I am a Palestinian American in Pennsylvania, a contested state. I plan to write in “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary on 23 April and in November, I will vote for a third-party candidate.
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For many, myself included, a vote for Biden is simply impermissible – the extent of the moral calamity is so great as to render a vote for Biden a vote for complicity.
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As the president of the Center City mosque in Philadelphia, Mohammed Shariff, said to me: “My vote is the purest form of expression and speech.” President Biden ignores our voices at his own peril, and ours.
“I’m going to shoot myself in the foot on principle.“
Not what was said or meant, but undeniably the ultimate result of this approach will be leadership that actively and happily opposes ANY progress for Palestine. Period.
Biden has done poorly on an issue that the alternative would utterly disregard.
I know, the “lesser evil” argument is weak - but Biden is pushing back on Netanyahu where others would encourage and enable him.
It’s your vote - think pragmatically.
Why isn’t it Biden’s job to think pragmatically?
It is. He is standing by our ally while calling out their actions. I don’t agree with it either but recognize that turning our back on Israel would destabilize the mess in the region even more.
Netanyahu is the problem and it’s obvious that Biden wants him gone but for now it’s a shitty situation Iran just escalated.
What would have Biden do? Put troops in Gaza? I wish we’d cut off military aid personally but people far more qualified than me make those calls. It’s a shitshow for sure but opting for worse is not the solution.
Iran escalated, by returning fire?
Here’s some pragmatism for you.
- Leaving Israel to hang out to dry will open up America to accusations that it gives in too easily to ‘antisemitic’ rhetoric and doesn’t really care for Jews. Don’t think that can happen? It already has.
- Putin and Netanyahu, despite not being as close today, have historically been close, and Israel is a pretty friendly nation to Russia, with the third most common language spoken in Israel being Russian, and the third ranked non-Soviet state in terms of Russian speakers being Israel.
- Jews represent roughly 5.8 million Americans, compared to roughly 3.5 million. And Jews, as a whole, lean heavily towards Democrats, with roughly half of those polled in 2018 identifying with Team Blue. And while almost 60%, we’re still talking 2.9 million Jews versus 2.1 million Muslims. Doing what you say you want him to do will lose him many of those 2.9 million votes, and if he listens to the most vocal of the people saying they won’t vote for him, he has to wonder how much of the 2.1 million other votes he’ll get back.
- And of course, the rest of the Middle East is just WAITING for us to stop protecting Israel. They’ve wanted Israel gone since 1949, and we are the only reason that hasn’t happened. I’m sure that’s entered Biden’s pragmatic evaluation, too!
How’s that for pragmatism for ya?
1: Jews aren’t Israel, and they’re perfefctly capable of making that distiction. The US doesn’t need to equate them.
2: Great, let’s get all the murderous shitheads in one bloc and fuck them all off together. Not seeing the downside here.
3: It’s not just Muslims that he needs to win back, it’s everyone on the left with any kind of principles. Including a goodly number of Jews.
4: 76 years of brutal oppression, but now Uncle Vernon isn’t around to shield them from consequences? Behold my garden of fucks, may’st see that it lieth barren.
Claiming he’s pushing back while he’s pushing for more funding and weapons sales is a weak argument. What he says never aligns with what he does
Fair enough, but consider what he’s saying is all but unprecedented. He’s tying strings to our policy and directly pushing aid to Gaza too. Yes, the air drops have not been anywhere near enough - but that they happen at all is telling.
Again, the point is that the alternative would be exponentially worse. Yes, worse even than the nightmare it already is.
No, nothing Biden is doing is praiseworthy. Ronald Reagan, yes that Ronald Reagan, was far more assertive:
In addition to not vetoing UN resolutions, Reagan took several actions that many in Israel and the United States perceived as anti-Israel. For example, on June 7, 1981, less than six months after Reagan took office, Israel launched a surprise bombing raid on the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak, and, in so doing, violated the airspace of Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Reagan not only supported UNSC Resolution 487, which condemned the attack, but he also criticized the raid publicly and suspended the delivery of advanced F-16 fighter jets to Israel.
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In addition to allowing the UN resolutions to pass and suspending the F-16 delivery, Reagan also restricted aid and military assistance to Israel to help force its withdrawal of troops from Beirut and central Lebanon.
All Biden does is flap his lips while giving weapons to Israel. The air drops are just theater that do nothing to prevent the famine.
Imagine being to the right of people like Reagan and Thatcher and calling themselves progressive
It doesn’t get much worse then genocide. If Biden did the exact same things he’s done with Palestine but as a Republican fucking liberals would be calling for impeachment, investigations, 25th amendment, etc. anything to get him out of office.
But democrats will accept right wing fascist authoritarian policy if it has a D next to their name
“I plan to vote for the fascist who will deport me and my family out of the country. Won’t you join me in destroying American democracy outright instead of shifting the Overton Window to the left by voting progressive people in and looking forward to 2028?”
they said they would vote for a so called third party. that’s voting against fascists.
In the American system, voting for the 3rd party is voting for Republicans.
this is misinformation. the votes must be counted for whoever the voter chooses.
No it’s not. In a 2 party system, Republican voters vote straight Republican, regardless.They see that r and they pull the trigger. Democrats, on the other hand are a much broader tent. They encompass everybody else that isn’t Is die hard republican.
What pool of voters do you think are gonna be drawn mostly to a green party ticket? It’s not gonna be republican voters
Jesus you guys have it all backwards, someone needs to overhaul this crap
You’re not wrong, but there’s no incentive for the people operating in the current system to change that system.
What pool of voters do you think are gonna be drawn mostly to a green party ticket? It’s not gonna be republican voters
the pool who don’t like war and environmental destruction
Democrats, on the other hand are a much broader tent. They encompass everybody else that isn’t Is die hard republican.
no, they don’t. if that were true then no one would vote for any party except democrats and republicans. that’s not the case, so you’re incorrect.
So in conclusion when you have a third party ticket it inevitably will weaken the democrat vote thereby putting republicans in power
Thus demonstrating that America is not a democracy, it only pretends to be.
It’s a democracy that’s been hijacked by two parties.
Which is exactly what George Washington warned about in his farewell address:
"Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely ought of sight) the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise People to discourage and restrain it.
It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the Public Administration. It agitates the Community with ill founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another."- George Washington Farewell Address September 19, 1796
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Israel is a liability for the US. Contrary to popular thinking, an alliance can be a liability, especially such one that operates on politics, self-interest. People think China is weak because it has no allies. China does not have liabilities like the US does. It is not entangled in bilateral or organization defense pacts. Israel can do what it wants because the Israel lobby is powerful in the US. The US is a flawed democracy that has to follow and support an insignificant country by a lot of measures. Israel is protected. Ukraine is not protected. Nor do I think that is the point of US and NATO involvement in Ukraine. I think they wanted Russia to invade.
