Award-winning journalist now also on Substack: https://nitter.cf/t.co/DpPqjbeQKK Also in @iimag, @NYmag, @nytimes, @theinformation, @FortuneMagazine etc
New York
Joined March 2009
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Michelle Celarier retweeted
Left out of the #HaleyStevens news is the fact that in a 2022 Democratic primary, she, with big help from AIPAC, defeated an excellent, progressive (Jewish) Congressman named Andy Levin. @Andy_Levin theintercept.com/2022/08/02/…
Michelle Celarier retweeted
Dr. El-Sayed is a fighter for our American Constitution, he’s a fighter for our American Democracy, and he’s a fighter against the corrupt, lawless, and anti-American leadership currently in the White House. That’s why I’m in his corner 100%.
Bruce Springsteen
its the fiancé, as I suspected. I think that's what Anderson Cooper was trying to get at too
As Haley's friend, I can't be silent.
Yesterday morning, afternoon, and evening, I spoke with @HaleyforMI several times.
At 8:58 this morning, she told me she intended to remain silent.
I don't know what changed in the two hours that followed. I want to believe she was being truthful with me.
I've known her fiancé, Jason Turkish, for years. I respect him as a brilliant lawyer and advocate for disabled Americans.
But I have become deeply troubled by his behavior.
I've heard serious concerns about his treatment of Haley's staff, friends, and allies. My own experiences have only deepened those concerns.
It is painful to watch someone you care about go through something like this. It is even more painful to worry about the influence of those closest to her.
I don't know what happened this morning, and I won't pretend that I do.
Haley is my friend. I am deeply concerned for her well-being. She deserves dignity, independence, and the freedom to make her own decisions.
But at the end of the day, this is bigger than any one person or political controversy.
We cannot lose sight of the people affected by these decisions and this conduct: her constituents, her staff, her friends, and the people who have placed their trust in her.
They deserve respect, accountability, and answers, too.
Michelle Celarier retweeted
I won't be satisfied until Democrats have a veto-proof majority in both houses.
Michelle Celarier retweeted
At this point, American democracy is almost a tragedy…
Mike Rogers Campaign Spokesperson Is a Registered Agent for Israel, Documents Show
Abigail Ronson and Jesse Stokes have been working for the government of Israel since May and last October, respectively, while also working on the campaign of Mike Rogers for Senate.
dropsitenews.com/p/mike-roge…
Michigan is home to ~105,000 Jewish adults,
comprising 1.4% of the state's electorate. Why is Israel the biggest issue facing Michiganders? (Hint: It isn't.)
I don't think it's anyone's responsibility to save her from herself, but yeah, this is probably behind it (as I suspected in an earlier post.)
From a longtime Stevens ally:
“The consensus among her friends, colleagues and staff is that there needs to be an intervention to save Haley from her fiancé because, if you ignore the politics and focus on the personal dynamics, you are watching in real time what happens when a kind and smart - but deeply insecure - woman falls under the influence of a toxic and controlling - and deeply insecure - man.”
Michelle Celarier retweeted
What
🚨NEW from @DropSiteNews: Mike Rogers Campaign Spokesperson Is a Registered Agent for Israel, Documents Show
Abigail Ronson and Jesse Stokes have been working for the government of Israel since May and last October, respectively, while also working on the campaign of Mike Rogers for Senate.
By @JSweetLI
dropsitenews.com/p/mike-roge…
Opinion:
Why does someone betray her party, her friends, her colleagues and her constituents? My personal take on Haley Stevens is that this has nothing to do with Abdul El Sayed. She was simply afraid of losing her fiancé if she didn't endorse Republican Mike Rogers.
I write a lot of profiles, and I always try to get a peek into a person's psychology by looking at their past. So here goes. Haley is 43. Her parents divorced when she was a child, and she was raised by her mother. It doesn't seem like she had much of a relationship with her father. She did not get married until she was 38--to someone she knew in high school???? It lasted a year.
