Fooled again? Ocasio- Cortez on foreign plolicy.

There is understandable interest in Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. In particular people want to know her positions on foreign policy.

It has been said that she is silent on the topic,and that this means she condones US imperialism. The issue was muddled by the disappearance of the "peace economy" plank from her platform,noted by S. Khan and reported here by Wendy Davis.

We were left with a tearsheet of bullet points relayed by Benny from a Jeff Stein post.
There foreign policy is reduced to a single phrase.

"Peace Economy - that supports our veterans and actively values all humanity"

Ms Ocasio- Cortex responded to S. Khan's question, saying she would "get to the bottom" of the mystery of the missing peace plank. It is back up on her site this morning. People can read it here and judge for themselves how much it is worth.

A Peace Economy

Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the United States has entangled itself in war and occupation throughout the Middle East and North Africa. As of 2018, we are currently involved in military action in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia. Hundreds of thousands of civilians in these countries have been killed either as collateral damage from American strikes or from the instability caused by U.S. interventions. Millions more have fled their broken countries, contributing to the global refugee crisis.

This continued action damages America’s legitimacy as a force for good, creates new generations of potential terrorists, and erodes American prosperity. In times when we’re told that there’s not enough money, Republicans and corporate Democrats seem to find the cash to fund a $1.1 trillion fighter jet program or a $1.7 trillion-dollar nuclear weapon “modernization” program. The costs are extreme: the Pentagon’s budget for 2018 is $700 billion dollars: to continue fighting an endless War on Terror and refighting the Cold War with a new arms race that nobody can win.

According to the Constitution, the right to declare war belongs to the legislative body, and yet many of these global acts of aggression have never once been voted on by Congress. In some cases, we've even acted unilaterally, without the backing of the United Nations.

America should not be in the business of destabilizing countries. While we may see ourselves as liberators, the world increasingly views us as occupiers and aggressors. Alexandria believes that we must end the "forever war" by bringing our troops home, and ending the air strikes that perpetuate the cycle of terrorism throughout the world.

By bringing our troops home, we can begin to heal the wounds we're opening by continuing military engagement. We can begin to repair our image. We can reunite military families, separated by repeated deployments. We can become stronger by building stronger diplomatic and economic ties, and by saving our armed forces only for when they're truly needed.

I find Ms. Ocasio's willingness to endorse whomever the Dems run in 2020 very troubling,but that is another topic. I have expressed those concerns elsewhere. Those interested might listen to her CNN interview,again posted by Wendy Davis.

edit. reordered text for clarity

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The Aspie Corner's picture

Happens every time. If elected, she'll go along with the massive handjobs to the military and Wall Street. She'll also go along with the Russophobic nonsense. Trump was always a pig to start with so there really was nothing to be disappointed about.

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Citizen Of Earth's picture

Ok, that's two congress people who are worth a shit (Ocasio- Cortez and Tulsi Gabbard).
If we can get rid of the other 533 assholes we'll be in business.

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Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.

@Citizen Of Earth

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Wink's picture

A solid blue district.
@irishking

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

@Wink

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thanatokephaloides's picture

@Citizen Of Earth

She sounds right on the Endless Wars. Ok, that's two congress people who are worth a shit (Ocasio- Cortez and Tulsi Gabbard).
If we can get rid of the other 533 assholes we'll be in business.

punctuation adjusted for format change

Hey, that's twice as many as we had in 1941 when Jeannette Rankin (Peace be upon her!) was all we had!

Smile

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

harrybothered's picture

According to Caitlin Johnstone, Ocasio-Cortes' foreign policy webpage is back and even fleshed out more.

https://ocasio2018.com/issues

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"The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to those who think they've found it."
Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment

thanatokephaloides's picture

@harrybothered

I must admit I like her peace economy platform plank as I see it now!

And again, she's at least saying "Peace" and "Socialism"! For too damn long we haven't even had that!

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

@harrybothered

lifted it from her site.

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Mark from Queens's picture

@harrybothered
than hers.

Here it is in full:

Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the United States has entangled itself in war and occupation throughout the Middle East and North Africa. As of 2018, we are currently involved in military action in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia. Hundreds of thousands of civilians in these countries have been killed either as collateral damage from American strikes or from the instability caused by U.S. interventions. Millions more have fled their broken countries, contributing to the global refugee crisis.

