Democrats are not liberal. They are leftists. They have not been hijacked by a few radical progressives. They have embraced them. The so-called “squad” of the left-wing in Congress is generally the loudest among them, though usually wrong-headed about everything, and they tend to be unjustifiably contrarian when it comes to any attempt at thoughtful debate.
Thankfully – though not often enough – cooler heads prevail, even if it may be to the displeasure of Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
The U.S. House passed a bill on Thursday that grants $1B to the nation of Israel in order to replenish armaments for their Iron Dome defense system; a system that was nearly depleted after the May 2021 conflict between Israel and the terrorist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The “No” votes on the bill say all that needs to be said:
No votes on $1B for Israel Iron Dome:
Cori Bush (D-MO)
André Carson (D-IN)
Jesus Garcia (D-IL)
Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ)
Thomas Massie (R-KY)
Marie Newman (D-IL)
Ilhan Omar (D-MN)
Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)
Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)Present:
Hank Johnson (D-GA)
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)— Emily Brooks (@emilybrooksnews) September 23, 2021
Ilhan Omar, the most ungrateful immigrant ever elected to Congress, couldn’t help but awaken her inner Lebron James and run her mouth.
Given the human rights violations in Gaza, Sheikh Jarrah, and ever-growing settlement expansion, we should not be ramming through a last-minute $1 billion increase in military funding for Israel without any accountability.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 23, 2021
As my colleague, @BettyMcCollum04 has pointed out, this language was added without the knowledge or consent of relevant committee chairs or proper budgeting.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 23, 2021
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 23, 2021
This vote is not about simply funding the Iron Dome. It’s about adding an extra billion dollars on top of the $73 million we already allocated this year. That’s 14 times more than we normally spend on it and 60% of what we’ve provided for it over the course of a decade.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 23, 2021
Those advocating for this have not made the case for why this enormous increase is necessary and why the U.S. taxpayers have to fund it.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 23, 2021
A number of Republicans changed their votes after initially voting against the bill. Ocasio-Cortez, who together with Tlaib, Omar, Pressley and Bush form the so-called Squad, had initially voted against the legislation, but changed her vote to “present” at the last minute. She was reported to have been visibly shaken up after casting her final decision.
Funding for the Iron Dome, which is designed to help Israel defend itself from rocket attacks launched by terrorist groups like Hamas in Gaza, has long enjoyed bipartisan support. Democratic members of the House Appropriations Committee sought to stress that the funding is purely for defensive purposes.
The bill, dubbed the Iron Dome Supplemental Appropriations Act, is a standalone bill and brought forth demur on the House floor from the usual suspects.
“We cannot be talking only about Israelis’ need for safety at a time when Palestinians are living under a violent apartheid system,” Tlaib said, calling the Israeli government “an apartheid regime.”
“We should also be talking about Palestinian need for security from Israeli attacks,” she said.
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), who is Jewish, subsequently abandoned his prepared remarks and angrily blasted Tlaib for having “besmirched our ally.”
“I cannot, I cannot allow one of my colleagues to stand on the floor of the House of Representatives and label the Jewish democratic state of Israel an apartheid state. I reject it,” Deutch said.
Twitter was afire with remarks slamming Omar:
odd that this is the ONLY spending issue Democrat Ilhan Omar is concerned about… https://t.co/E6RiwB6GiA
— Nathan Brand (@NathanBrandWA) September 23, 2021
And some people, like yourself, pay lip service to fighting racism and bigotry. https://t.co/oTapJayxnS
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) September 23, 2021
Seriously, you are just replicating this meme now, courtesy of @TheMossadIL. pic.twitter.com/g69mGoEevl
— Michael Elgort 🤍❤️🤍 ✡️ (@just_whatever) September 23, 2021
Your hatred of Jews is showing https://t.co/2P95dbPkFE
— Viktor Hardarson (@ViktorHardarson) September 23, 2021
Antisemitic vote for death. https://t.co/rIkgEZzuBB
— Nathan Wurtzel (@NathanWurtzel) September 23, 2021
“Thank you to the members of the US House of Representatives, Democrats and Republicans alike, for the overwhelming support for Israel and for the commitment to its security,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in The Times.
“Whoever tries to challenge this support received an unequivocal answer today,” Bennett continued. “The people of Israel thank the American people and their representatives for their steadfast friendship.”
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