Rally as Michigan Senate candidate calls politics a disease

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul ElSayed, campaigning with prominent progressive allies, described the nation's political system as a "disease" and called for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a series of weekend rallies. The events, part of a "People versus the Powerful" tour with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, aimed to bolster ElSayed's bid in a contentious August 4 primary against moderate Representative Haley Stevens.

Speaking at a rally in Grand Rapids on July 19, ElSayed argued that President Donald Trump is a symptom, not the cause, of systemic political failures. "Donald Trump is not, himself, the disease of our politics," ElSayed said. "He's just the worst symptom of the disease of our politics. The disease? It's the system that allows corporations and billionaires and special interests like AIPAC to buy and sell politicians to rig the system against us." Ocasio-Cortez echoed the theme, telling supporters they deserve a politics "that treats the disease and not the symptoms."

The candidate also took aim at ICE, labeling it a "rogue agency." "ICE cannot be reformed,"...