There are some things in American life that were never supposed to be partisan. Honoring the nearly three thousand souls who perished on September 11, 2001, was chief among them. For a generation of Americans who watched the towers fall, who attended the funerals, who still choke up at the sound of “Taps” on every anniversary — that day is sacred. It’s not a talking point to be negotiated around or quietly tolerated when a political ally says something monstrous.

Yet here we are. Somehow — and I wish I were being dramatic — the Democrat Party has drifted so far from its moorings that one of its Senate nominees can’t summon the basic courage to disavow a prominent supporter who declared that America deserved the worst terrorist attack in its history. And the person sounding the alarm isn’t a Republican operative or a cable news pundit. It’s someone from deep inside Biden world.

From the Daily Wire:

A high-profile Democrat spokesman just gave his own party a massive wake-up call.

Michael LaRosa, former press secretary to First Lady Jill Biden, blew up social media over the weekend after breaking ranks to bash Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed — and give a thumbs-up to his Republican rival, incumbent Sen. Mike Rogers.

If you’re stunned that a former Biden press secretary would publicly back a Republican over his own party’s nominee, welcome to the club. But the reasoning behind LaRosa’s revolt should alarm you even more — and it might explain why far more Democrats than anyone wants to admit are quietly wrestling with the same impulse.

The catalyst here is damning. Abdul El-Sayed has refused to distance himself from far-left streamer Hasan Piker, who infamously declared during a 2019 livestream that “America deserved 9/11.” El-Sayed didn’t just dodge the controversy. He campaigned alongside Piker, treating the streamer as a valued political ally rather than the radioactive liability any reasonable person would recognize.

For LaRosa, this wasn’t some abstract policy squabble. His best friend’s mother died on September 11th, jumping from the 95th floor of the World Trade Center because the alternative — staying inside the inferno — was worse. “Her only crime was showing up to work that morning,” LaRosa wrote. He added that he would never encourage any Democrat “to support a candidate too weak to stand up to extremists who believe that those men and women jumping from a burning building 110 stories up because the alternative was worse deserved what they got.”

Read that and try to argue with it. That’s not a political calculation. That’s a man with a conscience drawing a hard line.

When “D” is no longer enough

And here’s the thing — this isn’t LaRosa’s first rodeo when it comes to bucking his own party. He previously refused to defend a Democratic Senate candidate in Maine who sported an SS Totenkopf tattoo, simply because the guy had a “D” next to his name. The pattern is unmistakable. LaRosa believes party loyalty has limits, and those limits are defined by basic moral decency. What a concept.

The uncomfortable question for Democratic leadership is how many of their own voters privately agree with him. When a lifelong party loyalist from the former First Lady’s own communications team would rather see a Republican win a critical Senate seat than support a candidate who pals around with 9/11 apologists, the rot isn’t with the dissenter. It’s with the institution.

A fracture that could reshape the Senate

This isn’t just a social media dustup, either. Michigan’s Senate race could determine the balance of power in Washington. Fox News noted that “even a small erosion of Democratic support could matter” in this battleground state. So consider the math: if Biden insiders are saying this out loud, on the record, how many everyday Democrats — the autoworkers, the suburban parents, the veterans — are biting their tongues and dreading November?

El-Sayed, for his part, brushed off the whole controversy with a grin, treating questions about Piker’s 9/11 remarks as some kind of cheap gotcha. LaRosa — unsurprisingly — wasn’t amused. “I doubt the families of those who jumped 95 stories because the alternative was worse consider ‘America deserved 9/11’ some dumb thing.”

No. They don’t.

The party of JFK this is not

There was a time when Democrats understood that loving your country wasn’t a partisan act. John F. Kennedy didn’t agonize over whether to condemn America’s enemies. He confronted them. Today, the party that once embodied unapologetic patriotism can’t produce a Senate nominee willing to say four simple words: We didn’t deserve it.

Michael LaRosa’s defection is a symptom, not the disease. The disease is a political party that has welcomed extremists who celebrate the murder of Americans into its coalition — and then demands unwavering loyalty from everyone else. For those who remember the falling towers, the jumpers, the dust-covered firefighters walking into eternity, that demand is one betrayal too many.

Key Takeaways

• Former Jill Biden spokesman publicly backs Republican over Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee.
• El-Sayed’s refusal to disavow Piker’s “America deserved 9/11” comment triggered the break.
• LaRosa’s dissent exposes a widening rift between mainstream Democrats and the party’s radical wing.
• Michigan’s Senate race could determine Senate control, making even small Democratic defections decisive.

Sources: Daily Wire, Fox News