Thread by @codepink

(1/X) Let’s talk about the shameful op-ed @thehill published on Sunday by @RepTipton (a climate change-denying, anti-abortion homophobe) smearing the peace activists outside the Venezuelan embassy in DC. So many lies we’re going to need a whole thread:
thehill.com/blogs/congress…

@thehill @RepTipton (2/X) We’re legal tenants of the building with permission from the democratically-elected, UN-recognized Venezuelan government. No matter how many times pro-coup politicians claim we are 'squatting,' we were given the keys by the representatives of the legitimate government.

@thehill @RepTipton (3/X) Our 'ties' to the govts of Cuba & Venezuela were created by an opposition smear campaign against @medeabenjamin that claimed she had been paid millions by Maduro (though they haven’t decided if it’s $15M or $26M). Shame on @RepTipton for regurgitating blatant propaganda.

@thehill @RepTipton @medeabenjamin (4/X) @RepTipton applauds human rights violations (violence, lack of food/water) as activists 'getting a taste' of living in socialist Venezuela. Yet millions of Americans under capitalism have no access to food & water, but it seems he only *pretends* to care about poor folks.

@thehill @RepTipton @medeabenjamin (5/X) We hear you about the insults! Peace activists have been subjected to racist, misogynistic, & queerphobic slurs from the opposition everyday. It's vile to compare calling a Black activist a monkey to calling people imperialists for supporting an imperialist coup...

@thehill @RepTipton @medeabenjamin (6/X) The mainstream media’s spotty and slanted coverage of the internal politics of Venezuela is...incredibly manipulative, especially as May Day demonstrations in Venezuela showed massive public support for the Maduro govt...and were ignored by most major American news outlets.

@thehill @RepTipton @medeabenjamin (7/X) @RepTipton is worried about the 'human cost' of our actions. Just like he cared about the 'human cost' of LGBTQ+ people when he voted against a bill that would prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against LGBTQ+ individuals in 2016. 🤔

@thehill @RepTipton @medeabenjamin (8/X) @RepTipton claims to care about lives abroad, but what about the lives of women here in need of emergency abortions when they face deadly complications, which he voted against? The lives of women who rely on @PPFA for STD & cancer screenings, which he voted to defund 5X?

@thehill @RepTipton @medeabenjamin @PPFA (9/X) @RepTipton claims to care about the lives of Venezuelans abroad, but if that’s the case, why did he fail to speak out against the US sanctions that killed 40,000 Venezuelans from 2017-2018? Seems like he’s using a 'humanitarian crisis' to advance his political agenda. 🧐

@thehill @RepTipton @medeabenjamin @PPFA (10/X) 'Pro-Maduro' is reductive and misleading. Maduro was elected democratically by the Venezuelan people and is the president of Venezuela. We are opposed to US-backed coups that topple foreign governments and destabilize entire regions. Full stop.

Also, Hamas!? WTF!? 😂

@thehill @RepTipton @medeabenjamin @PPFA (11/X) Supporting Guaidó is...most definitely not supporting democracy. Guaidó did not run in the last presidential election. Zero Venezuelans cast a vote for him. Yet the US insists on him being the leader? That’s...not so democratic.

@thehill @RepTipton @medeabenjamin @PPFA (12/X) Let’s make something clear: Guaidó will NOT 'return economic power to the people.' Most of his supporters are wealthy Venezuelans living abroad, not the majority of Venezuelans, who are poor. Guaidó is a puppet that will allow the US to control Venezuela’s oil.