If you've spent any time on San Francisco political social media lately, you'd think Scott Wiener spends his weekends polishing a framed photo of Benjamin Netanyahu. The reality is a lot more boring — and a lot more nuanced — than the caricature suggests.

Wiener occupies a space that's actually pretty common among Jewish progressives: a genuine emotional attachment to the existence of Israel as a homeland, combined with sharp criticism of its government's conduct. He's publicly condemned Israeli war crimes. He's signaled he'd cut military aid. He's about as far from an AIPAC puppet as you can get while still believing Israel has a right to exist.

But nuance doesn't trend, does it?

The lazy shorthand — "Wiener = Zionist = bad" — has become a stand-in for actual policy debate in the CA-11 race. And that's a disservice to voters who deserve to make informed choices. If your actual objection is that Wiener believes Israel should exist at all, then say that. Make that argument. But don't pretend $37,000 from AIPAC-affiliated donors in a $2-3 million war chest is some kind of smoking gun. That's roughly 1.5% of his fundraising. Your favorite progressive candidate probably has a more embarrassing line item in their FEC filings.

Meanwhile, the broader dynamics of this race are fascinating. Wiener's chief rival, Saikat Chakrabarti, has built a brand that one local observer neatly summarized as "attacking Democrats instead of attacking Trump" — a risky play when the progressive coalition is supposedly trying to hold the line against the current administration. And the fact that AOC — whose office Chakrabarti once ran — still hasn't endorsed him? That silence is deafening. As one SF resident put it: "The fact that she won't recommend her own former employee says something."

Another local was more blunt about Chakrabarti: "He's a rich opportunist champagne socialist."

Look, we're not here to tell you to vote for Wiener. We're here to tell you that intellectual honesty matters more than Twitter dunks. If you oppose him, oppose him on what he actually believes — not the strawman version that's easier to set on fire. San Francisco's political discourse is already drowning in bad faith. Let's not add more.