This continued action damages America’s legitimacy as a force for good, creates new generations of potential terrorists, and erodes American prosperity. In times when we’re told that there’s not enough money, Republicans and corporate Democrats seem to find the cash to fund a $1.1 trillion fighter jet program or a $1.7 trillion-dollar nuclear weapon “modernization” program. The costs are extreme: the Pentagon’s budget for 2018 is $700 billion dollars: to continue fighting an endless War on Terror and refighting the Cold War with a new arms race that nobody can win.

According to the Constitution, the right to declare war belongs to the legislative body, and yet many of these global acts of aggression have never once been voted on by Congress. In some cases, we've even acted unilaterally, without the backing of the United Nations.

America should not be in the business of destabilizing countries. While we may see ourselves as liberators, the world increasingly views us as occupiers and aggressors. Alexandria believes that we must end the "forever war" by bringing our troops home, and ending the air strikes that perpetuate the cycle of terrorism throughout the world.

By bringing our troops home, we can begin to heal the wounds we're opening by continuing military engagement. We can begin to repair our image. We can reunite military families, separated by repeated deployments. We can become stronger by building stronger diplomatic and economic ties, and by saving our armed forces only for when they're truly needed.

(emphasis mine).

I don't think I've ever read a more anti-imperialist stance from someone who in all likelihood will be a (and my) Congresswoman. And the folks I met the other night at the local DSA meeting in Queens all get it in the same way Occupy did for the masses - by connecting the dots of Money In Politics to economic inequality to imperialism to the corporate coup d'etat to monopoly control over all sectors.

I think we can be vigilant. But we should better resist the urge to beat up on what appears to a pretty bright light in a shitty, murky sea of despair.

There's already a hornet's nest of bipartisan fear-mongers and their courtiers in the media disparaging her with all their might. Despite the whirlwind, seemingly welcoming media blitz that has descended upon her within hours of her huge surprise win.

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"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

@Mark from Queens

glad she put it back up.

don't think it's wrong to hope for the best, (with eyes open)

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travelerxxx's picture

Is Ocasio-Cortez perfect? I can tell you already that she will be found to be wanting. So what. There is absolutely no one who is going to satisfy everyone. Not going to happen.

I'll say this - I wish I had the opportunity to vote for her. If you want to see what bad choices look like, come to Texas.

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@travelerxxx
She's good enough. I don't have to agree on everything

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@travelerxxx Come to NY22 instead, where we have Trump rubberstamp Tenney vs, Schumer plant Brindisi.

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Mary Bennett

wendy davis's picture

that was apparently her first interview after she'd won her primary. hope i ain't doubling up:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QckY6IHk3M]

and with morning joe and Mika soon msdnc: please don't make me watch it or the next one:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUb-QB8twcA]

on the View!:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9yzkCiNZQM]

srsly, there are endless lists of her interviews; cain't swing a dead cat w/o hittin' one..

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@wendy davis

I didn't put it in the essay above because the interview does not touch foreign policy- imperialism question.

Should have been more precise as to its location.

My reason for mentioning it was that I saw enough there to cause me concern.
Didn't want to say "all's well",just because peace plank is back in platform.

It is the first video you show here. This seems to be cleaner version. The disturbing "I'd back the devil if he ran as a Dem" comes around 6;20. But she is much less an independent voice than I expected all through the interview.

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wendy davis's picture

@irishking

given that you'd said in your OP: "Those interested might listen to her CNN interview,again posted by Wendy Davis." coupled with 'Fooled again' in your title, i'd thunk you might have been referring to her playing handmaiden to Dems just like bernie, including the Red Queen, and and inadvertently, cuomo.

guess i can't say i'm sorry i got it wrong, as i'd thunk i was following your directions, lol. what if the DSAs joined the greens, for instance? wouldn't that be interesting? nah, bernie turned down jill stein's invitation to join her green ticket. Ds are the Big Tent Party.

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@wendy davis

and I "write" very seldom.

