Progressive Democrats in the House are walking back a letter they sent to President Biden that called for talks with Russia after facing backlash for suggesting diplomacy should be pursued to end the war in Ukraine.
The letter was signed by 30 lawmakers and was led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The lawmakers made clear in the letter that they support the Biden administration’s policy of shipping tens of billions of dollars in weapons to Ukraine, but said diplomacy should be pursued due to the risk of nuclear war and “catastrophic escalation.”
After the letter became public on Monday, Jayapal issued a statement clarifying that she supports the Biden administration’s Ukraine policy. “In a letter to President Biden today, my colleagues and I advocated for the administration to continue ongoing military and economic support for Ukrainians while pursuing diplomatic support to Ukraine to ensure we are helpful partners on efforts to reach ‘a solution that is acceptable to the people of Ukraine,” Jayapal said.
She added that Democrats are “unequivocal commitment to supporting Ukraine” and said that she agreed with the administration’s position that nothing can be talked about with Russia “without Ukraine.”
In the letter, the lawmakers said they agreed with the administration’s position on not making a deal without Ukraine. But they added that “as legislators responsible for the expenditure of tens of billions of US taxpayer dollars in military assistance in the conflict, we believe such involvement in this war also creates a responsibility for the United States to seriously explore all possible avenues.”
Other signatories to the letter said it was drafted months ago and that they wouldn’t support it today. “I signed this letter on June 30, but a lot has changed since then. I wouldn’t sign it today,” Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “We have to continue supporting Ukraine economically and militarily to give them the leverage they need to end this war.”
“As Chair of the Caucus, I accept responsibility for this,” Jayapal said in a statement. “The proximity of these statements created the unfortunate appearance that Democrats, who have strongly and unanimously supported and voted for every package of military, strategic, and economic assistance to the Ukrainian people, are somehow aligned with Republicans who seek to pull the plug on American support for President Zelensky and the Ukrainian forces.”
Can’t have that. She shouldn’t be worried though since plenty of those republicans “against” the funding are against it for reasons other than them being interested in peace.
“I signed this letter on June 30, but a lot has changed since then. I wouldn’t sign it today,” Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) wrote on Twitter Tuesday.
That’s four months after the war began. What changed? Did she expect something other than warlike situations when the war continued on after June 30th?
It’s holy and blessed now.
Excerpt Chris Hedges (who covered many wars):
Is lying synonymous with all political parties?…
Gutless
Amen. What a parliament of whores! I’m embarrassed to share the same species. Pray to God they’re all defeated, if only for this.
Corrupted too.
Antiwar Democrats? What a lie and betrayal. They are only anti war when the Republicans start a war but turn totally pro war when the Democrats start it. I cast my vote for a third party this first time and I encourage everyone to give their votes to antiwar candidates instead of the bipartisan war parties.
She added that Democrats are “unequivocal commitment to supporting Ukraine” and said that she agreed with the administration’s position that nothing can be talked about with Russia “without Ukraine.”
What Ukraine is she talking about? The US overthrew the leadersship there in 2014, its a US client state pure and simple. Zelensky campaigned on a platform of implementing MINSK and normalizing relations with Russia and ending the civil war, but US-armed/trained/finance neo-nazi goons threatened to kill him on video for the whole world to see and he reversed course immediately afterwards.
Gutless Democrats are pro-regime-change and pro-war. These illegal coups and wars will continue under Democrats just as they would under Republicans because the Military Industrial Complex has more lobbyists than there are politicians in the country.
The external war is nothing but a smokescreen for the internal war – the plutocrats against the rest of us. The wealth gap will keep getting bigger, national debt will explode, freedoms and rights will disappear, social programs will be cut and homelessness will become the norm. The US is well on its way to becoming a giant tent city. Ukraine will be completely devastated and Europe de-industrialized. The US is pulling the entire West off a cliff, probably the whole planet.
Hopefully the people rally around a politician who is serious about jailing US war criminals and ending the Forever War. Those trillions are better spent developing the US economy. A country this rich should have zero homelessness, free education and healthcare for all.
“Hopefully the people rally around a politician who is serious about jailing US war criminals and ending the Forever War.”
If there is such a critter, he/she will be dead before taking office or shortly thereafter.
Do you write WRU?… You should, you might have the makings of a good story…
Thanks Donna. I mostly plagiarize. 😉
No dissent is allowed. The antiwar left is completely marginalized. Not even a Democratic Congressperson, much less a Democratic Senator or national political figure, can question, nevermind criticize, the proxy war that the Biden Administration has ginned up, is currently fighting, and won’t even consider letting go of.
There need to be numerous high-profile resignations from the Democratic Party. Tulsi Gabbard doesn’t have much of a profile these days
I would find even just a few national Dems merely publically questioning the horrible Ukraine policy to be substantial progress. That’s how bad is the lock-step, group-think, war mongering is in the party.
Yess, there is an entirely different quality to deep state imposed control of the narrative. Suppression of any even marginal dissemt, and rsther dangerous level of oppression.
Why is it so? What kind of thrmeats exist out there to make someone like Italy’s Geotgia Meloni abandon her voters who are in large numbers anti-sanction voting, to support EU and NATO policy? In Italy this is called masochism confused with courage. Nothing explains Scholtz’s. announced trip to China — and the pressure by certain circles to give it up.
What is it? Melinoni throughout her campaign accused financial oligarchy for economic hardships, Yet, she with the rest of Europesn leaders bow deeply to its power?
