The House of Representatives Building and the East Portico of the US Capitol. Photo: Flickr.

In the current political environment, I’m struggling with an extreme case of what psychologists call “cognitive dissonance.” Put simply, half of me is praying for a Democratic takeover of the House and Senate; and the other half is suffering fitful sleeplessness that the Democratic Socialist Alliance (DSA) and its fellow travelers may become the dominant voice in my once beloved Party.

The good news is that most voters don’t like the DSA crowd, not only for their appalling animosity to Israel, but more generally for their fundamentally flawed positions on things that matter to our quality of life. They are big on rhetoric but small on workable solutions to declining student achievement, college tuition debt, lack of affordable housing, community policing, food insecurity (also known as hunger), rising gas prices, health insurance, climate change, immigration, and many other problems.

If ever there was a time for serious analysis of social costs and benefits, challenges to implementation, unintended consequences, and the imperative for evaluation to determine if various policies are too flawed to maintain, that time is now.

But rationality gets choked in an atmosphere reeking with the stench of Jew hatred and what some wry observers call “Israel derangement syndrome.” What does Gaza really have to do with bus service and horse-drawn buggies in Manhattan? How will “freeing Palestine [of its Jews]” and boycotting Israeli academics serve the good citizens of Vermont, Los Angeles, and Michigan? Has the AOC-Mamdani-El-Sayed wing of the Democratic Party considered if riots in France might be a result of calls to “globalize the intifada?”

At the same time, I have massive problems with the Republican Party, and believe that Donald Trump has done massive damage to America’s domestic and foreign policies.

In abridged form, then, the question is whether I’d vote for El-Sayed or Rogers if I lived in Michigan. I’m of at least two minds and I’m not alone: According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, “lifelong Jewish Democrats . . . are saying for the first time in their lives they’re voting Republican.” That’s on the Senate side, where the odds of a Democratic majority are still narrower than in the House, where polls predict a blue wave albeit with varying intensities. A pressing question is how the likely House Speaker, Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), will position himself in this swirling political tsunami, and more broadly whether the Democrats will come to their centrist senses. On the matter of Israel, specifically, what can we expect?

Jeffries has a relatively excellent track record, manifest most recently in his stance against the so-called Massie Amendment’s punitive cut in military aid to Israel. He put his values ahead of political expediency, bucking trends set not only by spineless Republicans who have enabled Trump but by Democrats who cave under pressure from the extremist left flank. In the vote deemed by some political analysts as “splitting the party’s leadership,” Jeffries (along, notably, with Caucus Chair Pete Aguillar (D-CA) and DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene (D-WA)) sided with the 314 members who voted “no” against the 104 who voted “aye.”

Looking ahead, I hope Jeffries stays the course, though that’s not guaranteed. We’ve seen other icons of our Party drink the anti-Israel Kool Aid: Bernie Sanders, Brad Lander, Barack Obama, Tim Kane, and Jamie Raskin come to mind. Furthermore, Jeffries will have his hands full, if the likes of Darializa Avila Chevalier, Melat Kiros, Chris Rabb, Matt Little, William Lawrence, and Claire Valdez are elected.

On the other hand (cognitive dissonance requires ambidextrousness), the picture is less bleak: According to survey data from a reputable source, “despite the media attention surrounding Left Progressive victories in the primaries, this faction will remain by far the smallest in the incoming Congress” (italics added). That group, which includes members of “The Squad” (AOC, who recently contributed a million dollars to El-Sayed’s campaign, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib), is favored by less than 20 percent of respondents.

Where does this leave me in trying to resolve my cognitive dissonance? I still hope for a Democratic win in November, thanks in part to another mental condition known as confirmation-bias: I am drawn to the optimistic indicators and try to not let useful idiots depress me more than necessary. Moreover, from my reading of the ups and downs of American support for Israel – from President Truman’s valiant stance in defense of Israeli statehood, through the Democrat and Republican administrations since then with their recurring threats to stop arms sales and other forms of support – I believe that Israel will weather the seemingly endless storms and that the American people will stand tall against efforts to blame Jews for the ills of the world. That said, I find that prayer, too, comes in handy.

Michael Feuer is Professor of Education and International Affairs at George Washington University, where he served as Dean for 15 years. He is Visiting Professor at Tel Aviv University and the University of Pennsylvania, past president of the National Academy of Education, and nonresident Fellow at Brookings.