So I wouldn't say you got it wrong, but that I made a mess out of a pretty simple thing.
The "Huge win for Progressives" party had just started when Big Al came in-

Hey, they're celebrating on Daily Kos too!
@Strife Delivery Isn't that special. I wonder what her stance on U.S. imperialism is?

Apparently AOC's platform did not contain the peace plank at this time- Deadhead gave a link saying that she had nothing on foreign policy at all but that she could still be a non interventionist.

BA was not having it-

@thanatokephaloides With that, I strongly disagree. Not only that, I call bullshit. That's the same bullshit the progressives having been pulling over and over. Like they don't have to talk about it. Then they end up supporting it. No way man.

When it transpired that the plank had been removed we got-

Relative to that lost information on foreign policy, it was just the same progressive lip service that actually serves to perpetuate the false narratives of the war of terror.

To me the endless war is of primary importance. We can't fix anything with blood on our hands and all our money being used to kill people.

So I think it is right to ask where AOC stands on all this. When I found the plank was back up, I thought it important enough to call c99 attention to it. I wanted people to be able to have a look and decide if it is good enough to claim AOC is anti-interventionist or not. That was the reason for the essay.

(The plank looks good to me. It is way more than I have seen from any elected official, and that certainly includes Bernie. Whether she means it or not, who knows? But she has said it, imo.)

Given that, I am troubled by her chipper "I'm a Dem loyalist" attitude which comes through in CNN interview. I think that may cause trouble down the road, and I wanted others to take a look at that too, though I considered it off the main point.

I realize this is old ground for you.

"Do I repeat myself? Very well,I repeat myself." See title.

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wendy davis's picture

@irishking

not, and yes, when you'd brought casio's peace plan was up on my assange in mortal danger thread, i'd noted that nothing was there the night before, but when i'd checked the twittersphere, detractors of that one liner noted it was up and had been fleshed out more fully. and that i'd thought to drop it into one of gjohnist's casio diaries, but hadn't. oddly, i can't get her site's urls to boot up on my word docs, and i hadn't thunk of just laying in the url, nor had i thought to just clip in the new iteration a you had.

now whether one imagines ocasio had responded to all the questions and concerns below that sameera khan tweet as i do is a whole 'nother matter. but she's done it and has gotten a lot of 'hurrahs' for doing so.

a side note: bruce dixon says that tom perez says that there's no R candidate for her in the general election, but he hadn't said anything about other candidates, say libertarians...

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@irishking While the candidate is being shepherded to various instantly arranged TV interviews, the moles are busy at work converting her campaign to their preferred message. Good for her for stopping them and getting her website back where it needs to be.

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Mary Bennett

@Nastarana

In the peace plank she puts the blame on both

Republicans and corporate Democrats

How she can know this and be a Dem loyalist at the same time is a puzzler.
I hope she rises to the mark.

Maybe AOC will become more radical as she goes forward.
Stay tuned.

For now I am very glad that plank went back up. She kept her word this time.
thx.

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WoodsDweller's picture

Not Bobby Kennedy. Not Bernie. Not AOC.
Throw a pebble of integrity into a lake of corruption and it gets swallowed up like it was never there.
Throw a million pebbles and you build an island.
AOC picked the right fight at the right time with the right tactics. That's one seat taken away from a New Democrat(Crowley was chairman 2009-2013)and held by someone that, so far, is saying the right things.
But she can't do shit alone. Put 25 democratic socialists in the House and the Democratic leadership won't be able to adjourn for Christmas without them.

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"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone

snoopydawg's picture

Ocasio is saying that it's time to bring the troops home from across the pond. Trump also said that he wanted to bring the troops home from Germany. Guess who has a problem with this? Yep. Democrats and a few of their supporters on ToP. Funny, I remember the days when a lot of them wanted to do just that. Close some of the 1,000 plus bases across the pond and bring the troops home. Anyone want to bet what they would say if Trump said that he wanted to do single payer?

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Pluto's Republic's picture

@snoopydawg

...are operating under the semantic principle that Liberal Democrats are working on behalf of the Corporations and Progressive Democrats are working on behalf of people and society. They have naturally divided the Party to make sense of it.

This distinction is sharply drawn in these smaller communities, while it is blurred in larger places by people who are deliberately using "Left, liberal, progressive, and Democrat" interchangeably. This distinction is suppressed the closer you travel toward the Center-Right Democratic establishment, because they want the votes and money from the non-represented, as well.

