No question about it, the big story this week is Abdul El-Sayed’s massive victory that makes him the Dem nominee for the Senate. The Michigander faced Islamophobic and red-scare campaigns from his right (and an opponent with extensive AIPAC funding) that were ultimately unsuccessful in keeping El-Sayed from the big win. With Current Affairs’ Nathan J. Robinson, we talk about it and about its significance for the future of the left. Watch below!

When working-class people express discontent with the status quo and look to their representatives to fight for them in Washington, the usual answer from mainstream Democrats, if there’s any response at all, is a lecture: You’re just not appreciating what we’ve done for you! Whether the issue (as it so often is) is affordable healthcare, housing, childcare, an economy that only works for the rich, we’re used to scolding from the Petes, Hillarys, and Schumers of the world, pointing out the ingratitude of daring to want more. So when a candidate like Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed wins a Dem primary despite massive hurdles like slander campaigns and AIPAC-funded opponents, it’s a powerful message of hope that voters believe they can ask for more. El-Sayed’s victory this week reflects the success of a principled leftist running on addressing “kitchen-table issues,” as Nathan puts it. His win will fuel the battle for Medicare for All that he’s centered in his campaign. It will also show leftists and progressives that voters are tired of the establishment, that the party has abandoned them, and that those voters aren’t going to go for what Trump is trying to sell them.

We also discuss the playbook of Islamophobic and red-scare messaging that El-Sayed’s opponents went for. Republican nominee Mike Rogers could not have been more clear when he called El-Sayed a terrorist and claimed his opponent supported 9/11. So a big conversation point for us is how El-Sayed can respond and fight back against these bigoted attacks. As Rogers’ comments show, those attacks often include threats to El-Sayed himself. First of all, Republicans who dare make claims that El-Sayed supports Al-Qaeda ought to hear the call coming from inside the house, given that Trump pardoned a guy who laundered money for Al-Qaeda. Looking at the bigger picture, El-Sayed is a leftist who can actually tap into the kind of public attention given to his political opposite, Trump: that is, smear campaigns that turn the camera on him only end up giving air time to his extremely compelling and well-articulated arguments for the policies working people actually want. AIPAC would rather have Mike Rogers in the seat we hope Abdul El-Sayed will clinch in November. But the more opportunities El-Sayed has to get his message out to the people, the better chance he has of winning, because, as we saw this week, people want to hear what he has to say. And speaking of getting the message out there, of course, we have the pleasure of discussing all of this, plus the role of independent left media with Nathan, who founded and is editor-in-chief of Current Affairs. He’s the perfect guest, and he’s joined us for a wide-ranging conversation that we very much hope you’ll enjoy.

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