The Commentary Magazine Podcast

Episode: Mourning in Michigan
Date: March 31, 2026
Participants:

• John Podhoretz (Host, Editor of Commentary)
• Abe Greenwald (Executive Editor)
• Seth Mandel (Senior Editor)
• Eliana Johnson (Editor, Washington Free Beacon)
• Christine Rosen (AEI Fellow, Social Commentary Columnist)

Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the explosive developments in the Michigan Democratic Senate primary, centering around a leaked campaign recording of Abdul El Sayed and its larger implications for the Democratic Party, Michigan’s political landscape, and the normalization of radical positions regarding Israel, Iran, and anti-Semitism within American politics. The conversation also expands to a trenchant critique of campaign rhetoric about “dark money,” the demonization of AIPAC, protest culture in modern America, and ends with a reflection on Jewish history through the lens of the Nuremberg Trials and Passover.

Key Topics and Discussion Points

1. The Michigan Senate Race: Scandal and Implications

The Free Beacon’s Story on Abdul El Sayed

• Eliana Johnson recounts (01:25–05:41) the leaked recording featuring Democratic candidate Abdul El Sayed, who refused to comment on the Ayatollah’s death during the Iran War, saying, "there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad" and devising a strategy to deflect tough questions to Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein:

  Quote: “I’m just going to go straight to pedophilia, frankly. I’ll just be like, pedophile president decides that he doesn’t like the front page news, so he decides to take us into another war.” — (Seth Mandel relaying El Sayed’s remarks, 02:41)

• Seth Mandel (05:41) frames the core issues:

  • The radicalization of the Democratic base
  • Open media manipulation (Epstein as deflection)
  • El Sayed's public response: focusing on process (alleged illegal recording) and further redirecting to Trump and the Iran war, still avoiding the Ayatollah topic.

The Evolution of the "Squad" and Radical Candidacies

• Eliana Johnson (05:41–07:27) highlights how radical Democratic candidates, unlike the first “Squad”, now openly express views with less caution, expecting minimal scrutiny by mainstream media:

  “Now, however, there’s both more willingness to just say the terrible thing...and also a lot more stupidity in the sense of when he’s confronted, doing exactly the thing that he was reported on, having done behind the scenes in front of everyone.” — (Eliana Johnson, 06:05)

The Voter Dynamics in Dearborn

• Seth Mandel (12:36–14:53) describes Dearborn’s unique political landscape:
  • Notably, a significant portion voted for Trump over Kamala Harris due to perceptions of her being pro-Israel.
  • Dearborn’s Muslim plurality further complicates calculations for Democratic candidates trying to appeal to both radical and mainstream voters.

The Perils for the Democratic Party

• Christine Rosen (20:21) and John Podhoretz (15:52, 24:37) speculate on long-term impacts:
  • The Michigan Senate seat is critical for Democratic control in the Senate.
  • Radical positions may be palatable in a primary, but fatal in a general election.
  • The newly exposed expectation on the left: silence or ambiguity on matters of terrorism/anti-Semitic attacks.

2. The Role and Weaponization of “Dark Money” & Demonization of AIPAC

Tom Steyer’s Tweet and the Irony of Dark Money Claims

• John Podhoretz (29:44–33:08) and Eliana Johnson (31:29) dissect Tom Steyer’s statement that “AIPAC is a dark money organization,” noting Steyer himself is America’s biggest single political donor—$800 million in two cycles:

  “The irony of saying AIPAC is foreign influence, but all the dark money spent on the left, which indeed is funded by a foreign billionaire, is not. Is absurd.” — (Eliana Johnson, 32:12)

• Christine Rosen (33:08) offers a sharp, controversial point:

  “There’s an attempt to redefine dark money to mean money from Jews. That is what is happening here.” — (Christine Rosen, 33:08)

• The group reiterates that “dark money” is being weaponized as a rhetorical tool against pro-Israel/Jewish donors with dog whistles reminiscent of anti-Semitic tropes.

Doxxing and Intimidation

• Podhoretz (34:20–36:20) explains the real-world fallout:
  • Doxxing of donors and Jewish university regents in Michigan is intended as intimidation/deterrence, echoing darker periods of American protest history.

Metaphors and Historical Parallels

• Podhoretz (37:24–40:17): "Dark money," as applied to Jews, deliberately evokes “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” language—secretive, cabalistic influence leading to violence—planting seeds for normalization of antisemitism in political discourse.

