Betrayal of the American Left

by | Oct 31, 2022

Betrayal of the American Left

by | Oct 31, 2022

marching towards the capital september 15, 2007

I’m sure most of you remember the liberal protests against George Bush’s invasion of Iraq.

They were big, they were loud, they were sometimes rude. And I can’t vouch for all of their hairstyle choices.

But they were right.

The invasion of Iraq was a criminal enterprise, an unconstitutional war built on lies that decimated a country, killed thousands of American soldiers and upwards of a million Iraqis.

Our nation is still involved in endless wars, not just in Iraq but also Syria, Yemen, and possibly a nuclear showdown with Russia.

Since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February, our government has funneled more than $65 billion dollars to the corrupt regime in Kiev and our domestic military-industrial complex.

Lockheed Martin and Volodymyr Zelensky are getting a windfall payday, while the war is artificially extended, more Ukrainian civilians die, and the safety of the American people is endangered as we get closer to open warfare with Russia.

But where are the liberal protestors?

The Democratic Party has voted unanimously to become a co-belligerent in the Russo-Ukrainian War. In eight months, not a single dissenting vote has been cast.

Even during the Iraq War, when the neocons were at the peak of their power in the Republican Party, there were a handful of conservative dissenters like Jimmy Duncan of Tennessee and the great Ron Paul of Texas.

But now, on Capitol Hill it’s been exclusively Republicans standing up against the War Party: Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, Matt Gaetz, etc.

Socialist Bernie Sanders has supported the war.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has stopped scrolling Instagram long enough to support the war.

Ro Khanna, who for years spoke sense on Russian-American relations, has supported the war.

Cori Bush, a signatory to our War Powers Pledge, has supported the war.

There are exceptions—media figures like Jimmy Dore, activist allies like Matthew Hoh, and our progressive Defend the Guard bill sponsors at the state level have all opposed this march to war in Eastern Europe.

But nationally, no Democrat has been willing to stand up to the War Party.

Until last week…when we saw the most embarrassing muzzling I’ve ever witnessed in American politics.

Last Monday, thirty members of the House Progressive Caucus issued a public letter requesting that the Biden administration—in addition to continuing funding of the war—pair that foreign aid for Ukraine with negotiations with Russia.

This milquetoast plea for diplomacy was met with universal hostility by the liberal mainstream media, the Democratic leadership, and the think tankers and Twitter personalities on foreign payrolls.

In less than 24 hours the letter was withdrawn.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, the caucus chair, blamed staffers for publishing an unvetted draft, clicked her heels, and fell back in line behind Joe Biden (along with the rest of the progressives, none of whom challenged the retraction).

I’m not sure what’s grosser: the cowardice, or the dishonesty.

But that’s how things stand. Any call for dialogue or a negotiated peace is met with slurs of treason and impeachment.

There are no more national Democrats opposed to the War Party. Last week proved that.

Bring Our Troops Home is and will remain non-partisan. But we’re not blind either.

We’re about to launch our 2023 Defend the Guard push and will begin pre-filing bills in critical states. The White House opposes us. The Democratic Party opposes us. A lot of Republicans continue to oppose us.

All we have is our community of veterans, constitutionalists, and you to try and stop World War III.

So sign up for our supporters’ group, the Ten Seven Club. It’s the only place where your dollars go to passing Defend the Guard legislation.

About Dan McKnight

Dan McKnight is a 13-year veteran of the military, including service in the United States Marine Corps, United States Army, and the Idaho Army National Guard. He is founder and chairman of Bring Our Troops Home. Follow him on Twitter @DanMcKnight30 and @TroopsHomeUS

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