Is the Western financial oligarchy brought economies into dead end, and are in need of wars — the bigger the better, to mask it? And to cannibalize their own financial assets for the stronger to exact the price over weaker — and spare them if they bow deep enough?
There is something sinister about the iver the top, grotesque lying in media, by politicians,
I all the talking about nukes, speculation about Russia losing and using nukes to avoid humiliation — I am afraid that it is tge other way around. That it is not the humiliation financial oligarchy fears, but the end of their one-trick-pony credit expansion. As Western countries
are over leveraged and weallthy east did not let the credit trick enter their gates — all that is
left is military production expansion. What if it doed not work?
And Russia is ti be brought to heels to serve as an example to others -/ to open their financial gates, or else.
Thus the narrative is simple, Ukraine is winning. We are winning. But Russia is not cooperating. It is slowly chewed through earth. grinding down
Ukrainian military assets and personnel. Voting in four regiond on self -determination. Moving into destroying war making potential in infrastructure. Each escallation step a higher notch of pain.
Ukraine and its allies cannot soeed up the tempo, do not have the means of affecting Russian plans. The danger is — increase sabotage activity and or nucler threat.
Since red line was set —“if Rusdia uses nukes”…
then we get into war. Thus, have some “While Helmet” style provocation of a dirty, nuclear matter laced bomb, and pretex set?
Russia has apoarently intelligence supporting this. Hearing to be held in UN.
Clearly, with the increase of oppression, there is an increase in risk that an intramural spat between Russia and Ukraine turn into a serious conflagration.
Qui Bono.
They weren’t anti-war. They voted for it. They voted against monitoring where the money was spent, even. I don’t like Rand Paul, but he was right.
I realize that “they” (the Squad and the other Prog 30 signators) were not and are not antiwar. What I meant was that the antiwar left has no voice. Not the Squad or the other Progs, who went back even on their tepid, very, very mildy critical letter. Paul represents the antiwar right.
Yes, I know. There really isn’t a “left” either.
“Nuclear weapons”. MoonofAlabama wrote a reminder today of how Biden blatantly lied about Russia using chemical weapons. Back in April. Intelligence agents after that said there was no proof of Russia moving chemical weapons anywhere near Ukraine, none. It was made up. NBC News wrote:
“It’s one of a string of examples of the Biden administration’s breaking with recent precedent by deploying declassified intelligence as part of an information war against Russia. The administration has done so even when the intelligence wasn’t rock solid, officials said, to keep Russian President Vladimir Putin off balance.”
When Iraq was invaded (with all power stations around Baghdad bombed), they lied and said Iraqis were opening barrels to pour mustard gas over the battlefield. That is of course not how poison gas works. And the media never asked about this lie again. It’s how you silence critics. Like “throwing babies out of incubators”. Then you find out later it never happened.
Now they are lying about nuclear weapons. Russia has NEVER said they’d use nuclear weapons. Putin simply said in a speech that if the U.S. attacked Russia, they have their own modern weapons to defend themselves with. He didn’t mention nukes. This is the “Putin threatens to use nuclear weapons!” claim. That’s it.
Bernie and “the Squad” have voted for every Ukraine war-funding bill so far. Now they have caved within 24 hours of issuing a milquetoast letter demanding diplomacy. How pathetic the supposed ‘anti-war’ left has become, and how complete from top to bottom is neocon/MIC control in Washington DC
I would only add “neo lib” to neo con and MIC.
Interesting article on the absence of the left from the antiwar side.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/whatever-happened-to-the-antiwar-left/
I would add another factor: simple partisan politics. Iraq II was Bush’s war. That led a lot of Democrats who were not and are not really antiwar to oppose it, for partisan, political reasons.
Now, the Ukraine is Biden’s war. And so that reason not only drops out, but moves to the other column. Even during Obama’s presidency, the fickleness and opportunism already became pretty evident, as Obama reinvaded Iraq, “surged” in Afghanistan, and started wars in Libya and Syria. With “the left” having either very little to say, or even joining in the cheerleading. Obama also regularized and legalized the GWOT, in all its ugliness (endless detention without due process, targeted killings, drone strikes which killed civilians, “covert operations” throughout the world, etc), again, without much of a peep. At least you could say that Obama did try to use dipolmacy with Iran, Nicaragua, and Cuba. But Biden? Other than his one good deed in Afghanistan, he has gone absolutely war crazy. War with Russia. Threaten war with China. Refuse to restore peace with Iran after Trump trashed Obama’s rare accomplishment on that front. Needless antagonism of the KSA. And of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Bellicosity at every turn. Threatening Africa and India for not going along with his sanctions.
The antiwar “left” in the USA is too tied to the Democratic party to do anything about it. And, frankly, much of it doesn’t even want to, and is having fun with their Ukrainian flags and so forth. Pinkwashing their imperialism by pretending it is all about Putin’s repressive cultural policies. Absurdly comparing him to Hitler. Memory holing the Nazi neo factor in Ukrainian politics, governance, and the military.
I find the whole thing to be very discouraging, and actually kind of disgusting.
Code Pink disrupted numerous Obama and pro-war-Democrat events during his administration. They’re anti-war all the time. Even when Russia is involved.
https://www.codepink.org/ukraine
I agree.
Normal for 2022 isnt it? Wrong is right, as window-dressed progressives become hypocritical regressive and it doesnt matter what face is in from the screen,its the same ol’ rules for thee but not for bs…