Say it ain’t so, Joe.
Yesterday, the President signaled to Sen. Bernie Sanders to pull his Yemen War Powers Resolution from a vote. The measure, if passed, would require the US to end its 7 year support of Saudi Arabia’s vicious war in Yemen that has killed hundreds of thousands from bombs, blockade and starvation. Without US support the woeful Saudi military would collapse.
But just before the vote, Biden took a page from predecessor Trump and threatened a veto. In 2019, Trump not only threatened veto, he used it to quash a resolution that passed. Three more years of murder and mayhem in Yemen was just fine for armchair warriors Trump and Biden.
Sander’s explanation was disturbing. He claimed that Biden threatened veto but agreed to work with Congress to find an acceptable way to end the war without a War Powers Resolution that would embarrass the president. But Sanders warned if that fails, he’ll reintroduce the resolution. Sure.
Say it ain’t so, Bernie.
Once again we learn the sorrowful lesson: The US forces of peace are weak. The US forces promoting endless war all powerful.
Walt Zlotow became involved in antiwar activities upon entering University of Chicago in 1963. He is current president of the West Suburban Peace Coalition based in the Chicago western suburbs. He blogs daily on antiwar and other issues at www.heartlandprogressive.blogspot.com.
If you think that Bernie Sanders is any kind of savior, you will be badly disappointed. Sanders has become nothing more than a tool of the Democratic Party establishment, just like the Squad. These people just pretend to be progressive sometimes — sometimes they don’t even bother pretending, as in their votes to send billions of dollars of military aid to Ukraine — but in reality they work with the establishment and do what it wants.
Sanders and the Squad have been defeated. Since Biden is President, republicans will be able to provide a very small amount of opposition to any war efforts. Republican efforts for “more scrutiny” of the funds going to Ukraine are used to provide justification of US personnel officially going to Ukraine.
Being angry at the few politicians that are making at least very modest attempts at getting us out of Ukraine and Yemen is counter productive.
I do not blame Rand Paul or Sanders or the Squad.
Sanders and the Squad have voted for every bill to send billions of dollars in aid and military equipment to Ukraine. How in hell is that making any attempt, modest or otherwise, to get the U.S. out of Ukraine? The only votes against sending this money have come from Republicans.
Republican opposition to the spending is just as bogus as democratic opposition.
I guess the goal now is to vote out of office any politician who has voiced opposition to any war due their weakness.
If you are trying to say that the democrats that have made anti-war comments are evil and that the republican ones are brave heros, we will have to disagree.
The good news for you seems to be the truth that democratic anti-war politicians have been defeated and neutered, and not just on foreign policy.
I never voiced any support for Republicans, I merely stated a fact. I strongly oppose both Democrats and Republicans, because both parties are pro-war, pro-U.S. empire, pro-Wall Street, pro-capitalist, and neoliberal/neoconservative.
However, there’s nothing “bogus” about Republicans who oppose sending money and weapons to Ukraine. It’s true that they’re not truly anti-war, but they’re America Firsters, and don’t want our money spent over there when it could be spent over here.
What Democratic opposition are you talking about? Now that‘s bogus, because there hasn’t been any. Every Democrat has voted for every bill to send more money and weapons to Ukraine; the only opposition has come from a handful of Republicans.
“but they’re America Firsters, and don’t want our money spent over there when it could be spent over here.”
American Firsters meaning keeping American hegemony. They are hardly anti-interventionists.
“American Firsters”
The expression “America First,” I believe, originally came from a broad coalition of American non-interventionists who attempted to keep America out of World War II. It has been so perverted by Trumpist conservatives, though, to mean everything from “American Hegemony First,” to “Americans Not Immigrants First,” to “American Economic Protectionism First,” etc. None of these new meanings in any way puts America or Americans first, being harmful to America and Americans.
Orwell was so prescient about the use of language in propaganda, it is uncanny.
“Trumpist conservatives”
That in itself is also perverted.
“That in itself is also perverted.”
I would tend to agree with you, in that most of the conservatives in the Republican Party in the 2016 presidential campaign couldn’t stand Trump, and wanted to stop him. Eventually, however, it became clear that Trump had an appeal even to many low and middle income Democrats, and had the most dedicated following of those Republicans who actually supported him. Then it looked like he could actually win the presidency, and many, many, conservatives sold out just so that their party could be in power again.
There are as many definitions of “conservative,” as there are definitions of “liberal,” or “progressive.” But the general idea is that I think these terms are supposed to connote some type of inherent consistency or principle. Sadly, for most of the Dems and Reps in this country, there is very little of that.
“I do not blame Rand Paul or Sanders or the Squad.”
If politicians who claim to be antiwar, but do not pursue peace with every ounce of their being, cannot be blamed, who can be blamed? Rand Paul and Mike Lee could very easily have co-sponsored this bill, and Bernie Sanders could very easily have not backed down, forcing Biden to have to decide whether or not to veto it. There is no excuse here. The only possibilities are: cowardice or hypocrisy on the parts of supposedly antiwar leaders.
Well yeah. They are politicians first, and anti-war leaders second. Unfortunately, there is no appetite amongst the US public for not going to war. The partisan divide is republicans want to focus on China, while democrats want to focus on Russia.
The US public has a HUGE appetite amongst the US public for obliterating both countries.
There isn’t an outcry against the war on Yemen, and no one blinked an eye when Madeleine Albright was eulogized so effusively earlier this year.
“Unfortunately, there is no appetite amongst the US public for not going to war.”
