do you see Hamawy as an Islamist or a terrorist sympathizer?

 

[laughing dog]

Do you have anything to say about the questioner in the video and his ties to Christian nationalists?

No. The identity of the questioner does not change AES' Islamist ties. And just because Christian nationalism is bad does not mean that Islamism is in any way preferable. Pox on both their houses!

I believe the obvious implication is that the question was a “gotcha” attempt by a political apparatchik.

 

[Patooka]

I cannot vouch for the veracity but if true it's very damning.

Dems should have picked Haley Stevens. Then the choice would be very easy.

For you, you mean.

IF=Woman
THEN=No
ENDIF
ASKIF=Alternative
QRY=Alternative=Muslim
QRY=Woman=White
RUN

 

[Patooka]

Do you have anything to say about the questioner in the video and his ties to Christian nationalists?

No. The identity of the questioner does not change AES' Islamist ties. And just because Christian nationalism is bad does not mean that Islamism is in any way preferable. Pox on both their houses!

You've made it abundantly clear that unless Dr El-Sayed personally beheads the leader of Hamas, you will always think he is a terrorist apologist.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

In theory at least. That is only a problem if some idiot makes gas over $4 a gallon nationally and diesel over $6 a gallon nationally.

Probably a good idea for the climate for gas and diesel to be more expensive. I see so many large lifted trucks used as commuter vehicles around here to truly believe that the fuel prices are too high for most people.

It wasn't that long ago that Democratic presidential candidates, including the future Vice President, supported shutting down most of domestic oil and natural gas production, which would have certainly driven prices much higher than they are now.

The issue at hand is that Trump fucked up royally with Iran. He had absolutely no plan and went in to the offensive without any idea how to end it, thinking it would end itself. This was over 6 months ago (back when they said this thing was almost over)! The gas prices are now no longer high, they are inflationary and global reserves are disappearing because Trump doesn't want to lose face. He says gasoline will drop immediately after the election, when if they don't change much with Iran, the US will be capitulating to Iran because the flattened reserves will follow a very notable increase in oil prices.

I do not think we should shut down or even hamstring domestic production, but we should discourage overconsumption via carbon taxes. I just wish Dems would have the balls to propose a carbon tax. Impact on working and middle class could be reduced by giving them (say anyone making <$100k) an annual or monthly voucher. Since there would not be a requirement to spend it a certain way, using less fuel - by getting a more fuel efficient vehicle, driving less, or simply driving in a more milage-conscious way, those people would have extra money in their pocket.

The GOP are the ones without any balls, not stopping the Iran nonsense, the tariffs, the fucking nonsense over the Gordie Howe bridge, his isolation of the US from our Allies, his pal'ing with Putin.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

It was a bigoted question. The same as you are doing here.

It's not a bigoted question given his ties to Islamist groups. Just because he is a Muslim does not mean we should not be able to question his ties with extremists. Especially when his position is that he does not want to support our ally in the case of attack by the islamofascists in Tehran.

Seeing the GOP en massse are stepping away from just about all of our allies, it seems odd you are concentrating on one candidate to be Senator and how he might feel about one of our allies.

Modern politics has proven that is all that matters some of the time. trump being a great example. And now that trump has proven to not uphold the policies he claimed he did perhaps his prior voters might consider someone else who espouses those policies.

Hopefully not. Populists from both sides are bad news for the country.

As a reminder, the GOP has a populist in the White House currently. The Democrats, if they win in '28 will likely have a US Senator or US State Governor, none of which who are populist.

 

[Elixir]

It was a bigoted question. The same as you are doing here.

It's not a bigoted question given his ties to Islamist groups. Just because he is a Muslim does not mean we should not be able to question his ties with extremists. Especially when his position is that he does not want to support our ally in the case of attack by the islamofascists in Tehran.

Seeing the GOP en massse are stepping away from just about all of our allies, it seems odd you are concentrating on one candidate to be Senator and how he might feel about one of our allies.

Modern politics has proven that is all that matters some of the time. trump being a great example. And now that trump has proven to not uphold the policies he claimed he did perhaps his prior voters might consider someone else who espouses those policies.

Hopefully not. Populists from both sides are bad news for the country.

