CHICAGO — A Kamala Harris administration will not cut or condition US security assistance to Israel, her former aide says during a panel on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention.
Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Halie Soifer, who previously served as Harris’s national security adviser in the Senate, notes that the Biden-Harris administration has approved more aid to Israel in the past six months — $15 billion — than any other administration ever.
And in a political system where the people get to choose who they vote for I would agree with you.
But we do not exist within that system and we are not being given a choice on this matter.
Am I mad about it? Fuck yeah I am, I’m pissed as hell about it. But I also observe the reality of our situation right now. This isn’t a situation in which voters have a say right now. The fact that that is true is a fundamental failing of our American society, but, there it is. Gaza/Israel is not an issue that the American public are being allowed to vote on at this time. We can be loud about it - and we absolutely should - but don’t make the mistake of thinking this is an issue we can solve with votes during this election cycle. Harris and the DNC are riding high on the “we aren’t Trump” train and they know they won’t need to make further concessions to cash in on that after their huge success replacing Biden.
I don’t like it any more than you do, but this isn’t a problem that’s about to be solved by denigrating Harris about it. I’m also not saying you should be quiet about it. But an understanding of, and a communication of, the nuance involved on our (American) end of the situation might help folks not knee jerk lash out at you.
The folks dying every day in Gaza don’t give half a fuck about the nuance of the American end of the problem, and I understand that fully. But the American populace are held hostage by their ruling class and other people are being hurt because of it. Average Joe American has fuck all they can do about this issue right now. It’s a non-issue electorally because neither side will make a major change to the current situation so it doesn’t work as political capital for either. And there is no option C, no matter how much we beg and plead for it.
That… that’s what we’re doing?
Pretty sure most people understand that. Hence this whole story and the discussion. We have unfortunately learned that Harris is fine with supplying weapons that Israel will undoubtedly use to kill children, and obviously Trump would do the same with even fewer moral qualms.
Then how do you propose people express their dissatisfaction with this particular policy? I think denigrating someone for a decision I don’t agree with is perfectly legitimate. Isn’t that what freedom of speech is for?
You may not be but it seems other people are. The person I was responding to implied that it should be coupled with an election disclaimer. I’ve had plenty of arguments where people basically say this is “pro Trump” or Russian messaging. There is an incredibly strong implication that we should be quiet about it and fall in line.
Sorry but the word “nuance” here kills me. It is not complicated, and it is not nuanced. You have effectively no choice but to vote for one of two parties. One of those parties is headed by a fascist with sights on destroying American democracy. If you don’t like that you have to vote for the other party. If you don’t vote it mainly helps the worse guys. That is a lot of things but it is NOT NUANCE. It is a stupid, broken system.
It’s a non issue electorally (except not exactly given the large “uncommitted” vote and the risk that people will stay home and not vote) but it is a big fucking issue actually. In real life. Where we live. Shouldn’t we at least try to encourage a change of policy?
I’m sorry, I understand that you are trying to explain why people don’t like this criticism and that you agree with me broadly. It also seems you don’t think it’s bad to talk about this. But then I don’t really see what your point is? I understand how American elections work.
Alright, fair enough, point taken. You pretty much hit the nail on the head here:
My point is, when I see people bring up this rhetoric, it’s more often than not brought up by discarding all context and simply using it as a cudgel to build up Trump by bashing his competitor. I take issue with this for reasons that are hopefully obvious. Since it’s become clear that you are able to read and parse information that is presented to you, you’re not really the target audience for my retort.
But I absolutely will not stand for the crowd that’s out bellowing about “Kamala bad! Kamala bad because Israel! Both sides bad! Don’t vote! Both sides bad!” because they are rabble-rousing fools and represent a clear and present danger to the American people.
Ok cool, then yeah we agree!
Next time I will say this.
DISCLAIMER: America has a two party system. In the current political climate, both parties are supportive of Israel and voting therefore offers no way to solve this issue. Trump is also worse than Harris on this issue. Not voting only helps the republicans, and if you don’t agree with their platform, the only rational electoral choice is to vote blue. While you may disagree with some policies, one has to make a pragmatic decision on election day. Voting is a chess move not a love letter. The death will continue regardless, we have no power to stop it.
Boy I sure wish American weapons weren’t being used to do a genocide. It would be nice if Harris didn’t want to keep doing that.