Gaza protests targeting the Democratic National Convention have so far proven to be smaller than expected, though still a significant show of force — and a curious contradiction, given they appear to be targeting the party that is relatively more intent on pursuing peace and Palestinian rights. But it's not an accident, former Republican speechwriter David Frum wrote for The Atlantic.
In fact, the most hardline of these protesters actively want former President Donald Trump to win — and not out of mindless nihilism. There is a strategic purpose to it.
"Of the two big parties, the Democrats are more emotionally sympathetic to Palestinian suffering," wrote Frum. "The Biden administration is working to negotiate the cease-fire that the pro-Palestinian camp claims to want. The administration has provided hundreds of millions of dollars of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza. President Joe Biden’s terms for ending the fighting in Gaza envision a rapid movement to full Palestinian statehood. By contrast, former President Donald Trump uses Palestinian as an insult. His administration moved the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and recognized Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights. In 2016, Trump campaigned on a complete shutdown of travel by Muslims into the United States; Trump now speaks of deporting campus anti-Israel protesters. He has pledged to block Gaza refugees from entering the United States."
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To understand why the protesters would want to tear down Democrats, then, wrote Frum, we must look to the 2000 election which saw Frum's old boss, President George W. Bush elected — possibly with an assist from the Green Party's Ralph Nader, who won more votes in a handful of states than Bush's margin of victory in them. Nader, he wrote, understood he was spoiling the election, and did it on purpose, saying, "You know when you’re told that you have nowhere to go, you get taken for granted. And when you get taken for granted, you get taken."
In other words, wrote Frum, the protesters believe if they can cost Vice President Kamala Harris the election, it ensures future Democrats will prioritize their demands.
Moreover, he wrote, while these protesters broadly get called "leftists" or "progressives," not all of them are, exactly — many are just singularly opposed to "American global hegemony," backing Hamas because it represents that opposition even while it is socially reactionary, anti-feminist, and anti-LGBTQ, and a Trump presidency could actively undermine America's power around the world, so it's barely even a sacrifice to them if Trump wins.
Furthermore, the big problem for these protesters, wrote Frum, is that "Their cause is not popular."
"Solid majorities of Americans accept Israel’s war in Gaza as valid and fiercely condemn the Hamas terrorist attacks as unacceptable ... From the point of view of any practical politician: If a cause is so unpopular that it cannot help its friends, why listen to its advocates?" he said.
So the only way they can push Democrats further toward their way of thinking is if Democrats believe ignoring them is at least as likely to cost them the election as ignoring voters who support Israel.
What all this means, he concluded, is that, "The protesters want chaos and even violence in order to defeat Harris and elect Trump. They are not ill-informed or excessively idealistic or sadly misled. They are not overzealous allies. They are purposeful adversaries. The Chicago convention delegates should recognize that truth, and act accordingly."
