Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

Among the things Abdul El-Sayed, who is running in the Michigan primary as a Democrat in a bid to take retiring Sen. Gary Peters’s seat, wants is Medicare for All and affordable housing.

Those are two good things. But there’s one thing about those two things that El-Sayed doesn’t address. Both cost money. Lots of money.

Where is the money going to come from? Some cockamamie “tax the Rich” scheme that won’t get passed and would be highly unlikely to generate enough to support either of those two?

His opponent is Haley Stevens, who is currently in the House, representing Oakland County. Oakland County is a suburban area north of Detroit that is the home to the headquarters of an array of companies including Stellantis North America, Penske Corporation, Kelly Services, and PulteGroup (yes, that Pulte).

While El-Sayed TV ads have him saying ICE needs to be abolished, Stevens’ ads show a clip of Barack Obama saying she was a key part of his Auto Rescue Task Force.

El-Sayed emphasizes the importance of getting dark money out of politics.

Stevens talks about investing in manufacturing.

So if we go back to what El-Sayed wants — Medicare for All and affordable housing — then it is probably the investment in manufacturing that is going to make that happen.

Rhetoric can be energizing. Paychecks pay the bills. And for many Americans, the latter is a hell of a lot more important than the former. El-Sayed has the endorsements of the trifecta of the Democratic progressive wing: Bernie Sanders (yes, he is technically an independent. . .who ran twice in an attempt to get the Democratic nomination for president), Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Stevens has Peters, Jim Clyburn, and Chuck Schumer, which is not exactly an advanced triumvirate.

The campaign the two are waging is considered one of the most expensive in Michigan history — and remember, this is a primary.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side, Mike Rogers — who was in the House from 2001 to 2015 -- is running unopposed in the primary.

In the 2024 election Rogers ran for Senate against Democrat Elissa Slotkin and lost by some 19,000 votes.

Rogers runs a TV ad in which his wife holds forth about the normalcy of the Rogers family, pointing out that she once worked at Burger King. Yes, plenty of people worked at places like that in their teens: she’s now 56, so this seems to have little relevance to anything. (I once worked in a factory as a janitor and I don’t know how that matters to my august role here at The Hustings.)

But Rogers can afford to say little.

The pitched battle between El-Sayid and Stevens is working to Rogers’s advantage.

It is thought the rancor between the two Dems will result in the cohort of voters whose candidate lost won’t vote in November and Rogers will win.

So, the question is whether the Dems should mount mainstream candidates or those who tilt way to the left.

If they want to win, then the out to opt for the mainstream.

Consider: about 45% of voters in the US identify as being independents.

Among the independents Donald Trump, who is certainly well out of the mainstream in his actions, statements, behaviors, and dance moves, has an approval rating of 26%.

Candidates who focus on things like jobs and bringing down prices are the ones who are going to win seats. 

Legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act, passed by the Biden Administration in 2022 to strengthen the US semiconductor industry, something Stevens was a solid supporter of, may not be as appealing as Medicare for All, but consider this: The US debt is currently $39.5 trillion, up from $35.95 trillion when Trump went into office. 

Democrats have to stand for making our industries competitively stronger (not protected by absurd tariffs that do nothing but make prices higher for American consumers) because the way things are going, the country is running out of money to pay for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, Somehow adding more to the tab doesn’t seem to be a very good idea, and odds are voters who are struggling with rising grocery, gas, housing, and other prices understand that.

Yes, there are plenty of Democrats who are agitated by what Donald Trump has done. But to undo it it will take some serious, hard work, not sloganeering.

The Democratic Party was originally built on blue collar workers, the men and women who do the jobs that many of us would prefer not even thinking about. Supporting that ethic once again is what matters if the Dems want to win.

Macaulay is The Hustings’ pundit-at-large.

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