This has forced Millennials to begin defining themselves as "Socialist."

The term "Liberal" has always been a reviled word among Republicans and Right Wing activists. They accuse the Media of being Liberal, and it turns out they were right all along. The Media is a corporate client of the Democrats; they cater to the interests of the same advertisers and big donors. Practically speaking, that's the defense industry.

Republicans call Hillary "far Left" and now I realize they never knew that we (the Real Left) existed at all. They're not anxious to talk about it either. Such a discussion merely highlights the fact that the Left never established a political Party in the United States, as it did in all other countries. In the US, the Left had their movements, forming unions, fighting for workers rights, rallying against the latest war — but the Left's comprehensive social values and aspirations never had a place at the table, Federally. They never had a share in the budget, either.

Right now there is a likely majority of Americans who are politically disenfranchised and their values, marginalized. We saw them pour in from the shadows during Bernie Sander's campaign. They think they are waiting for a certain kind of Democratic leader, one who shares their social vision and will make government work for the benefit of the people. They have voted and voted, and even though their world continues to degrade, they are willing to vote again. They don't know what else to do.

Things are starting to happen fast, now. The world is moving on.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
snoopydawg's picture

@Pluto's Republic

now declared themselves centrists like that should be something to be proud of. This was because they have accepted what Obama really was. I just can't believe how they have accepted that the democrats needed to move further right to get elected. And you should see how they defend the blue dawgs even though they vote with the republicans most of the time. "This is the only way they can get elected in their states" is the excuse they give them. Best scam republicans have pulled. Get a red blooded republican and say they are democrats. It's worked.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Pluto's Republic's picture

@snoopydawg

...and it's been going on since the Civil War — the politics of impersonators infecting each other parties to control the people's agenda. As long as the magnetic opposition of the heads-or-tales, two parties is in place, political realities can be easily rigged and controlled. If the current Overlords let other Parties form to represent additional interests and values of America's unrepresented population — the intellectual nuances would undermine the hardwired control that our Overlords have enjoyed for more than two-hundred years. The asset-stripping of the nation would be all but impossible to continue. They can play two parties off of each other. Three parties would overwhelm and expose them

Did you read how James Kunstler described the workings of our phony democracy today? He was on a tear:

The figures most hidden these days go by the names Barack Obama, Hillery Clinton, Bill Clinton, John Brennan, James Clapper, James Comey, Loretta Lynch, Huma Abedin, and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

If or when the dark, tangled, matrix of “matters” at the FBI ever manage to get unraveled, these characters will come tumbling out with the yarn, dropping into the harsh daylight like little squirming larva of Tineola bisselliella, the common wool moth.

Personally, I can’t imagine that the mighty mischief at DOJ and the FBI the past two years was not initially approved before 1/20/17 in some fashion by Mr. Obama and with his explicit knowledge.

There’s little doubt that the “Steele Dossier” was the “insurance policy” that FBI Counter-espionage Chief Peter Strzok and FBI attorney Lisa Page referred to in their famous text exchange about how to deal with the “terrifying” specter of a possible President Trump. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz needs to explain under oath how her humble IT employee, a Pakistani national, become a real estate millionaire in the DC burbs while servicing, shall we say, her laptop. Hillary, of course, is like some mythical Cave of Seven Winds — a boundless dark realm of winged beasts and crawling things. Loretta Lynch still has some public ‘splainin’ to do about meeting certain folks on tarmacs.

The grand juries are begging to be convened.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
snoopydawg's picture

@Pluto's Republic

This is a great description of those people. But he nailed the description of Her!

Hillary, of course, is like some mythical Cave of Seven Winds — a boundless dark realm of winged beasts and crawling things.

He has such an eloquent way with words! And yes, Loretta has a lot of explaining to do about her chance meeting with Bill during the investigation into his wife. He knew damn well that what he did had all the earmarks of obstructing justice. Did you see my comment about her in Amanda's essay from yesterday? She was hip deep in swamp gas and so far she has gotten away with being in it.