As a reminder, the GOP has a populist in the White House currently. The Democrats, if they win in '28 will likely have a US Senator or US State Governor, none of which who are populist.

^ Why libberpublicans will vote for fascists

 

[TV and credit cards]

The strategic petroleum reserve is just under 40% (282.7 million barrels) of its capacity, the lowest since 1982.
Did you know, the practical safe operating level is between 250-300 million barrels. When the reserves get below this level, there is an increased risk of physical damage to the salt caverns and pumps that can cause the cavern walls to collapse. The absolute floor is 70 million barrels, this is when the extraction pipes stop sucking oil and start sucking brine.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Some were using equestrian medications for a parasite during Covid. No doubt they'd be fine with "sucking brine".

My car runs better on brine!

 

[ZiprHead]

This was inspired by a Ramaswami ad featuring Amy Acton's mother calling Acton a liar. Acton and her brother were removed from the mother's home at Acton's age 12. Both her and her brother have been estranged from their mother since then.

 

[Derec]

https://www.bridgedetroit.com/fact-check-abdul-el-sayed-muslim-brotherhood/

Yeah, this puff piece was already posted here. But even this article had to admit that AES was supportive of MB in Egypt.

Rogers and allies who have resurrected the Muslim Brotherhood claims this election cycle have pointed to a 2011 opinion column that El-Sayed wrote for HuffPost about a political revolution in Egypt.

In the piece, El-Sayed, then an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, urged the Obama administration to support protesters and downplayed concerns that “supporting democracy in Egypt might throw it to the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Even if that happened, the “ensuing state would look nothing like Iran,” he argued.

And the article glosses over the facts like that AES accepted funding from his MB father-in-law or that he spoke at an Islamist conference alongside supporters of terrorism. I talked about that before.

It also glosses over this fundraiser.
Abdul El-Sayed Fundraised Alongside School Principal Who Resigned for Defending ‘Intifada’ as T-Shirt Slogan and Gaza Flotilla Activist Who Has Described Thanksgiving as ‘National Day of Mourning’

I know, it's "Free Beacon", but they do have the fundraiser posters.

 

[Derec]

Something is a smear when it is irrelevant.

That is not part of the definition of "smear":

5. (transitive, derogatory) To damage someone's reputation by slandering, misrepresenting, or otherwise making false accusations about them, their statements, or their actions.
Synonyms: badmouth, besmirch, defame, sully, vilify; see also Thesaurus:defame
The opposition party attempted to smear the candidate by spreading incorrect and unverifiable rumors about their personal behavior.

"Slander", "misrepresenting" and "false accusations" all require a statement to be false in order for it to be smearing. Whether or not laughing dog considers it "relevant" is nowhere to be found.

And I do think it is relevant, as it sets the stage for his MB FIL funding his campaign and AES speaking at the Islamist conference that the FIL is affiliated with.

So?

You do not find him speaking at an Islamist conference a problem? A conference where other speakers made pro-terrorism statements?
It is really amazing to see how far off the deep end the western Left has gone that you are quite openly embracing Islamism.

They were leading the push for change against a repressive regime. As I understand it he did not support them for forming a gov’t.

He urged Obama to abandon Mubarak and support his overthrow. He is not an idiot - he knew that MB was in the strongest position to take power in such an event. Which is why he spent much of his HuffPo piece arguing that an MB-ruled Egypt would not be so bad. And btw, MB did take over Egypt with Mohammed Morsi, but it was rather short lived. And AES relativizing the dangers posed by MB must not be isolated from the fact that his family, including his mother and his father in law, are strong MB supporters.

Neo-Nazis are equivalent to the Muslim Brotherhood? Are you serious or just desperate to justify your bigotry?

Are you at all familiar with that group? It is not "bigotry" to be opposed to Islamist extremists.

His action is getting funded by Islamists affiliated with MB and speaking at an Islamist conference with MB ties.

So what.

So what? It means that he is affiliated with Islamism, i.e. the doctrine that Islamic principles should determine how a state is run.

Lookit you with the identity politics with idiotic “your ilk” and regurgitation of GOP propaganda. Your fear/hatred of Muslims is pitiable.

