Democratic (Party) Direction

it's OK I'm out and I already FPd myself

I'm out and I already FPd myself

smart move

Case in point why it’s bad that much of left media has abdicated taking foreign policy seriously

I was wondering how AOC would respond, and eventually she RTd this Ro Khanna statement

With respect Senator Durbin, the US should not anoint the leader of the opposition in Venezuela during an internal, polarized conflict. Let us support Uruguay, Mexico, & the Vatican's efforts for a negotiated settlement & end sanctions that are making the hyperinflation worse. https://t.co/qoAb2ou95g

— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) January 24, 2019

I know that sounds reasonable, but calling off sanctions in a situation like this is completely idiotic. And they're not the cause of hyperinflation anyway.

Look, I respect that she bothered to find a statement on the situation that framed it in terms of anti-US involvement that also wasn’t from a tankie idiot.

Even from a realpolitik POV anyone recognizing the new government is jumping the gun bc they don’t seem to have control of the army or any actual power yet. Generally wait until the coup succeeds before validating it.

I mean she could have retweeted Khanna’s quote tweet of Rania Khalek yesterday so it could have been much worse.

I do think Trump should stay out of it and suspect even Guaido wishes he would shut up. But they should prob just leave it at that.

Btw, isn't there a better thread for this?

The Colombia/Ecuador/Venezuela Mess or Let's Place Bets on How Long Before the U.S. Backs a Colombian War With Venezuela

Wait, idg what's wrong with Ro Khanna

The Representative installed by Silicon Valley tech firms trying to rebrand as a lefty™ will never be not funny to me pic.twitter.com/j2JswksmW4

— accessible price of drinks stan account (@Convolutedname) January 24, 2019

Elizabeth warren used to be a republican.

I used to be a young man.

well, a 'massachusetts republican'

Too long ago to be comparable. Plus he’s retweeted Assadists Like Ben Norton and Rania Khalek fairly recently.

I've retweeted Chris Hayes and he's a shitty liberal. What's your point?

You’re saying Chris Hayes is just as bad as the people who get paid to do propaganda for a genocidal dictator. Okay man, that’s bad ass.

I'm saying on occasion I RT ppl I don't broadly agree with if and when they make a valid point.

Idk who Ben Norton is and I don't claim to know who pays RK

Here's Ilhan Omar expressing the exact same position as Ro btw just for fun

A US backed coup in Venezuela is not a solution to the dire issues they face. Trump's efforts to install a far right opposition will only incite violence and further destabilize the region. We must support Mexico, Uruguay & the Vatican's efforts to facilitate a peaceful dialogue.

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 25, 2019

You sure you don’t want to just say that you don’t care who pays her? It’s not like no one has looked into it.

Tbh I don't really care since I stopped following her when she came out as a Tulsi stan

chris hayes is bad?

That's purely me being petty, by TV newstalker standards I'm sure he's great

what the hell's going on here

appearing on msnbc is a mark of impurity, real progressive cred is earned by reporting via carrier pigeon / smoke signal, never saying the word "Russia"

he actually is pretty great

his good take ratio is p decent for a guy allowed on tv

I don't watch/have MSNBC, it's his Twitter posturing that irks me. It was nice when he put Wallace Shawn on though

Anyway not really the thread for it, Soto sorry I insulted yr TV bf

His Twitter comments are often sharper than his show, and his retweets are often of economic news. He gets that the Russia stuff gives his show ballast, but he uses the ballast to discuss the carceral state, tax policy, etc.

He has the best MSNBC show for sure. He gave more coverage to stuff like the WV teachers strike last year than anyone.

I also think Khanna's rebranding is weird and suspicious tbh

ack, I'd thought Ro was one of the good ones and spidey senses hadn't been tingling, but Hoos is trustworthy on these things

Btw it's not disqualifying or whatever but it is kinda weird to me that Warren used to be a republican even if she wisened up at the young age of (looks it up) uhh...45

Otoh this sounds pretty dope

Don’t call Warren’s tax a 2% tax. Over 10 years it would wipe out 18% of wealth over $50M and over 50 years it would wipe out 64%. Over a billion dollars it would wipe out 27% over 10 years and 82% (!) over 50. And that’s not taking into account the returns on these assets.

— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) January 25, 2019

yes!

in 50 years you'll be dead and a separate 100% estate tax will take care of the rest. see ya suckers

Patrick Ruffini has a shot of Bush II's Cabinet as a wallpaper.

If we can't have a robust estate tax on the plutocracy (so that democracy might be saved), I'll take a wealth tax. Florida of all states has one.

This from Stacey Abrams is really good:

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2019-02-01/stacey-abrams-response-to-francis-fukuyama-identity-politics-article

Xxp lol Rania Khalek is not an “assadist” what liberal dumpster did you fish that ragged talking point out of?

If she is an assadist than I’m a Baathist for opposing the Iraq war.

Eh, it's not the same at all, lol.

It’s Rania’s defining characteristic

Ok, then I'm an Assadist for opposing intervention in Syria.

Rania Khalek (RK): I am not a fan of the Syrian government. I’m not out here to support the Syrian government.

What I oppose is the dismantling of the Syrian state which is what several powers have done in the past six years. I oppose that because we’ve seen what it looks like in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and I don’t want to see that happen to Syria.

I also oppose the current alternative to the Syrian government which is a patchwork of Salafi Jihadist groups that want to impose strict religious law, kill minorities, and stone women for adultery. That’s unacceptable to me, and to many people including my relatives who live in Syria who happen to be minorities.

It's not the same at all, because the war in Syria didn't begin as foreign intervention, but as a popular uprising. Goes without saying, but she's lying about the opposition being just islamists. She wants Assad to stay in place while the state is reformed, which won't happen, anf she must know that. Anyone saying tt just wants Assad to stay, which sounds pretty much like being an Assadist.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/pulsemedia.org/2017/08/22/did-a-kremlin-pilgrimage-cause-alternet-bloggers-damascene-conversion/amp/

“She soon delivered a scoop: according to a “UN report”, she claimed, U.S.-EU sanctions were “crippling aid work during the largest humanitarian emergency since World War II”. This was in stark contrast to the UN’s public position, which blamed the Assad regime for blocking 80% of the aid entering Syria. The story was sensational—and, as it turned out, also false. There was no such UN report. The document Khalek cited was an opinion piece written by a member of the British Bankers’ Association, which describes itself as “the voice of banking.”

“After her return from Damascus, as writing and public speaking opportunities started drying up, Khalek became less circumspect in her Assadism, at one point going so far as to promote a video produced by the pro-Assad and far-right activist Vanessa Beeley, who, in direct violation of the Geneva conventions, featured that testimony of a White Helmet extracted under torture. (The video that has been pointedly denounced by Amnesty International.)”