El-Sayed’s ad blaming Israel for grocery prices is totally antisemitic— and look who funded it!

THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?

SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).

A political action committee supporting Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed released a grocery-store ad connecting high prices to American aid to Israel.
Rep. Haley Stevens, whom El-Sayed defeated in the Senate primary, condemned the ad as fearmongering, while Jewish organizations criticized its message.
El-Sayed’s campaign distanced itself from the ad, saying the PAC was not affiliated with the campaign.

LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has a new campaign headache, courtesy of the people supposedly trying to help him win.

And they’ve managed to turn a trip to the supermarket into an international incident.

Rebellion PAC, the organization founded by progressive commentator Cenk Uygur, released an advertisement portraying shoppers struggling to afford groceries while connecting their financial problems to American assistance for Israel.

In one scene, a woman tells her companion to save seven dollars “for killing Palestinians.” Good grief. Most Americans go grocery shopping hoping to find eggs under three dollars. These activists apparently expect the checkout clerk to solve Middle East foreign policy.

The commercial attacks Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers over his support for Israel. Rep. Haley Stevens, whom El-Sayed defeated in the Democratic primary, slammed the messaging as fearmongering.

The Anti-Defamation League and other critics argued that it invokes antisemitic stereotypes by blaming Israel for Americans’ economic troubles. Uygur defended the ad as legitimate criticism of foreign assistance and Israeli policy.

Then came the response that probably hurt the PAC’s feelings most: El-Sayed’s campaign wanted nothing to do with it. A representative said the ad “is not affiliated in any way” with the campaign. Spokesperson Roxie Richner added, “No one speaks for Abdul but himself and his campaign.”

There’s a campaign slogan you won’t see on a bumper sticker: Please stop helping us.

The grocery-price claims deserve scrutiny too. The New York Post reported that the egg and banana price figures examined in its coverage did not support the ad’s implication about increases since the Iran war began.

El-Sayed already faces a nationally watched Michigan Senate contest, with Trump attacking him and Obama campaigning on his behalf. Now his political allies have handed his opponents an ad that Democrats are criticizing.

The distinction between a PAC’s independent expenditure and the campaign’s own message is important: El-Sayed did not make this ad. But candidates can spend an awful lot of time answering for the enthusiasm of their supposed friends.