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GUARDIAN: Democratic party elites silence Ilhan Omar at their peril
The bottom line here is that it's going to be increasingly hard to say our foreign policy is pursuing human rights, democracy, or even fighting terrorism when people have access to compelling evidence we use proxies who do the same or worse abuses than those we claim we are trying to end.
The other shoe that has yet to drop on this in Congress is someone saying out loud which business interests demand and profit from our various interventions.
Actually, Trump and some of his surrogates are so ham-handed and dense that they have said some of it out loud like John Bolton lusting after Venezuela's oil.
First, on Monday, Omar criticized the influence of pro-Israel lobbyists on Capitol Hill, tweeting that Congresss stance was all about the Benjamins. She was swiftly rebuked by the party leadership in tandem with Republicans, prompting her to apologize. Then, less than 48 hours later, Omar grilled Americas new envoy to Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, over his well-documented material support for multiple Central American governments that committed mass killings and genocide in the 1980s. She also questioned his credibility, noting that Abrams had pleaded guilty to withholding information from Congress as part of his participation in the Iran-Contra scandal.
How did Democratic elites respond? Several pounced again to defend the Trump administrations backer of death squads against Omars pointed questioning. Kelly Magsamen, a senior official at the Center for American Progress, defended Abrams on Twitter as a fierce advocate for human rights and democracy. Likewise, Nicholas Burns, a 27-year diplomat who most recently advised former secretary of state John Kerry, praised Abrams as a devoted public servant. Its time to build bridges in America, Burns wrote, and not tear people down.
If Democratic leaders were incredulous at Omars statements, rank-and-file Democrats were just as incredulous at their party leaders. Why, many asked, is it routine to criticize the influence of NRA money but almost forbidden to question the influence of Aipac money? On top of that, how could Trumps neocon criminal be lauded as some sort of ally while Omar was treated as a pariah? A Twitter torrent caused Magsamen to delete her tweet and apologize.
Personalities aside, however, the episode is charged with significance for the Democratic party as a whole. Omar is not going away. She represents the partys younger generation, a more diverse and progressive cohort that came of age in the war on terror. In the election of 2016, such voters balked at Hillary Clintons hawkish record and her courting of Never Trump neoconservatives. Now the divide is only wider and more entrenched. Democrats need to have a real conversation, immediately, about the partys values and goals in foreign policy. Squelch it now and watch it resurge in 2020, with Trump the beneficiary.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/16/democratic-party-elites-silence-ilhan-omar
How did Democratic elites respond? Several pounced again to defend the Trump administrations backer of death squads against Omars pointed questioning. Kelly Magsamen, a senior official at the Center for American Progress, defended Abrams on Twitter as a fierce advocate for human rights and democracy. Likewise, Nicholas Burns, a 27-year diplomat who most recently advised former secretary of state John Kerry, praised Abrams as a devoted public servant. Its time to build bridges in America, Burns wrote, and not tear people down.
If Democratic leaders were incredulous at Omars statements, rank-and-file Democrats were just as incredulous at their party leaders. Why, many asked, is it routine to criticize the influence of NRA money but almost forbidden to question the influence of Aipac money? On top of that, how could Trumps neocon criminal be lauded as some sort of ally while Omar was treated as a pariah? A Twitter torrent caused Magsamen to delete her tweet and apologize.
Personalities aside, however, the episode is charged with significance for the Democratic party as a whole. Omar is not going away. She represents the partys younger generation, a more diverse and progressive cohort that came of age in the war on terror. In the election of 2016, such voters balked at Hillary Clintons hawkish record and her courting of Never Trump neoconservatives. Now the divide is only wider and more entrenched. Democrats need to have a real conversation, immediately, about the partys values and goals in foreign policy. Squelch it now and watch it resurge in 2020, with Trump the beneficiary.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/16/democratic-party-elites-silence-ilhan-omar
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GUARDIAN: Democratic party elites silence Ilhan Omar at their peril (Original Post)
yurbud
Feb 2019
OP
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)1. "silenced"?? seriously?