The far-left are no more American democracy’s ally than the far-right

While the unhinged beliefs of the Trumpist cult represent the graver danger to American democracy, the irrational passions of the radicalized left also constitute a threat.

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., recently gave a demonstration.

At a gathering of the People’s Conference for Palestine, Tlaib declared that those aggrieved by President Joe Biden’s support of Israel should not vote for him for reelection.

She was more subtle than that, but her intent was clear: “It is disgraceful that the Biden administration and my colleagues in Congress continue to smear (anti-Israel demonstrators) for protesting to save lives no matter faith or ethnicity.

… But we’re not gonna forget in November, are we?”

The first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress, Tlaib — along with U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. — has made a career of reckless rhetoric that stokes divisions. The House voted to censure her in November for remarks she had made about the Israel-Hamas war. Of course, the censure vote was prompted by a Republican and was largely along partisan lines, with only 22 Democrats voting for the measure.

But that just proves that Tlaib’s opposition to Biden is incredibly irrational.

Even an abstention in the presidential column on the November ballot is a vote for Trump, since Biden will need every vote he can muster. And Trump, like the majority of Republicans in Congress, will support Israel and its right-wing government wholeheartedly — without any of the reservations that Biden has uttered. At a recent fundraiser, Trump told donors that he will crush the demonstrations on college campuses and deport any foreign student who participated.

So Tlaib has instructed her allies to bolster Trump, who will then attempt to destroy the pro-Palestinian movement. Her reaction is that of a toddler who is furious that she can’t get her way and bangs her head against a wall, hurting herself.

The same can be said of the young TikTok influencers who are furious with Biden, over both Israel’s assault on Gaza and Biden’s threat to ban Tik-Tok if its Chinese owner refuses to sell it. (There is bipartisan support for such a ban because of threats to national security.) According to the Los Angeles Times, “more than a fifth of the top left-leaning creators on TikTok posted explicitly anti-Biden content.” According to one of those young creators, Kahlil Greene, “It’s astonishing and, like, actually something hard — to make Trump have a viable path to becoming president again.” But he and his ilk are doing it anyway.

What’s actually astonishing is their failure to grasp the dire threat that Trump represents to American democracy as we know it. It’s certainly understandable that so many progressives are dismayed by Israel’s indiscriminate bombings in Gaza, but the desire to punish Biden — by allowing Trump another round of power — is crazy. The Trumpists have no compassion for the suffering civilians in Gaza. Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations, wrote “Finish Them!” on an Israeli artillery shell during a recent trip there.

If Greene doesn’t understand those dynamics, Tlaib should. After all, she serves in Congress. Her job is to advocate for her constituents and to vote for the person or legislative package that comes closest to representing those interests. No member of Congress should expect to leverage power through demands. Compromise is necessary in a vibrant democracy; it keeps the wheels of government turning. It is not at all clear what Tlaib hopes to accomplish by bolstering support for someone whose views are antithetical to hers and those of her constituents.

The reactionary Trumpists in Congress also believe that they should get exactly what they want — without compromise.

That’s why the GOP-dominated House has trouble electing a speaker, and why Speaker Mike Johnson, who gained the position after a multiday, four-ballot election, now finds his tenure threatened. The unruly right-wing caucus is angry because he pushed through military funding for Ukraine, which they don’t like.

The irrational far-left doesn’t have nearly as much clout, but they are trying hard to imitate the far-right. Neither side seems to care for democracy.

Cynthia Tucker won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2007. She can be reached at cynthia@cynthiatucker.com.