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At DNC, the Squad Warns Democrats to Wake Up to the Threat of AIPAC (theintercept.com)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

19 comments fedilink hide all child comments

WITH THE DEMOCRATIC primary season winding down, members of the Squad are speaking more directly than ever about the role that the pro-Israel lobby played in silencing critics of Israel’s human rights abuses in Congress, as well as Democrats’ complicity.

As the Democratic National Convention entered its final day in Chicago, the topic of the war on Gaza and the role of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in elections had been largely absent from the main stage. No Palestinian speakers got time on the dais, despite the protest efforts from the “Uncommitted” movement this week.

Instead, the conversation among Democrats about pushing for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to U.S. weapons shipments to Israel, and the party’s role in allowing AIPAC to shape its primaries has been taking place outside the United Center, where progressives held protests to hold convention delegates’ feet to the fire.

And victims of AIPAC’s political campaigns were on hand to add their voices to the demonstrations.

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[–] [email protected] 66 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

This will have teeth and meaning when politicians (Besides Bernie) start calling to overturn citizens united. Or when Boeing. Raytheon, General Dynamics and Honeywell stop profiting from arms sales to Israel.

The media has been gushing over all of this rhetoric and pomp coming out of the DNC but not really asking where are the receipts. I want to see evidence of ballot initiatives, planning committees, investigative structures. You know, congress people doing their jobs. I'm really disenfranchised with the Dems as a whole since October last year.

Fuck Trump. Kamala Harris will be a better president and states woman. A democratic super majority if we can do it will benefit the most people here in the US. But, I'd love to see lasting change, not just platitudes and the threat of a fascist state every fucking election cycle.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It really is bizarre just how little people bring up citizens united, or election integrity in general really. Focus is always on disenfranchisement, which is important, but neither side wants to fight pacs, or go even further back and not allow politicians to lie in ads. You know that used to be a thing nearly a half century ago?

I just hope that enough Dems will trade political capital with more moderate Dems to push for some reform. It'll take a lot of sway to get them to do away with their money maker, though.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I wish I shared your hope. None of this gets done without bipartisan cooperation and outside of war profiteering and corporate subsidies I don't see that happening.

If you want to see the most recent harm of Super PACs look at RFK Jr, or the shithead that primaried Cory Bush.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/timothy-mellon-trump-rfk-jr

https://www.jezebel.com/cori-bush-is-leading-the-charge-against-the-comstock-act-the-man-who-beat-her-in-a-primary-doesnt-seem-to-know-what-it-is

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

This will have teeth and meaning when politicians (Besides Bernie) start calling to overturn citizens united.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3819814-democrats-introduce-constitutional-amendment-to-reverse-citizens-united-campaign-finance-ruling/

Turns out overturning the Supreme Court isn't a quick and easy task. Obama, for fuck's sake, condemned Citizens United in harsh terms when it happened, and Obama was normally reserved on SCOTUS decisions.

It's not a question of "Is there support on the Dem side for overturning Citizens United".

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Yes, I'm asking for actual committee action on this and for it to be a part of the platform. It'll take years to overturn CU. But the sooner we start the sooner it'll get done.

[–] [email protected] 45 points 2 months ago (3 children)

This entire article about AIPAC and their spending, and not once citizens united is mentioned? the 2010 supreme court ruling that is specifically allowing foreign governments to spend money influencing our elections? YES, AIPAC needs to be stopped... by ending citizens united and passing campaign finance reform, which was Bernie Sanders' primary goal in running for president in 2016 and 2020.

This is a "jewish spending group is racist and bad!" article, when it should be "foreign governments influencing our elections is bad!" article

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 months ago

In that entire article, the only time the word "jewish" came up was when it referred to people that AIPAC had attacked. So it's not about it being a Jewish lobby, it's about it being a foreign lobby.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

AIPAC existed well before Citizens United.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

True. But was their power and influence this extensive before CU?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Absolutely. In fact one of my first posts to Lemmy was documenting how every POTUS, VPOTUS, Speaker of the House, and Senate Majority Leader has spoken at an AIPAC conference going back to the Clinton Administration. They've likely been the most powerful lobbying group in America since at least the early 90s and most American's had never heard of them until recently.

It's my opinion that AIPAC's power both predates and has nothing to do with Citizens United.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

This 100%. Nothing will change by eliminating one particular group. End all foreign election influence. Candidates should only be able to raise funds from domestic citizens, period.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago

100%? Yes, Citizens United has poured petrol on the ability of large aggregations of money to undemocratically influence election outcomes; and yes some of those aggregations are unconcerned with the wellbeing of American people. But are people that are voicing concerns about AIPAC (given that it represents an appartite state currently brutally escalating a decades old genocide, that wants to silence any political voices that are critical of it) actually antisemitic? Because the comment you rated as 100% seems to be furthering AIPACs goal.

It's as if they read about Breonna Taylor's murder and concluded that black people shouldn't think that stand your ground laws apply to them but the important lesson is that killing is wrong.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Just strategically, doesn't AIPAC contribute too much to Republicans to be considered an ally?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

They contribute to primary challengers against progressives, which is enough for centrists to consider them allies.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

So does Hakeem Jeffries' BluePac, and that's why leadership gave him a promotion.

They've been so busy building the party to be fully accessible to financial interests that the corruption is what stands out most prominently to a public that can't tell the difference between either party.