That’s simply not true. Polls show that Americans strongly favor ending U.S. wars, even among both Democrats and Republicans. But that doesn’t matter, because the U.S. isn’t a democracy. See the 2014 Princeton study if you don’t believe me. Of course Americans can be brainwashed into supporting certain wars, but without the lies and propaganda, they wouldn’t support them in the first place.
“and Bernie Sanders could very easily have not backed down”
And that would have been HUGE. Talk about legacy making. I don’t get it. Sanders is by no means young. He could have taken Biden and the entire democratic leadership and rubbed their collective nose in dog sh*t. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Go out with a blaze of glory with his middle finger held high in the air.
Sanders is a coward and a Democratic Party lapdog. He’d never do anything like that.
“Sanders is a coward and a Democratic Party lapdog”
He actually showed some independence early in his career, but started kowtowing to the establishment once he got to Congress. He still pushes some bills not favored by the Democratic Party elite, but, for the most part, these are bills focusing on economic progressivism, not foreign policy.
There simply does not appear to be anyone in either house of Congress at present who will make any type of vigorous stand against aggressive warfare.
No there isn’t. The establishment of both parties is pro-U.S. wars for empire. The only opposition right now is coming from some renegade Republicans, who’ve voted against some of the military & financial aid to Ukraine. I don’t trust those people either because they don’t oppose the war or any wars for moral reasons, they’re just America Firsters.
“they’re just America Firsters.”
I’m not even sure it’s that, however they define it. It would appear to me that the problem is that they are, “Republican Firsters.” That is, they make minor noises about Ukraine aid because the current president is a Democrat.
“If you think that Bernie Sanders is any kind of savior, you will be badly disappointed.”
And what about Rand Paul, and Mike Lee? As I understand it, neither even co-sponsored this bill. While I do not agree with the commenters on this site who claim that Democrats are more peace oriented than Republicans, and therefore we should support Democrats to support peace, the idea that Republicans are more peace oriented than Democrats, therefore we should support Republicans, is laughable. What planet have you been living on for the last 50 years? Both parties absolutely suck on this issue.
While I knew something would go wrong with this effort, I did not realize how easily it would get derailed. I had simply assumed that the bill would pass Congress, and that Biden would find an excuse to veto it. I was so naive that I did not understand that Biden had the power to quash it without having to veto it. Live and learn.
Exactly. Especially after all the talk about the republicans voting against Ukrainian aid. Rand Paul especially. He always makes you think he’s going to be a full-throated antiwar voice and then he backs down every time he should be making a stand.
“Rand Paul especially.”
Rand Paul only disappointed me once, but that was enough, and I no longer expect anything decent from him at all, so he cannot disappoint me. What I am referring to is back when he was running for president in the 2016 campaign. He at first tried to present himself as a libertarian, particularly on the foreign policy issue, by including links to five or six books on his campaign site that his father had recommended. Most of these books included at least a section on foreign policy, being fairly radical in that regard, even including being highly critical of the policies of the Israeli government and military. They survived on his site for no more than one or two days, then he simply removed them with no explanation. We can pretty much surmise that the reason was at least mild complaints from conservative Republicans. His father at least showed occasional guts, while Rand didn’t have a single vertebrae in his entire body.
I saw a video of his father on stage at what I think was a Republican debate, making an anti-war speech. Republicans are not really anti-war, they’re America First, big difference. But Ron Paul was actually anti-war, talking about how immoral it is to do what the U.S. does to other countries with its military, and asking how American people would like it if someone did this to them. For that he was roundly booed of course.
I saw a video of his father on stage at what I think was a Republican debate, making an anti-war speech. Republicans are not really anti-war, they’re America First, big difference. But Ron Paul was actually anti-war, talking about how immoral it is to do what the U.S. does to other countries with its military, and asking how American people would like it if someone did this to them. For that he was roundly booed of course.
“Especially after all the talk about the republicans voting against Ukrainian aid.”
I think perhaps that there were few Republicans in Congress who voted against further Ukraine military aid because the Ukraine effort is perceived as being instigated by Democrats.
It always seems to work out this way, with wars prosecuted by a Democratic president being supported more by Democrats than Republicans, and wars prosecuted by a Republican president being supported more by Republicans than Democrats. Sad but true.
Both sides of the uniparty are pro war.
War is just good for their portfolios.
“War is just good for their portfolios.”
War is certainly profitable directly. However, it is even profitable indirectly, in that being for war, even though not popular with the American people, is certainly popular with military contractors. This makes certain that there will be an unlimited, unending supply of campaign contributions. This allows the politicians in both parties to perpetuate their rule, in spite of the unpopularity of their policies, and reap the financial rewards even after they retire.
Bernie Sanders is the most worthless kind of revolutionary. No doubt he would name names. Wilts under any pressure.
When Sanders said backstage at the 2016 Democratic convention after the nomination was stolen from him that he wouldn’t run as a Green or 3d party candidate because he didn’t want to become a pariah like Ralph Nader, that told me all I needed to know about him. And of course he’s gotten even worse since then. I would have held my nose and voted for Sanders if he’d gotten the Democratic nomination, but once he was robbed of it and he said that, I was done with him for good. Now he’s just another war-monger in Congress.
When Sanders said backstage at the 2016 Democratic convention after the nomination was stolen from him that he wouldn’t run as a Green or 3d party candidate because he didn’t want to become a pariah like Ralph Nader, that told me all I needed to know about him. And of course he’s gotten even worse since then. I would have held my nose and voted for Sanders if he’d gotten the Democratic nomination, but once he was robbed of it and he said that, I was done with him for good. Now he’s just another war-monger in Congress.