This article talks about the seven ways that the FBI tried to entrap people from Trump's campaign into meeting with Russians so they could neuter him if she happened to lose.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation formally opened its Trump investigation after Western intelligence assets and Clinton-affiliated political operatives repeatedly approached the Trump campaign and tried but failed to damage it through associations with Russia, a growing body of evidence suggests.

Before the FBI began investigating the Trump campaign in an operation code-named “Crossfire Hurricane,” there were at least seven different instances when campaign advisers were approached with Russia-related offers. Most of those contacts — including Donald Trump Jr.’s much-publicized meeting with a Russian lawyer and others in June 2016 — offered the prospect of information damaging to Donald Trump’s Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Two of these approaches were made by one U.S. government informant already publicly identified as such, Stefan Halper. Another was made by a man who swore in court that he had worked as an FBI informant. Two others were made by figures associated with Western intelligence agencies. Another two approaches included political operatives, one foreign, with ties to the Clintons.

President Obama’s director of national intelligence, James Clapper, has asserted that dispatching Halper to follow the Trump campaign "protected" it from the Russians.

Heck of a job, James! Id hate to see what would have happened if Halper didn't do what he did.

Oops.

But Mark Wauck, a former FBI agent with experience in such tactics, sees an effort at entrapment. “What appear to have been repeated attempts to implicate the Trump campaign, in some sort of quid pro quo arrangement with Russians who claimed to have ‘dirt’ on Hillary,” Wauck told RealClearInvestigations, “look like efforts to manufacture evidence against members of the Trump campaign or create pretexts to investigate it.”

And speaking of dirt,

At the same time, in early spring, the Clinton campaign commissioned, through its law firm, the Washington, D.C.-based communications firm Fusion GPS to dig up dirt on the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia. The result was the infamous 35-page dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele.

But I guess it was okay for Hillary to get the whole Obama intelligence agencies to try to find opposition research on her political opponent.

Kunstler is right about this. Trump all along had the power to order the original FISA warrant released so we could see the real reason why the FBI took one out on him and put an end to the entire sham of Russia Gate! My question is why did he not do that?

It’s rumored that our president, the Golden Golem of Greatness, can, shall we say, put the Department of Justice and its subsidiary, the FBI, out of their current misery by finally firing a few of these conniving top dawgs. Order Rosenstein to release un-redacted files he’s been sitting on for a year, and fire his ass for cause when he refuses. In the case of Mr. Sessions, for Godsake, call the undertaker.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@Pluto's Republic he is very good. Maybe I should start reading him again.

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Mary Bennett

wendy davis's picture

@Pluto's Republic

"...and now I realize they never knew that we (the Real Left) existed at all. as in: 'we whom', i'm half-decoding it as 'we the Democrat far left'. of course 'the far left' in general would be actual socialists of one stripe or another...who would never vote D. dunno if the greens might nominate an actual socialist this time; ajamu baracka ha already indicated: Nyet to that, smile.

that said, i did cast one sole primary vote, and that for a D for county commissioner in montezuma county that ed abbey had dubbed 'dipstick, colorado' (not that affiliation means anything much for those races). unaffiliated voters were sent both ballots this year.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@wendy davis

Republicans call Hillary "far Left" and now I realize they never knew that we (the Real Left) existed at all.

I meant to say that if the Right sees Hillary as "far Left" then they do not have a word for us (in the context of the Democratic Party) because they cannot see us. They're blinded by the light.

They talk about "socialists" but they don't know what that is or who they are. They don't know that their beloved corporations the socialists living off the fat of the land. They pay wages and dividends but give nothing back to the plantation that supports them and their market, which is decaying under our feet. They have no idea who they are dealing with.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
wendy davis's picture

@Pluto's Republic

but i’m still bit adrift unless you’re referring to the true welfare queens: the corporations and their ‘charters’ (to make more money for the investing class...by any means necessary as in ‘their fiduciary mandate/s), as in: inverted totaitatianism, but this thread has been so many days ago...i sorta forget the whole context.

i just looked up at the url, and i'd like to note that had not the pundit class been so keen to crown both casio and obrador in mexico, i doubt there were would have been as much pushback against either one. well, at least casio: amlo knew what he was doing and walking back. casio just wasn't ready for prime time stardom and the need to finally disavow democratic socialism itself with chuck todd on 'meet please the press' to please...the punditry class, i guess.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@wendy davis

The first ones are pushed onto the stage by the energy of the People. The negative onrush hits them like a wall. It is overwhelming and their policy position now seems very shaky. So, they struggle to build a bridge or a point of consensus with the powerful. If they can continue to hold their position, they will at least hold the door open for the rest of the newly elected; the growing movement inside the government.

