WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders is preparing several resolutions that would stop more than $20 billion in U.S. arms sales to Israel, a longshot effort but the most substantive pushback yet from Congress over the devastation in Gaza ahead of the first year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war.
In a letter to Senate colleagues on Wednesday, Sanders said the U.S. cannot be “complicit in this humanitarian disaster.” The action would force an eventual vote to block the arms sales to Israel, though majority passage is highly unlikely.
“Much of this carnage in Gaza has been carried out with U.S.-provided military equipment,” Sanders, I-Vt., wrote.
As the war grinds toward a second year, and with the outcome of President Joe Biden’s efforts to broker a cease-fire deal and hostage release uncertain, the resolutions from Sanders would seek to reign in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assault on Gaza. The war has killed some 41,000 people in Gaza after the surprise Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel, and abducted 250 others, with militants still holding around 100 hostages.
While it’s doubtful the politically split Senate would pass the measures, the move is designed to send a message to the Netanyahu regime that its war effort is eroding the U.S.'s longtime bipartisan support for Israel. Sanders said he is working with other colleagues on the measures.
[...]
Under the Senate rules, once Sanders introduces the resolutions next week, he can force a vote almost instantly for consideration. The measures are being proposed as a joint resolution of disapproval of the arms sales, which is a mechanism that allows congressional oversight of foreign affairs.
Sanders said he would have some backing for his proposal. But it is not expected to have support from a majority, 51 votes, in the Senate to pass.
In the House, blocking the Israeli arms sales would face even tougher odds, where Republicans hold the majority, and have largely sided with Netanyahu’s approach to the war with Hamas.
Still a zionist POS, hope he rots
I'm asking this in good faith.
Background: I am very leftist, card carrying DSA member, etc.
I remember being angry with Bernie for not immediately decrying the genocide in Gaza but it seems he's completely flipped and is one of the few people in Congress speaking out against the US's support for Israel.
I think it's highly likely that he was influenced by fear of reprisal from AIPAC. He even mentions how AIPAC torpedoed two primaries for members of "the squad".
Anyway, I like Bernie mostly. Is there still a genuine reason to throw him out like a baby with the bathwater?
I recently heard Obama talk about the "circular firing squad", where perfect is the enemy of good and progressive forces tear each other down for the smallest ideological differences.
I'm hoping to hear from a few voices in lemmygrad and hexbear on their thoughts.
Edit:
Maybe I asked the wrong question. I hate Democrats, possibly more than I hate Republicans or Trump supporters. At least the Trump supporters I could write off as too ignorant, undereducated and manipulated to know better.
I joined the DSA, donated, did phone banking, went to events, and should be more involved but sometimes I can't be.
What is the call to action? What can I do? If there were socialist candidates locally I would absolutely vote for them but at the presidential level I have no other option but to vote Democrat if we want to stand a chance at preserving democracy. For my own mental health I have to have some faith that there are some mainstream voices that have a prayer of a chance of pushing the Overton window to the left.
If this is just a thing where I must present two faces, one true one where I roast libs for being horrible and another fake one where I have to have a soft voice and try to gently move my lib friends towards sanity, then that makes sense too.
I just felt hopeful for the first time in years that the US could be slightly better than the dystopian shithole that it is.
Edit 2:
This is the forum for being true and telling it like it is. Even if I like some parts of Bernie that doesn't mean that hating the rest of him isn't true as well.
No you do have a choice. You don't habe to vote for either genocide party. Unless you support genocide then you can't go wrong either way.
There us no democracy in the US. There is only democracy for the ruling class. This system does not exist to serve or support us, it is only an instrument of the oppressors will.
We all should have known better than to take you seriously from the jump because only a total lib would say that. A lot of us gave you the benefit of the doubt, because we would rather explain our position to someone in good faith so that they can learn.
This too screams lib. This is not a left vision of people. We don't have sympathy of fascist - but we don't ascribe this to "those who disagree with me a stupid/crazy/manipulated" line of thinking.
Chuds and libs both engage with this system because they get something out of it. Not anything material, because that's off the table. Libs think chuds are dumber than them that they "vote against their own interests." What are you doing? Is genocide in your interest? No. What do you get then? You get to feel like you're smarter and more morally correct than chuds. I don't think you're dumb because you do that, or uneducated, or even manipulated. I just think you're wrong.
This is some really fucked up, perverse gatekeeping on your part.
I don't know what kind of magical internet credit you think I need to have to ask questions here.
I really hope that that kind of thinking is not representative here.
I actually liked your first comment but this makes me really fucking sad.
The absolutely most bizarre thing about this interaction is you over-reading into my comment about Trump supporters to claim that I'm parading as a self-superior acting liberal when you're trying to shit-lord over me about socialism and that anyone is an idiot for being naive enough to vote.
I don't think you're an idiot or naive. If you're voting i think youre supporting genocide.
I don't see how that's a mischaraterization. And yes obviously i think your a liberal, you are. You're a genocide supporter.
You can stop being a liberal and not support genocide. If I'm gatekeeping then yes that is the line. Are you choosing to support genocide and voting? If the answer is yes, you are on the wrong side of the gate
You say you liked my first post. My second post and this one are exactly the same. That's why we think Bernie should go away now. We don't want or need to collaborate with genocide supporters