Senate Democrats in tough races are calling on college and university presidents to crack down on campus protests that have spun out of control, as images of protesters smashing windows and unfurling Palestinian flags are becoming a political problem for President Biden and his allies.
But leading progressives are defending students’ rights to protest and pushing back against calls for the federal government to intervene on campuses across the country.
“It’s 100 percent unacceptable for Jewish students or any students to be harmed on campus. You’re seeing this at campus after campus that now there’s physical violence,” said Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), who faces a tough reelection race this fall.
“This is pure, blatant antisemitism and it needs to be stopped. It should not be tolerated,” she added.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), one of the Senate’s most vulnerable incumbents, said, “We all speak strongly that the antisemitism and hate and violence are not acceptable.”
The growing turmoil on campuses has Democrats feeling anxious about their upcoming presidential nominating convention in Chicago this August.
Some Democratic senators fear a reprise of the clashes between police and anti-Vietnam War protesters that rocked the Democratic convention in 1968, which split their party heading into that year’s presidential election, when Richard Nixon defeated Vice President Hubert Humphrey.
But Democrats are divided over whether Congress needs to put more pressure on college and university presidents to crack down on campus unrest.
Read more at TheHill.com
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