For years, AOC and the Squad postured as standard left-wing anti-war and anti-imperialism activists. They railed against massive US expenditures to Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and the CIA. Now they just voted for one of the largest war packages ever. Listen to @AOC's own words:
During AOC's 2018 primary, she was unknown. @RyanGrim suggested I look. I did and became an enthusiast. I interviewed her: she vowed to vote NO on Pelosi, railed against identity politics, said establishment GOP & Dems were the enemy, denounced war budgets. Where is *this* AOC?
Meanwhile, what can one even say about this Ilhan Omar statement: from March 8, barely two months ago? She says flooding Ukraine with massive amounts of US money and weapons would be "likely disastrous."
Then, with no explanation, she turns around and votes for *exactly* this:
Even more pathetic is the behavior of the Bernie/AOC left. They don't want it on their permanent record in the Guidance Counselor's office that they supported Biden's escalation in Ukraine.
But they're also not allowed to criticize the Squad, who just voted for it. What to do?
Facing this dilemma, the Bernie/AOC left opted for silence: abstained from what is, by far, the largest and most dangerous US war involvement in decades. A complete abdication.
So the only US left war opposition comes from Chomsky YouTube interviews and a few dissident voices.
Meanwhile, the only anti-war and anti-imperialism message in the US comes from a few dozen right-wing House members and a few Fox hosts. That's it.
The US left *internationally* is loudly opposed, but the mainstream US left are cowardly to supportive.
Even the NYT -- **even the war-supporting NYT -- is aghast that so few people have the courage even to question or scrutinize these gigantic expenditures and weaponry Biden is sending to Ukraine via Raytheon/CIA. The Squad is united with Marco Rubio and Liz Cheney: fully on board
The most amazing part of all is that not one Squad member who just hopped on board with neocons and the pro-war wing of both parties bothered to explain their vote. Some haven't mentioned Ukraine in months! But they know their followers don't care:
Two of the smartest young leftists on YouTube, long supporters of the Squad, confront the reality of who they are and what they just did with this vote to send $40b more to Raytheon and CIA "for Ukraine." For smart/honest leftism, watch @vanguard_pod:
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All ideologies spawn psychopaths who kill innocents in its name. Yet only some are blamed for their violent adherents: by opportunists cravenly exploiting corpses while they still lie on the ground.
When a Maddow-worshipping, Bernie-supporting fanatic shot GOP Congressmen in 2017, nobody held them responsible -- even though they deeply influenced the shooter and held all the same views -- because doing so would be reckless and irrational.
I defy anyone to read this @RandPaul thread - a summary of the Senate speech he gave - and argue he's wrong.
Even if you support flooding Ukraine with endless US money and weapons, the amounts are staggering, the risks of escalation severe. Shouldn't there at least be oversight?
In light of the creepily *unanimous* Dem Party support for this rapidly escalating US war role, I also strongly encourage everyone to read what @BernieSanders warned about in the @guardian on Feb. 8, about what the US shouldn't do after Russia invades:
Many Dems voting YES on this gigantic and largely unprecedented war bill have long denounced exactly these sorts of bills, and even *very recently* warned against pouring billions of money and weapons into Ukraine.
What happened? And why won't they explain their votes?
Just 2 months, @IlhanMN correctly warned, on March 8, that it would be "likely disastrous" for the US to pour money and weapons into Ukraine.
Presumably, when Hoyer says "we're at war," he means: the United States is now at war with Russia, which seems like a pretty big deal to me, given that these two countries possess the planet's largest nuclear stockpiles.
Good morning. May I show you something truly amazing? Look at what @CoriBush admits about the $40b war package she -- and the entire Squad -- just voted for: "a large percentage" goes not to Ukraine but "to private defense contractors," with "increased risks of direct war."
To see her justifications for why she nonetheless voted YES, see the full statement, if you can discern a rationale.
At least she said something, unlike the other 5 Squad members who said nothing, despite requests, which I'll post if we receive anything:
The silence from the Squad about why they voted YES on a huge war package for Raytheon and CIA -- exactly what they have spent years denouncing -- is exceeded only by the utter silence of the sector of the left-media that branded and enriched itself by tying itself to the Squad.
There's not even an inkling of this sentiment anywhere on the mainstream American left (meaning the Bernie/AOC "left"). They are -- yet again -- in pure lockstep unity with the establishment wings of both parties over rapidly escalating a war with a nuclear-armed power.
What's happening in DC seems to be a bridge too far even for NYT. In its report on Congress' approval of $40b more for the war in Ukraine - with every Dem voting YES - they note over and over: there is almost no questioning or debate over this escalation:
To the extent there's any questioning of the Biden Admin's stunningly rapid escalation of its involvement in a war with the nation with the largest nuclear stockpile, it comes solely from parts of the GOP and small sectors of right-wing media. Just pure compliance from the left: