US House Dist. 9 candidates debate how to push back against Trump, AIPAC: Key takeaways
US House Dist. 9 candidates debate how to push back against Trump, AIPAC | Chicago Report Debates
The top Democratic candidates for the U.S. House in the 9th District participated in a debate on Fox Chicago.
CHICAGO - The top Democratic candidates for Congress in Illinois’ 9th District discussed how to push back against the Trump administration, U.S. support for Israel, and other key issues during a debate on Fox Chicago on Wednesday evening.
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, State Sen. Laura Fine, Kat Abughazaleh, State Sen. Mike Simmons, Phil Andrew, and Bushra Amiwala participated in the program.
Biss has led in multiple polls, including one released this week, in which he garnered 24% among likely Democratic primary voters, compared to Abughazaleh’s 17% and Fine’s 16%, although 22% of respondents said they were "not sure." All other candidates polled under 10%.
The candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination in the district that includes parts of Chicago’s North Side, and northern and western suburbs. U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky is retiring at the end of the term after serving for more than 25 years in Congress.
Here are our top takeaways from the evening’s debate.
Democrats fighting back
The candidates all espoused using more creative and unconventional ways to push back against the Trump administration, which has been criticized for overstepping its executive powers to impose its policy agenda.
They all voiced support for impeaching President Trump and members of his cabinet.
Biss said the country needs members of Congress who are willing to be "muscular and aggressive and fearless" in reasserting the powers of the legislative branch, especially when it comes to checking the powers of the president.
Fine echoed those sentiments but also supported expanding the Supreme Court and imposing term limits on justices because, she claimed, the court is "in Donald Trump’s pocket."
Abughazaleh said under current rules in Congress, democracy reforms won’t be likely to pass so the Democratic party needs to be "a little more creative."
"We need to talk seriously about general strikes, about breaking quorum, about exploiting parliamentary procedure to ensure that Republican legislation doesn’t get through," she said.
U.S. support for Israel
U.S. support for the state of Israel has been one of the most contentious issues during the primary campaign.
Fine has come under attack for being supported by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, a pro-Israel group that backs candidates for elected office. But Fine said her campaign has not been coordinating with AIPAC and voiced support for more transparency in campaign donations. She insisted that she is an "independent voice" in the state legislature.
Biss has gone after Fine for being supported by AIPAC, although he reportedly sought the endorsement of the group, allegations which he said were not true.
"I never would have accepted AIPAC’s support and, in fact, it was pretty clearly available to me, but I stayed true to my values," Biss said, adding that he believed the U.S. should not allow "unconditional aid" to Israel.
Abughazaleh, who is of Palestinian descent, criticized both of her opponents for "hypocrisy."
"An organization that supports this administration and that’s supporting a genocide is not a group you should meet with," she said.
Abughazaleh added that her position of every Palestinian deserving safety and adequate food is "not that radical." She added that Palestinians deserve their own state.
She was the only candidate who immediately said yes to whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a war criminal. Netanyahu has been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
Biss said a thorough investigation would "likely" find that he was responsible for war crimes.
Fine said Netanyahu "has to go" and backed a two-state solution.
All three candidates also said Israeli forces should withdraw from the occupied West Bank.