She now has another chance...but her fiancé is rabidly pro-Israel and Jewish, and I don't think the relationship would survive if she weren't willing to give up everything else she believes in for him and for Israel. (She will convert to Judaism, of course.) So it's not just about her dependence on AIPAC money. She is going to lose her seat in Congress and her Democratic Party friends and colleagues, but at least she'll be married and comfortable financially. If it lasts. If she is no longer useful to him, to Israel....who knows? I am skeptical.
Liberals are reluctant to believe that a modern, Western, woman--a Democrat!--would bend to her husband's will, and I may be called sexist for saying this. But she seems pretty desperate for male attention.
Michelle Celarier retweeted
I didn’t think it was possible to combine primary-loser-sour-grapes & Islamophobia into a more toxic cocktail than Andrew Cuomo. But Haley Stevens has managed to do it.
If she wants to betray civil rights, reproductive freedom, immigrant protections, and working families by endorsing Mike Rogers and trying to give control of the Senate to J.D. Vance and Donald Trump, I guess that's her business — but it’s appalling, oddly patronizing, and simply false to claim that it’s in the interest of Michigan’s Jewish communities.
Our safety comes from welcoming the stranger, fighting for universal human rights, and building pluralist democracy — not from endorsing neo-Nazi adjacent MAGA fanatics.
Fortunately, there’s a powerful response of solidarity and shared safety, that every Jewish & non-Jewish Michigander can do on Tuesday:
Vote for @AbdulElSayed
A little late, but thanks.
The end of centrist Democrats can't come soon enough.
Pro-Israel Democrat Haley Stevens has endorsed Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers and is appearing with him at an event in Detroit, helping Trump's bid to retain control of the Senate.
Let's be clear about what this is and what it isn't.
This is not something fundamentally new.
Rather, it is a more open manifestation of a reality that has existed for a long time: Centrist Democrats have always been more comfortable with even the most pro-war, neocon Republicans than they have been with progressive Democrats who question American militancy and blind support for Israel.
Everyone in DC knows the personal proximity between figures like Jake Sullivan and Lindsey Graham, for instance. (Read Akbar Shahid's book if you're not in the know)
Even before October 7, the Biden team treated progressives with disdain on foreign policy and expected them to blindly follow Biden, just as Biden blindly followed Israel. To be fair, some progressive shops also fell for the line that any criticism of Biden would ultimately help Trump and, as a result, engaged in a lot of self-defeating self-censorship.
The silver lining of Haley Stevens taking off the mask of centrist Democrats may be that the reckoning within the party, deferred for so long, may finally happen.
Michelle Celarier retweeted
New: The Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party says:
“Congresswoman Stevens is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future.”
zeteo.com/p/breaking-haley-s…
I don't see people rushing to Predict.org to bet that @AbdulElSayed will be defeated. He's still far and away the bettors' choice. predictit.org
Worth reading ⬇
I spoke with Haley Stevens yesterday.
Feeling a bit absurd in pointing out the obvious and being far kinder than I should have been, I reminded her that the outcome of this senate race will be viewed in the light of a future Supreme Court vacancy, and I expressed a hope that all of us understand the stakes.
She assured me she's supporting Dr. El-Sayed, sent me a video of a recent speech she gave blasting Mike Rogers and said this: "Still stands. I promise."
She also said she's been sending this video to other folks to make it clear where she stands on this race.
Again: that was yesterday.
I have known Haley Stevens for years. I have counted her as a friend and an ally. We've had many thoughtful conversations about this country, and she has never failed to remind me that her mother is a fan of my writing.
Whatever other political differences we have, she has always made it clear to me she would stand with LGBTQ people. It was a red line she refused to cross.
Instead, she has made the inexplicable decision to endorse a man who views LGBTQ Americans as second-class citizens unworthy of full equality.
I can't help but wonder what her mother must be thinking right now.
I have no idea what has happened to the person I thought I knew, but clearly, she has completely taken leave of her senses in endorsing a Republican who is little more than a Trump sycophant -- less than 24 hours after promising me that she has not wavered from the bigger picture.
I am disgusted with her cynicism and cowardice in this moment. God forgive me for trusting her.
If you're a Michigan voter and as disgusted as I am, get to your polling place and vote for Dr. El-Sayed.
