I agree completely. Biden has disappointed me greatly on this, and Kamala is not much better. I wrote to the Biden campaign back when it existed and said that if he doesn't do more about the Gaza war I wouldn't donate to his campaign though I would vote for him. Same thing goes for Harris. I spend my meager funds available for donations on down ticket candidates for Senate and House.
There are a lot of assorted analyses about which would hurt the Harris campaign more: staying with "Israel uber alles" or outlining steps she would actually take, rather than sympathizing without action. I actually think that few pro-Israel Democrats would vote for trump as somehow a better alternative. They HAVE to realize that whatever trump does, it would be a blunder that would inflame the war, fast going regional, more than it would help. I actually feel the same about pro Palestinian Democrats. So any guessing is a crapshoot.
But it is clear what the correct MORAL stance, as opposed to political is. 700 Lebanese have died this week (from the pagers to Saturday) and even if some were actually Hezbollah fighters (beyond the leader and one other for sure) the ratio of civilians to successes is way our of whack.
I know that Hezbollah has been designated a terrorist organization by most Western nations and they seem to have pioneered things like suicide bombers. But I'm not sure how many actually terrorist acts have happened since they became more part of the government and social structure in South Lebanon. Lobbing missiles over the border doesn't count. I was surprised to learn that the attack on October 8 which is said to have started all this actually was on the Shebaa farms area in the Northern Golan Heights--not Israel itself, but one of its "occupied areas."
So YES, Biden and Harris. Show some clout. Even threatening to withhold arms if there is no cease fire within X number of days/weeks would give Bibi pause.
The problem with Biden and Israel is a variation of the problem with the Right and the NRA—it's an old playbook that worked okay when the alternative (Comminism!) was so awful that a certain amount of overkill was permissible in the name of The Greater Good.
The problem is that playbook's no longer valid—the reasons for it died out decades ago, and without the threat that made the playbook viable a lot of people took it as license to run riot. Gun nuts in the U.S. no longer thought of guns as protecting America from The Red Menace, but from their own Government(!) because...Equal Rights for Negros(?!?), Women(?!?!?!?), and Gays(?!?!?!?!?!?) was too horrible to be borne; whereas in Israel the only way to be "safe from Arab aggression" was to make sure there were No More Arabs to aggress.
I don’t think the money matters much. NRA contributions are pretty small, and go to people who support them anyway. Also, gun culture signaling is for voters; reps seek out nra endorsements; if it were about donations, they’d keep it quiet, but they don’t. It’s about fascism and populism, not money, in this case.
The money isn't coming from the NRA anymore but it's possible there's lobbying from the industry in ways that wouldn't have been considered appropriate in the recent past. Seems like the NRA was shrinking in membership right as their personal megalomaniac was embezzling more and more of what they had.
It’s just not really about money. Guns are a white rural white identity marker. That’s why right wing pols send out Christmas postcards with their families all holding guns. That’s why they want the nra endorsement. Tax cuts are donor driven to a large extent; that’s just not the case with guns. Unfortunately! Because if it were just money, you could outbid them. (Bloomberg essentially tried that. Didn’t work.)
On the eve of a close election it's risky to do something that is likely to alienate a segment, however small, of your likely voters. Horrible as it is, I am inclined to cut the Biden administration some slack.
well, he's alienating many of his likely voters by this current policy!
the issue with gaza is that it splits the democratic coalition. There are many Dems who are zionists (including Biden), who believe the US should support Israel no matter what it does, no matter how horrific, and many others who do not find that logic persuasive. So whatever they do they're going to anger some group of voters.
Though...the fact is people rarely vote on FP, so they probably have a fair bit of room to maneuver. I think Biden's chosen his current policy more out of conviction than electoral calculus.
Wow.
Preach.
I agree completely. Biden has disappointed me greatly on this, and Kamala is not much better. I wrote to the Biden campaign back when it existed and said that if he doesn't do more about the Gaza war I wouldn't donate to his campaign though I would vote for him. Same thing goes for Harris. I spend my meager funds available for donations on down ticket candidates for Senate and House.
There are a lot of assorted analyses about which would hurt the Harris campaign more: staying with "Israel uber alles" or outlining steps she would actually take, rather than sympathizing without action. I actually think that few pro-Israel Democrats would vote for trump as somehow a better alternative. They HAVE to realize that whatever trump does, it would be a blunder that would inflame the war, fast going regional, more than it would help. I actually feel the same about pro Palestinian Democrats. So any guessing is a crapshoot.
But it is clear what the correct MORAL stance, as opposed to political is. 700 Lebanese have died this week (from the pagers to Saturday) and even if some were actually Hezbollah fighters (beyond the leader and one other for sure) the ratio of civilians to successes is way our of whack.
I know that Hezbollah has been designated a terrorist organization by most Western nations and they seem to have pioneered things like suicide bombers. But I'm not sure how many actually terrorist acts have happened since they became more part of the government and social structure in South Lebanon. Lobbing missiles over the border doesn't count. I was surprised to learn that the attack on October 8 which is said to have started all this actually was on the Shebaa farms area in the Northern Golan Heights--not Israel itself, but one of its "occupied areas."
So YES, Biden and Harris. Show some clout. Even threatening to withhold arms if there is no cease fire within X number of days/weeks would give Bibi pause.
The problem with Biden and Israel is a variation of the problem with the Right and the NRA—it's an old playbook that worked okay when the alternative (Comminism!) was so awful that a certain amount of overkill was permissible in the name of The Greater Good.
The problem is that playbook's no longer valid—the reasons for it died out decades ago, and without the threat that made the playbook viable a lot of people took it as license to run riot. Gun nuts in the U.S. no longer thought of guns as protecting America from The Red Menace, but from their own Government(!) because...Equal Rights for Negros(?!?), Women(?!?!?!?), and Gays(?!?!?!?!?!?) was too horrible to be borne; whereas in Israel the only way to be "safe from Arab aggression" was to make sure there were No More Arabs to aggress.
Very helpful and clearly articulated.
I only missed some mention of National Rifle Association money going into the pockets of anyone who protects gun sales.
People tend to do what they feel supported to do, so I like to follow the money.
I don’t think the money matters much. NRA contributions are pretty small, and go to people who support them anyway. Also, gun culture signaling is for voters; reps seek out nra endorsements; if it were about donations, they’d keep it quiet, but they don’t. It’s about fascism and populism, not money, in this case.
The money isn't coming from the NRA anymore but it's possible there's lobbying from the industry in ways that wouldn't have been considered appropriate in the recent past. Seems like the NRA was shrinking in membership right as their personal megalomaniac was embezzling more and more of what they had.
It’s just not really about money. Guns are a white rural white identity marker. That’s why right wing pols send out Christmas postcards with their families all holding guns. That’s why they want the nra endorsement. Tax cuts are donor driven to a large extent; that’s just not the case with guns. Unfortunately! Because if it were just money, you could outbid them. (Bloomberg essentially tried that. Didn’t work.)
On the eve of a close election it's risky to do something that is likely to alienate a segment, however small, of your likely voters. Horrible as it is, I am inclined to cut the Biden administration some slack.
well, he's alienating many of his likely voters by this current policy!
the issue with gaza is that it splits the democratic coalition. There are many Dems who are zionists (including Biden), who believe the US should support Israel no matter what it does, no matter how horrific, and many others who do not find that logic persuasive. So whatever they do they're going to anger some group of voters.
Though...the fact is people rarely vote on FP, so they probably have a fair bit of room to maneuver. I think Biden's chosen his current policy more out of conviction than electoral calculus.