OPINION:
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, is desperate for Black support.
He is doing poorly with several traditional Democratic constituencies. Jewish voters are dismayed by his attacks on Israel — he has even gone so far as to question the country’s right to exist — and his family’s apparent ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Black voters overwhelmingly supported Mr. El-Sayed’s opponent in the Democratic primary, Rep. Haley Stevens. His Republican opponent in the general election, former Rep. Mike Rogers, says, “Abdul El-Sayed cares more about West Gaza than the West Side of Detroit.”
People were interested in these podcasts
Mr. El-Sayed brought in former President Barack Obama and failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris to stump for him.
The candidate dined at a soul food restaurant in Saginaw, Michigan, where he had fried chicken with a side order of pandering. Mr. El-Sayed embraces reparations for slavery.
Will he pay them, though? Arab merchants were an integral part of the slave trade. They went into the interior of Africa to buy captives from tribal chiefs and brought them to the coast for the slave ships.
Reparations are based on collective guilt. The theory holds that taxpayers who had nothing to do with an institution that ended 161 years ago must bestow their wealth on individuals whose great-great-grandparents were not even alive at the time of slavery.
This raises questions for individuals of mixed racial heritage, such as Mr. Obama and Ms. Harris: Would they essentially be taking money out of one pocket and putting it into another?
At some point in history, almost every group has been both a victim and a victimizer. Will we compensate American Indians for the tribal land taken from their ancestors? Will descendants of the Normans compensate descendants of the Saxons? Will Danes pay for the depredations of the Vikings? Will the Egyptians make amends for the Hebrew slave labor used to build the pyramids?
The Black community needs economic opportunities and better public services.
Mr. El-Sayed was once in favor of defunding the police. President Trump has provided unprecedented job opportunities for Black Americans, especially in construction and factory work.
It was Mr. El-Sayed’s Democratic Party that fought to defend slavery in the 19th century and segregation in the 20th century. Mr. Rogers’ Republican Party opposed both.
Perhaps Republicans should be exempt from paying for reparations while Democrats carry the entire burden.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.