WITH THE DEMOCRATIC primary season winding down, members of the Squad are speaking more directly than ever about the role that the pro-Israel lobby played in silencing critics of Israel’s human rights abuses in Congress, as well as Democrats’ complicity.
As the Democratic National Convention entered its final day in Chicago, the topic of the war on Gaza and the role of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in elections had been largely absent from the main stage. No Palestinian speakers got time on the dais, despite the protest efforts from the “Uncommitted” movement this week.
Instead, the conversation among Democrats about pushing for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to U.S. weapons shipments to Israel, and the party’s role in allowing AIPAC to shape its primaries has been taking place outside the United Center, where progressives held protests to hold convention delegates’ feet to the fire.
And victims of AIPAC’s political campaigns were on hand to add their voices to the demonstrations.
This will have teeth and meaning when politicians (Besides Bernie) start calling to overturn citizens united. Or when Boeing. Raytheon, General Dynamics and Honeywell stop profiting from arms sales to Israel.
The media has been gushing over all of this rhetoric and pomp coming out of the DNC but not really asking where are the receipts. I want to see evidence of ballot initiatives, planning committees, investigative structures. You know, congress people doing their jobs. I’m really disenfranchised with the Dems as a whole since October last year.
Fuck Trump. Kamala Harris will be a better president and states woman. A democratic super majority if we can do it will benefit the most people here in the US. But, I’d love to see lasting change, not just platitudes and the threat of a fascist state every fucking election cycle.
It really is bizarre just how little people bring up citizens united, or election integrity in general really. Focus is always on disenfranchisement, which is important, but neither side wants to fight pacs, or go even further back and not allow politicians to lie in ads. You know that used to be a thing nearly a half century ago?
I just hope that enough Dems will trade political capital with more moderate Dems to push for some reform. It’ll take a lot of sway to get them to do away with their money maker, though.
I wish I shared your hope. None of this gets done without bipartisan cooperation and outside of war profiteering and corporate subsidies I don’t see that happening.
If you want to see the most recent harm of Super PACs look at RFK Jr, or the shithead that primaried Cory Bush.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/timothy-mellon-trump-rfk-jr
This will have teeth and meaning when politicians (Besides Bernie) start calling to overturn citizens united.
Turns out overturning the Supreme Court isn’t a quick and easy task. Obama, for fuck’s sake, condemned Citizens United in harsh terms when it happened, and Obama was normally reserved on SCOTUS decisions.
It’s not a question of “Is there support on the Dem side for overturning Citizens United”.
