Letter to the Editor: May 2, 2024

Stabenow’s legacy: Farm Bill to famine

Debbie Stabenow is retiring after two decades in the Senate. While she may hope that her legacy will be one of conservation and the Farm Bill, Michiganders should remember her for the situation she is leaving us with: a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe in Gaza. A crisis that she gladly funded despite representing the most Arab state in the union.

For months now, Stabenow has ignored and avoided constituents from across the political spectrum, who have been calling for an end to the double standards that has allowed Israel to act with impunity — openly violating federal and international laws designed to hold nations accountable for committing gross human rights violations.

Recently we learned that the State Department confirmed that units within the Israeli military were involved in extrajudicial killings and sexual assaults prior to the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Stabenow and her Senate peer Gary Peters only disregarded these allegations, and chose to send the extremist, right-wing Israeli government billions in American taxpayer dollars anyway. That is not leadership. That is not a legacy to be proud of.

This November, Michiganders have an obligation to remember Stabenow's true legacy as we head to the ballot box to replace her. Do we want more of the same? Or a senator who will actually uphold the law regardless of who breaks it?

Tommy Valdez

Formerly of Hudson

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Letter to the Editor: May 2, 2024