U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City, is calling for the Michigan Democratic Party to course correct after the state convention in Detroit showcased behavior she said could help Republicans win in November.
In a series of posts on social media platform X, McDonald Rivet denouncing what she called "deeply troubling" and unacceptable behavior by people at the April 19 convention.
"Enthusiasm is great, but too much of the behavior we saw on the floor is not acceptable. We need to be able to disagree, while treating one another with dignity and respect," she wrote.
"We don't name-call. We don't belittle and bully. We don't shout people down. We don't make them feel unwelcome or unsafe based on who they are. We reject all forms of hate, including both antisemitism and Islamophobia," she continued.
McDonald Rivet didn't name the candidate she was referring to, but her comments track with reports about Amir Makled, a lawyer nominated at the convention to be a candidate for the Board of Regents for the University of Michigan.
Makled told the Free Press he wouldn't "spend this campaign apologizing for positions I do not hold." But he said he found it "truly troubling" that McDonald Rivet's energy was directed at him, "rather than at the candidate she championed, current Regent Jordan Acker, who is now under investigation for sending lewd messages involving women and their private health matters."
"That is a real issue. That is a story that directly impacts the students and community the University of Michigan Board of Regents is meant to serve," Makled said.
Acker, a Jewish lawyer whose home and property was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti by pro-Palestinian protestors during Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza, lost his bid for renomination to another eight-year term at the convention even as Makled won.
McDonald Rivet's other comments echoed those of other commentators that an unruly crowd gathered for the convention at Detroit's Huntington Place loudly booed some candidates, talked over others and exhibited little of the party unity Democrats have been known for at some past conventions.
Meanwhile, state Rep. Noah Arbit, D-West Bloomfield, said it's time to eliminate party conventions and reposted on social media a comment calling Makled a "raving antisemite" who has "called Jews 'demons,' shared antisemitic social media memes, praised Hezbollah & called for Jews to be banned from Congress."
It underscored just how divided the reaction to the convention was. Even as some moderates were decrying it, others in the left wing of the party said the crowd exhibited remarkable energy.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, called it "electric" and "a successful convention, the biggest in history."
The convention's repudiation of Acker's renomination bid, the elevation of Washtenaw County prosecutor Eli Savit and the acclaim with which U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed were received were widely viewed as an indication of how progressives are driving grassroots participation and the direction of the party.
In her posts on X, McDonald Rivet said Democrats "will never beat MAGA by practicing their division. We win by being the opposite."
She then went on to cite comments on social media by Republican officials, including Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, who wrote "Thank you, Democrat Delegates" on X after the convention.
"All of this drives one devastating outcome: making it much, much harder for us to win back power this November," McDonald Rivet wrote, saying the party needs to "focus on a unifying agenda that lifts everybody up and meets the urgency of the moment that all our families feel."
"On Sunday, we saw a troubling step in the wrong direction. But it isn't too late to course correct. Michigan Democrats, we can't afford any less," she said.
McDonald Rivet called for the Democratic Party to come together around a "unifying agenda" and to create spaces where everyone feels "respected, liked, and welcome."