That's what happened with Bernie. He's still on the inside, holding the door open. He didn't want to get marooned and swamped by the entrenched powers in the government. He didn't want to be a President going commando and pushing an ideology of one. That is too much to ask.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
wendy davis's picture

@Pluto's Republic

might have, should have said...is rubbish. but yeah, miz ocasio is bound to be walking things back by now...given that she's running as a Dem. ha, i'd popped into my favorite tankie's twit account earlier (i always check his and wikileaks) and they're havin' too much fun at her expense.

but it finally occurred to me last night after i shut down that really this site IS mainly about electoral politics, and recently anything with the words Dem, progressive, purity & hypocrisy, ocasio-cortez...glean tons of comments. me: i think i may just be spinnin' my wheels in the end. ah, well, as vonngegut would say: and so it goes. subtext? get over it?

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Big Al's picture

@snoopydawg this:

https://www.democrats.org/party-platform#principled-leadership

I could say I'm surprised by Johnstone and all of this, but I'm not.

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snoopydawg's picture

@Big Al

Unfortunately there are so many people who believe this load of horse pucky.

We believe that while our military must be the strongest in the world, it should only be sent into combat when the terms of engagement are clearly presented to the American people and our troops have what they need to fulfill their mission. We believe that war must always be the last resort, never the first choice.

These principles have underpinned important progress in the last eight years. When President Obama and Vice President Biden assumed office, the world economy was in the worst crisis since the Great Depression, our alliances were strained, Osama bin Laden remained at large, Iran was racing toward a nuclear weapon, and we were mired in two costly wars. (those two costly wars were still going strong when the Empty Suit left office as well as the at least 3 more wars that he started as well as the unknown ones he started and the same unknown number of countries he bombed from drones.) We brought bin Laden to justice, crippled al Qaeda’s core leadership, saved America from a second Great Depression, repaired our alliances, reestablished relations with Cuba while pressing for reforms, and—without firing a shot, dropping a bomb, or putting a single American soldier in harm’s way—blocked Iran’s ability to pursue a nuclear weapon. America is stronger abroad and safer at home because of this principled leadership.

But there is much more to do to keep our country prosperous and safe. From defeating terrorism and combating climate change to managing China’s rise and strengthening our nation’s cybersecurity, the next Democratic administration will confront the complex challenges that lie ahead by staying true to our principles and core values.

But this is the real kicker!

Donald Trump has a different approach. There has never been a major party candidate less qualified or less fit for the office of President of the United States or to be Commander-in-Chief than Donald Trump. He wants more countries to have nuclear weapons. He thinks our military should engage in war crimes. He wants to build walls and keep people—including Americans—from entering the country based on their race, religion, ethnicity, and national origin. He has no strategy for dealing with key threats facing our country, including climate change and ISIS. He wants to abandon our allies and empower our adversaries. His dangerous, incoherent policies would undo the progress we have made.

The rest of the democrat's ramblings here are just as delusional, but this takes some gaul to say with a straight face!

We must defeat ISIS, al Qaeda, and their affiliates, and prevent other groups from emerging in their place. Democrats will continue to lead a broad coalition of allies and partners to destroy ISIS’ stronghold in Iraq and Syria. We will press those in the region, especially the Gulf countries and local forces on the ground, to carry their weight in prosecuting this fight. We will dismantle the global network of terror, which supplies terrorists with money, arms, and fighters, and stop them from recruiting and inspiring potential radicals.

I'm in agreement with you that no matter who's elected to congress in either party that anything is going to change. Whether it's this young ex bartender or any of the ex CIA and ex military people who are currently running. I only posted Caitlin's tweet to show Ocasio's foreign policies that had gone missing from her website. Don't worry, I stand by my plan to not vote for anyone regardless of their party affiliation, but I will vote for legalization of medical marijuana or any other ballot initiatives that affect me locally.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg

platform you quote and AOK "peace economy" plank given above?

or is the idea- "It doesn't matter what she says?"