• Quote: “Dark money is kabbalistic Protocols of the Elders of Zion language, period…when you use that kind of terminology about Jews, it has a very, very specific valence that is unlike any other valence.” — (John Podhoretz, 37:59)

3. Broader Reflections: Political Norms, Protest Culture, and the Rise of Extremes

The “Permission Structure” for Extremism

• Eliana Johnson (40:17) invokes commentator Noah Rothman to explain how normalization of fringe ideas enables violence and intimidation:

  “It allows a permission structure…for lone wolf attackers, everyday antisemites, people who don’t know much but fall down rabbit holes…it gives them all a lot more freedom of movement.” — (Eliana Johnson, 40:31)

Primary Processes, Electoral Behavior, and “Purity Tests”

• Abe Greenwald (21:47) and John Podhoretz (24:37) discuss how purity tests in modern primaries prevent candidates from moderating, further entrenching radical rhetoric and candidates.
• "Etch-a-Sketch" politics—once common, shifting from primary to general strategies—have been eroded by demands for unbending ideological purity.

Antisemitism as a Mechanism, Not Just an Atmosphere

• Christine Rosen (44:09): Traditional American dystopia novels (Sinclair Lewis, Philip Roth) don’t imagine antisemitism as the main mechanism for authoritarianism. The panel worries that, currently, it may be precisely that.

The “Fascist” Label and Trump

• Podhoretz (45:08–48:26) questions the popular “Trump=authoritarian” claim:
  • Trump, while problematic in many ways, has been markedly pro-Israel, not anti-Semitic in policy.
  • Most anti-Jewish rhetoric/actions seem to be originating from the current left, not the right, challenging normative historical models for how authoritarianism arises.

4. Final Section: Passover, Jewish Survival, and Cultural Recommendations

The Nuremberg Trials & Reflection on Jewish History

• Eliana Johnson (50:30–52:22) recommends the Netflix film “Nuremberg,” highlighting the interaction between legal and psychological approaches to post-Holocaust justice.

• Podhoretz and the group reflect on the making and impact of the original Nuremberg trial footage:

  “He [George Stevens] came back. He never made a comedy again…His days as a kind of boulevardier were over because he had seen something no human being should ever have had to have seen.” — (John Podhoretz, 56:26)

Connections to Passover and Jewish Continuity

• Podhoretz closes (57:43):

  “…We are still telling the story today in the miracle of miracles that remains the fact of Jewish history. A history that. That should not be here. We should not be here. There’s no reason outside of supernatural or providential reasons for this tiny tribe to have survived over these millennia.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote/Highlight | |-----------|---------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:41 | Seth Mandel | “I’m just going to go straight to pedophilia, frankly. I’ll just be like, pedophile president…” | | 06:05 | Eliana Johnson| “Now…there’s more willingness to just say the terrible thing…and a lot more stupidity…” | | 20:21 | Christine Rosen| “…People are dangerously less compelled to say, whoa, stop, this is not normal…” | | 24:37 | John Podhoretz| “…Primary purity test has…interfered with that [moderation] process.” | | 32:12 | Eliana Johnson| “The irony of saying AIPAC is foreign influence…but all the dark money spent on the left…is absurd.”| | 33:08 | Christine Rosen| “There’s an attempt to redefine dark money to mean money from Jews. That is what is happening here.”| | 37:59 | John Podhoretz| “‘Dark money’ is kabbalistic Protocols of the Elders of Zion language, period.” | | 40:31 | Eliana Johnson| “…It allows a permission structure…for lone wolf attackers, everyday antisemites…” | | 56:26 | John Podhoretz| “He [George Stevens] came back. He never made a comedy again…because he had seen something no human being should ever have had to have seen.”| | 57:43 | John Podhoretz| “…We are still telling the story today in the miracle of miracles that remains the fact of Jewish history…”|

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Michigan Senate Race Scandal Unpacked: 01:25–14:53
• Dearborn and Voter Dynamics: 12:36–14:53
• Primary Strategies, Genocide Discourse: 21:47–24:37
• AIPAC/Dark Money Critique: 29:44–37:59
• Doxxing & Protest Intimidation: 34:20–36:20
• Antisemitism, Protest Culture, and Trump: 40:17–48:26
• Cultural/Film Recommendation (“Nuremberg”): 50:30–56:00
• Passover Reflections & Close: 57:43–end

Final Thoughts

This episode effectively weaves together breaking campaign scandal analysis, the dangerous normalization of radical anti-Israel/anti-Jewish rhetoric in American politics, and poignant reflections on Jewish endurance. With pointed criticism, personal anecdotes, and rich historical context, the panel frames Michigan’s primary race as not merely a state contest, but a key inflection point for the broader health of American political culture and Jewish life in the U.S.