Islamism is a real threat to western societies. That is a fact. And reasonable fear is an evolved mechanism that is essential for survival. An animal that does not have a fear response to danger quickly becomes some predator's lunch.

I don’t care one jot about this candidate.

Then why do you bother posting about him? Especially when you are so woefully uninformed?

 

[Derec]

Why do you see Hamawy as an Islamist or a terrorist sympathizer?

We talked about that Islamist months ago, and yet you always forget.
Leading N.J. Dem congressional candidate Adam Hamawy volunteered with Al-Qaida-tied group in Bosnia

Adam Hamawy’s past relationship with terrorist mastermind Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman has loomed over his rapid rise in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).

Their relationship spanned a 1991 road trip the two took together to Detroit, Hamawy’s service as the sheikh’s translator for a press conference in which Abdel-Rahman denied any role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and Hamawy’s testimony on the sheikh’s behalf at his 1995 trial, where the Islamist leader was convicted of plotting to carry out a campaign of terrorist attacks in New York City.

But just one year before Hamawy took the witness stand to describe his travels with Abdel-Rahman, the now-Congressional candidate made a different journey with another party entangled in terrorist conspiracies: to Bosnia, with a group subsequently shut down for providing “logistical support” to Al-Qaida.

The "road trip ... to Detroit" was a 13 hour drive to an Islamist conference where he spoke about "conquering the land of the infidels".
Btw, I guess Detroit was the beachhead for Islamist colonization even back in the 1990s.

These days, he is spewing hatred of Israel. For example, he joined Hasan Piker on his stream, and was talking about how he does not want Israel to have the Iron Dome so that rockets shot by Hamas etc. can terrorize Israeli civilians better.

 

[Derec]

I believe the obvious implication is that the question was a “gotcha” attempt by a political apparatchik.

So what? That does not make the facts any better. Nor should it make AES any more palatable for atheists or any other secular people.

 

[Derec]

You've made it abundantly clear that unless Dr

"Dr". I was wondering about that. Whatsherface was mercilessly skewered for calling herself a "lawyer" when she graduated law school but had not passed the bar. MB Abdulrahman graduated med school, but never went to residency, which means that he is not licensed to practice medicine. Why isn't he hounded out of public life for calling himself a "doctor"?

El-Sayed personally beheads the leader of Hamas, you will always think he is a terrorist apologist.

Now you are just being ridiculous for the sake of being ridiculous. There is a large expanse between that and speaking at an Islamist conference. Or saying that US should not give Israel any support when attacked by AES' Islamist buddies.

 

[Derec]

The issue at hand is that Trump fucked up royally with Iran.

That is an issue, and Trump did fuck up royally. But I was speaking specifically about fuel prices and Dems' disingenuous fixation on them, as I had explained in some detail.

He had absolutely no plan and went in to the offensive without any idea how to end it, thinking it would end itself.

This much is true.

This was over 6 months ago (back when they said this thing was almost over)! The gas prices are now no longer high, they are inflationary and global reserves are disappearing because Trump doesn't want to lose face. He says gasoline will drop immediately after the election, when if they don't change much with Iran, the US will be capitulating to Iran because the flattened reserves will follow a very notable increase in oil prices.

I disagree with that. Fuel prices are high, but not as high as some people predicted. They are certainly not as high as they had been at some points in recent decades. I had posted this chart before.

As you can see, inflation-adjusted gasoline price was >$5/gal during most of 2005-2015 (it dipped low during the Great Recession) and also briefly during the early 80s (also because of Iran).
Furthermore, Iran is in a far worse position than the US. Their economy is in a freefall. Their currency is basically toilet paper, which is ironic because Muslims prefer bidets.
Capitulating to Iran would be the most idiotic thing US could do here.

The GOP are the ones without any balls, not stopping the Iran nonsense, the tariffs, the fucking nonsense over the Gordie Howe bridge, his isolation of the US from our Allies, his pal'ing with Putin.

All these issues are true (except Iran, as stopping the war the wrong way would be catastrophic, kind of like Walter Peck/Dickless shutting down power to the ghost containment), but it is completely unrelated to what I wrote about Democratic energy policies. Specifically what the candidates were saying last time there was a competitive Democratic presidential primary.