Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) shares his message to voters in the Uncommitted Movement who are considering not voting in the presidential race over the Biden administration's handling of Israel.
It’s true that the US vetoed a handful of UN ceasefire resolutions. However, public opinion seems to be swaying them. The last resolution the US proposed called for a ceasefire to protect civilians and aid relief (not far enough, but something), but was vetoed by Russia and China. All subsequent resolutions the US has voted for, but have likewise been vetoed by those 2 countries.
The Dems have no power in Congress, so any sort of embargo or can on their part is never going to pass. In fact early on there were multiple attempts at calls for a ceasefire by multiple Democrats, but it wouldn’t even make the floor thanks to conservative Democrats like Pelosi, Manchin, and Costa.
But by idly sitting by and showing protest by inaction, it’s potentially handing complete control over to the Republicans when they’re potentially at their most extreme. With Trump in command you’re now looking at mass deportation of Muslims and Latinos, active participation in Middle East conflicts like Palestine and Iran. Not to mention all of the other issues we’ll now have to contend with like states gaining the ability to limit the rights of LGBTQ, POC, and women to an extreme (Tennessee is already attempting to make it so people of “non-traditional” marriages can be denied a license based on individual ideologies of the official).
I agree that what’s going on in Palestine is horrible and I wish that the Biden administration and the rest of the old-guard Democrats weren’t so afraid of being called antisemitic just for standing up against the catastrophies of Israel, but that’s the hand we’ve been dealt.
As Cori Bush said, it’s about voting strategy over good conscience. There’s times in life where you don’t want to do something, but it’s what needs to be done. Ultimately do you feel that your want to vote against Harris is more important than the need for Trump to not be in office, because you need to understand that a non-vote is in fact a vote for Trump.
The US led ceasefire basically walked back any and all real war ending measures and was just basically a propaganda piece covering for Israel.
From the UNs own website:
The vetoed draft would have made imperative an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza, with an “urgent need to expand the flow of humanitarian assistance” to all civilians and lifting “all barriers” to delivering aid
Council members disagreed over elements of the draft, and some highlighted glaring exclusions despite having raised multiple concerns with the US during negotiations
Ambassadors largely supported swift action to bring food and lifesaving aid at scale into Gaza, where a UN-backed report on Monday raised alarms about famine as Israel continues to block and slow walk shipments into the besieged enclave
Even when the dems did have power in congress, they did fuck all. As you said, the democratic establishment blocked any movement.
Not voting is intrinsically not a vote for anyone. I’ve voted dem in every single election since I’ve been old enough to vote. Genocide is not something I can countenance. If this was the Trump administration doing this the dems would be shouting from the rooftops about how it’s inconscionable. They’re in control and they are doing the same thing.
Stop relying on black and brown voters to save your asses each time.
I agree, the US resolution was not good. That being said, they’ve voted in favor of the other 2 resolutions put forward by other countries since then.
And I’m sorry, but in a two party system, withholding your vote for 1 candidate is a vote for the other one. Conservatives, since the moment this country was founded, have attempted to deny our dissuade voting to people. Now those people who they have been attempting to deny are just doing it themselves voluntarily.
I also really do not like the “stop relying on black and brown people” rhetoric. Is it true that the majority of white people are conservative while the majority of POC are progressive? Yeah. But that doesn’t mean the white progressives are relying on POC to “save [our] asses.” If we’re being honest, as a cis straight white middle class male I’ll probably be fine under a Trump presidency. I’ll pay more for goods and probably have my taxes go up, but so will 99% of the population. What I’m voting for though is the desire to lift every single person up and create an even playing field for everyone. Is it going to happen under a Harris presidency? Hell no. Is it going to happen in my lifetime? Probably not. But by voting Dem are we going to get just that little bit closer? Yes. But that’s definitely not going to happen under a Trump presidency, because they will do absolutely everything they can to prevent progress. In fact, they will do everything they can to enact regression as far back as they can. Most Republicans would be perfectly fine with only Anglo -Saxon male land owners being able to vote, and that’s what they’re striving for.
