The warning voters should hear before Election Day

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Support our nonprofit journalism]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     October 10, 2024 Can you imagine running an entire town while actively fielding desperate messages from family members trying to escape death? This heavy burden against a demoralizing political background that seems to think of you as a mere pawn, all while the powers that be completely misunderstand the issues you and your constituents care about? For Dearborn, Michigan, Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, [this is his daily scenario](. My colleague Najib Aminy recently caught up with Hammoud to discuss what he and many Dearborn residents say amounts to a betrayal by the Democratic Party over the Biden administration's lockstep support of Israel's war in Gaza. The result is [an incredibly moving conversation]( and a fiery one that, for me, encapsulated the righteous anger of a community devastated by scenes of mass death. I particularly appreciated Hammoud's warning to those who may be inclined to blame his constituents [should the election go a certain way](: The conundrum is real, but ultimately what I keep pushing back on is it’s not this community that has to move in its values and principles and any issues that it’s taken a stance on. It’s the candidates who have to move...Don’t blame the constituency if it doesn’t come out. If they don’t come out, you need to look in the mirror and ask yourself: What did you do wrong? Where did you fall short? What policy positions did you take that are not popular? And what position did you take that was absolutely morally wrong? Professor Ruha Benjamin had a [strikingly similar response]( when I spoke with her last week amid an ongoing investigation into her pro-Palestinian support: Such a backlash would be misplaced and perverse. Rather than looking to those who are trying to push the Democratic Party to live up to its ideals, we should be looking to the party itself and its own shortfalls: funding an unpopular war, occupation, and genocide. With less than a month out from the election, I sincerely hope we keep these thoughts close—regardless of who wins. —Inae Oh Advertisement [Shirley Chisholm in Her Own Words]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [The Most Prominent Historian of Palestine on What the Last Year Has Meant]( Professor Rashid Khalidi on Israel’s growing wars in the Middle East and the United States’ complicity in them BY NOAH LANARD MOTHER JONES MEMBERSHIP UPDATE   DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY You’re a Mother Jones Daily reader, so you know the stakes and you know reporting like ours matters so freaking much in the month ahead (and beyond). About that: We need [the support of our newsletter readers like never before]( to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We urgently need all hands on deck. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field. Please help with a donation if you can—even just a few bucks helps. A [monthly gift]( would be incredible. [Donate Now]( [Trending] [The fate of undocumented youth now sits with a notoriously right-wing court]( BY ISABELA DIAS   [Yes, you can fight for abortion from home]( BY JULIA MÉTRAUX   [Tim Walz is right: The Electoral College should be abolished]( BY ARI BERMAN   [Thou shalt run for office: Ohio pastor obeys the 11th Commandment]( BY SARAH SZILAGY Advertisement [Shirley Chisholm in Her Own Words]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [Newport was used to billionaires. Then Stephen Schwarzman came to town.]( The private equity mogul's extreme mansion makeover is driving his neighbors nuts. BY HANNAH LEVINTOVA Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755