Current Events > Democrat challenging Biden holds insanely normal town hall

(+) Yeah! (+)

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) says he will host 119 town halls in his long-shot primary challenge against President Biden. If the reception at his first is any indication of the next potential 118, the nascent campaign faces an even steeper uphill battle for the nomination than expected as a little-known congressman challenging an incumbent president.

Speaking in a theater here less than a week after announcing his campaign, Phillips faced screaming and profanity from voters disappointed in his response to a question on a cease-fire in the Middle East. He was accused of gaslighting the lone Black woman in attendance, who was escorted out of the event but not before a handful of other attendees walked out of the room.

The tense moment reflects the impassioned debate and nuanced positions within the Democratic Party over the Israel-Gaza war and underscored the question of whom exactly Phillips hopes to appeal to with his campaign. Though many Democrats express a desire for an alternative to Biden, it is unclear if Phillips is the candidate they are looking for. The Minnesota congressman confronted the tough realities of being a late and little-known entrant to the presidential race while seeking to find a rhythm on the trail at the town hall, which like his campaign launch was unusual.

At the Rex Theatre, Phillipss crowd was small and appeared to be largely made up of staff members, family and friends. The atmospherics were atypical a loud live musical performance featuring his singing wife kicked off the event, followed by three separate introductory videos one of which included bizarre commentary on his old haircut and a visibly prominent security presence.

Around an hour into the meandering town hall here Wednesday, 23-year-old Democrat Atong Chan rose to ask Phillips to support a cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza war.

Phillips blinked rapidly as Chan asked her question, and then began his response by turning around the question to ask her about how she feels about the Israelis killed by Hamas in the conflict.

Im going to answer each of your questions, but I have to tell you, I took note that you didnt mention how do you feel about the Israeli babies? And moms and dads and grandmas and hostages in Gaza who were brutally murdered? I just want to hear, before I answer your question, if that empathy is across humanity or only for Palestinians right now? Phillips responded to Chan, a Manchester resident.

He interrupted before she replied, I am completely empathetic to them.

Phillips repeatedly invoked his multiple visits to Israel in the past year and his role as the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Affairs subcommittee focused on the Middle East, and told Chan, You and I are the same. Though he said he was horrified and disgusted when I see Palestinians slaughtered, and denounced Hamas as an enemy of both Israel and Palestinians, he did not answer her follow-up questions about why he is not calling for a cease-fire.

At one point, he pointed in defense to his friendship with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian American member of the House and one of several House Democrats calling for a cease-fire: I care deeply about Palestinian lives. Rashida Tlaib, my Palestinian sister, is my friend. Im her Jewish brother.

Phillips and Chan then debated whether she was being antagonistic, and when she said she hoped he would change his position on the cease-fire, the event devolved into a shouting match.

Theyre U.S. bombs; thats the f---ing problem, chimed in a man from across the room. A person seated in the same row as Chan shouted out that Phillips had not answered her question, and said, You just gaslit her instead, before getting up and walking out of the event.

I gaslit? Phillips asked, as more voices chimed in, You did, before Chan was escorted out of the town hall by three staffers. She accused Phillips of not caring about Gazan children, and he again turned around the issue to focus on Israelis.

But the question of a cease-fire continued to haunt Phillips after Chans exit. A Black man one of only a few at the event asked if white-supremacist and hate groups should be categorized as terrorists, to which Phillips responded, Those are terrorists, 100 percent. The man then asked if that means bombs should be dropped on states such as Alabama to eradicate said groups, to which Phillips responded that Ku Klux Klan is different from Hamas and again challenged attendees, saying they had not asked about the welfare of Israelis.

Another woman sounded as if she might cry when she asked how killing Palestinians is making what happened to Israelis better and if there were no other solutions to the conflict. Phillips again responded with a query, asking the two questioners for their ideas on how to fix the situation. He again returned to the idea that Israeli babies are also important a stance none of the questioners disputed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/02/dean-phillips-town-hall-new-hampshire/

Oof

I think the problem is a lot of people wanted a progressive alternative to Biden but all the progressives chickened out of primarying him. Only moderates are bothering, but there isn't much of an audience for them since Biden is also moderate, just less so. So now we see Phillips getting badgered by the people wondering why the only dude primarying Biden is even worse than him.

