You probably already guessed what matters most to Brandon Johnson, ultra-progressive mayor of Chicago, because he is Brandon Johnson. Yes, it’s Gaza:
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has officially joined the call for a cease-fire in Gaza.
“I condemn the actions of Hamas, but at this point now I believe we’re looking at 25,000 Palestinians that have been killed during this war and the killing has to stop. So yes, we need a cease-fire,” Johnson said at a news conference. . . .
Johnson appears to be the biggest city mayor now calling for a cease-fire. He does so as Chicago prepares to host the Democratic National Convention, and as many party leaders, including President Joe Biden, have withstood increasing public pressure to support a cease-fire.
There really isn’t much to say about this abjectly typical piece of stupidity from the mayor of a midwestern American city, except to say that his priority set goes a fair way toward explaining his 28 percent approval rating in an overwhelmingly Democratic metropolis choked by violent crime, police and civic dysfunction, and an illegal-immigrant crisis. (Chicago veterans will note, with grim amusement: He’s still a point ahead of Rahm at his lowest.)
If the mayor wants to productively consider the Middle East instead of his duties as mayor, I can at least recommend one of its most famous religious maxims. Mote, beam, eye — some disassembly required.