So hold your vote, that’s your right. But that’s not what your responsibility should be.
It’s true that the US vetoed a handful of UN ceasefire resolutions. However, public opinion seems to be swaying them. The last resolution the US proposed called for a ceasefire to protect civilians and aid relief (not far enough, but something), but was vetoed by Russia and China. All subsequent resolutions the US has voted for, but have likewise been vetoed by those 2 countries.
The Dems have no power in Congress, so any sort of embargo or can on their part is never going to pass. In fact early on there were multiple attempts at calls for a ceasefire by multiple Democrats, but it wouldn’t even make the floor thanks to conservative Democrats like Pelosi, Manchin, and Costa.
But by idly sitting by and showing protest by inaction, it’s potentially handing complete control over to the Republicans when they’re potentially at their most extreme. With Trump in command you’re now looking at mass deportation of Muslims and Latinos, active participation in Middle East conflicts like Palestine and Iran. Not to mention all of the other issues we’ll now have to contend with like states gaining the ability to limit the rights of LGBTQ, POC, and women to an extreme (Tennessee is already attempting to make it so people of “non-traditional” marriages can be denied a license based on individual ideologies of the official).
I agree that what’s going on in Palestine is horrible and I wish that the Biden administration and the rest of the old-guard Democrats weren’t so afraid of being called antisemitic just for standing up against the catastrophies of Israel, but that’s the hand we’ve been dealt.
As Cori Bush said, it’s about voting strategy over good conscience. There’s times in life where you don’t want to do something, but it’s what needs to be done. Ultimately do you feel that your want to vote against Harris is more important than the need for Trump to not be in office, because you need to understand that a non-vote is in fact a vote for Trump.
The US led ceasefire basically walked back any and all real war ending measures and was just basically a propaganda piece covering for Israel.
From the UNs own website:
The vetoed draft would have made imperative an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza, with an “urgent need to expand the flow of humanitarian assistance” to all civilians and lifting “all barriers” to delivering aid Council members disagreed over elements of the draft, and some highlighted glaring exclusions despite having raised multiple concerns with the US during negotiations Ambassadors largely supported swift action to bring food and lifesaving aid at scale into Gaza, where a UN-backed report on Monday raised alarms about famine as Israel continues to block and slow walk shipments into the besieged enclave
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147856
Even when the dems did have power in congress, they did fuck all. As you said, the democratic establishment blocked any movement.
Not voting is intrinsically not a vote for anyone. I’ve voted dem in every single election since I’ve been old enough to vote. Genocide is not something I can countenance. If this was the Trump administration doing this the dems would be shouting from the rooftops about how it’s inconscionable. They’re in control and they are doing the same thing.
Stop relying on black and brown voters to save your asses each time.
I agree, the US resolution was not good. That being said, they’ve voted in favor of the other 2 resolutions put forward by other countries since then.
And I’m sorry, but in a two party system, withholding your vote for 1 candidate is a vote for the other one. Conservatives, since the moment this country was founded, have attempted to deny our dissuade voting to people. Now those people who they have been attempting to deny are just doing it themselves voluntarily.
I also really do not like the “stop relying on black and brown people” rhetoric. Is it true that the majority of white people are conservative while the majority of POC are progressive? Yeah. But that doesn’t mean the white progressives are relying on POC to “save [our] asses.” If we’re being honest, as a cis straight white middle class male I’ll probably be fine under a Trump presidency. I’ll pay more for goods and probably have my taxes go up, but so will 99% of the population. What I’m voting for though is the desire to lift every single person up and create an even playing field for everyone. Is it going to happen under a Harris presidency? Hell no. Is it going to happen in my lifetime? Probably not. But by voting Dem are we going to get just that little bit closer? Yes. But that’s definitely not going to happen under a Trump presidency, because they will do absolutely everything they can to prevent progress. In fact, they will do everything they can to enact regression as far back as they can. Most Republicans would be perfectly fine with only Anglo -Saxon male land owners being able to vote, and that’s what they’re striving for.
So hold your vote, that’s your right. But that’s not what your responsibility should be.