I for one can't wait for 118 more examples of that

I'm not saying that went well, but that sounds like a very difficult challenge to kick off any sort of campaign. I'm not sure any politician vying for the democratic party ticket would have handled that well.

Antifar posted...

support a cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza war.

Is there a specific thing people generally mean by that? As in telling Israel to do a ceasefire? Supporting one of Hamas and Israel wanted one?

what avenue does he think he has if hes too spineless to diverge with Biden on the most openly contentious thing hes currently doing

Antifar posted...

Another woman sounded as if she might cry when she asked how killing Palestinians is making what happened to Israelis better and if there were no other solutions to the conflict. Phillips again responded with a query, asking the two questioners for their ideas on how to fix the situation.

Phillips, bro. You're the one campaigning for President here. The solutions should be coming out of your mouth.

Not that it needs to be said but this dude's campaign is dead in the water.

I really don't even know what this guy is trying to accomplish

"I'm not Biden" seems to be his only argument

So does this guy just suck?

Forty_Niners posted...

So does this guy just suck?

Yeah, but maybe he'll do something useful if this Israel stuff just absolutely causes him so much embarrassment he has to slink out of politics. That might be a wakeup call for some other Democratic "moderates" who put Israel above the US.

HylianFox posted...

I really don't even know what this guy is trying to accomplish

"I'm not Biden" seems to be his only argument

His argument is that Biden is too old.

Inohira posted...

His argument is that Biden is too old.

Potayto
Potahto

Though I suppose it hardly matters, if it comes down to voting for this guy or Trump I'm definitely not voting Trump

Of course, Biden wasn't exactly my first choice either (I voted Buttigieg)

Why is no one asking me about my stated position on Israeli children and only asking about my ambiguous stance on Palestinian children?

What a dick. Theres no way anyone is going to say this is better than Biden. Biden at least called for a cease fire, a humanitarian pause, which is the lowest of bars to clear.

I'm not sure what the point of primarying him is.. if you're just going to be a clone of him?

But the question of a cease-fire continued to haunt Phillips
after Chans exit. A Black man one of only a few at the event asked
if white-supremacist and hate groups should be categorized as
terrorists, to which Phillips responded, Those are terrorists, 100
percent. The man then asked if that means bombs should be dropped on
states such as Alabama to eradicate said groups, to which Phillips
responded that Ku Klux Klan is different from Hamas and again challenged
attendees, saying they had not asked about the welfare of Israelis.

HA! Man, these politicians are like automatons.

Some people would argue that we should be dropping bombs on Alabama...

"The KKK are different!"

[Insert Thor face here]

At the Rex Theatre, Phillipss crowd was small and appeared to be largely made up of staff members, family and friends. The atmospherics were atypical a loud live musical performance featuring his singing wife kicked off the event, followed by three separate introductory videos one of which included bizarre commentary on his old haircut

Were they responsible for the "screaming and profanity" or were they the ones who "walked out"?

emblem-man posted...

Is there a specific thing people generally mean by that? As in telling Israel to do a ceasefire? Supporting one of Hamas and Israel wanted one?

A legit call for a ceasefire is condemning the conflict outright. It's shitty to take sides between two groups that seek ethnic cleaning.

Inohira posted...

I think the problem is a lot of people wanted a progressive alternative to Biden but all the progressives chickened out of primarying him. Only moderates are bothering, but there isn't much of an audience for them since Biden is also moderate, just less so. So now we see Phillips getting badgered by the people wondering why the only dude primarying Biden is even worse than him.

All the moderates and center right people hear from corporate media is "both sides" and "the extremes on both sides" and a lot of institutional and moneyed reinforcement of their positions from the members of the press they share class interests with.

Torgo posted...

All the moderates and center right people hear from corporate media is "both sides" and "the extremes on both sides" and a lot of institutional and moneyed reinforcement of their positions from the members of the press they share class interests with.

Yeah. I'd sure like to know what these "extreme views" of the Democratic Party are. Wanting background checks for buying guns? Women's bodily autonomy? Maintaining separation between church and state? To stop holding people in Guantanamo indefinitely without trial?

mistymermaid posted...

Yeah. I'd sure like to know what these "extreme views" of the Democratic Party are. Wanting background checks for buying guns? Women's bodily autonomy? Maintaining separation between church and state? To stop holding people in Guantanamo indefinitely without trial?

All extreme. Communist, socialist, Marxist, whatever other ist talk that is.