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@Big Al

because she appeared to be silent on foreign policy.

Hey, they're celebrating on Daily Kos too!

@Strife Delivery Isn't that special. I wonder what her stance on U.S. imperialism is?

Now there is something for you to look at.
Do have an analysis of the "Peace Economy" plank?
Please share.

Just in case I have offended you.

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Big Al's picture

@irishking which I'll try to finish today and post at my personal blog which I think is a better vehicle for it. Link will be made available when I finish. But no guarantee, it's a nice day and I've got a big garden I need to tend. Smile

And fyi, when I heard of this I immediately checked the 28 yr old's campaign website and reviewed her issues page. That was during the now infamous "missing foreign policy statement" time. So at that time, there was nothing on her website as I reported. As we know, that was "corrected" later.

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@Big Al

sure you won't post it here?

fwiw,this is my take- (from a reply to wendy davis this thread)

To me the endless war is of primary importance. We can't fix anything with blood on our hands and all our money being used to kill people.

So I think it is right to ask where AOC stands on all this. When I found the plank was back up, I thought it important enough to call c99 attention to it. I wanted people to be able to have a look and decide if it is good enough to claim AOK is anti-interventionist or not. That was the reason for the essay.

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@Big Al

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Big Al's picture

@QMS @QMS @QMS Cointelpro. I also think life, freedom and humanity are worth fighting for.

"I'm not a humanitarian, I'm a hellraiser".
Mother Jones

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@Big Al fight the hell out of it. A greed kumbaya does not work well, any more so than a coin intel. You are a good fighter, strong minded and willed. Admire that. Just sayin, a pacifist's toes hurt when stepped on. Ain't a good shoe shuffler. So will try to stay away from harm.

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Wink's picture

as blue as we'd like, but she's a helluva lot bluer than Crowley - who might as well have been a Repub.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

@Wink @Wink

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Here is David Swanson's take:
Why Ocasio-Cortez’ Platform Is So Great

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@artisan

I see it much the same. Particularly useful is his comparison to the platforms of "progressives" Warrren & Sanders.

Several more breakthroughs here, that is: statements common in the peace movement but unheard of on television or Congressional campaign platforms.

the one downer-

she blows it in the end by proposing that war is sometimes needed. It is not. Yet how far she has come, or failed to retreat, in comparison with the Congress she hopes to join!

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Lookout's picture

@artisan

and the essay @irishking

I like David. I agree with his conclusion also...a lot to expect from this young woman -

She must use the War Powers Act to force a vote on each illegal, immoral, disastrous war she has listed and any others like them, she must seek to reduce military funding — perhaps creating legislation along with her one Congressional backer Ro Khanna along the lines of his recent attempted amendment that would have cut 5%. She must seek to block weapons sales abroad and to local police. She must introduce legislation that would make the U.S. military subject to environmental agreements that everyone else is subject to. She must work to replace military “service” as a means to citizenship with free college as a right of the same. She must support diplomacy even when Trump does it. But she must support impeaching Trump for the reasons she already does plus the reasons included in her “Peace Economy” platform.

One Congress member cannot do any of this without a massive public movement that compels other Congress members to do so too. But part of so moving them must be showing our support for one among them who takes the lead. Right now the future Congress member in the lead is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

wendy davis's picture

but my favorite tankie and a few of his comrades are having some fun at ocasio's expense re: some of kirsten gillibrand-esque platform proposals, etc. but this one is too funny to not bring: and interview w/ chuck the toad on meet the press today.

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@wendy davis

Did all she could to minimize the importance of DSA connection.

She trotted out the "big tent" line in the CNN interview also. (at 6:00 mark)
Any tent big enough to hold a socialist and Chuck Schumer is beyond HUGE.

I wonder if she knows the definition of "socialism". Sure won't use it.
Seems most comfortable with "I am a Democrat with Democratic values."

She does not have to say this stuff.
I like the peace plank and agree with the direction of her platform,but I should be a lot happier than I am right now.

We can't afford more "go along to get along". (imo)
thx.

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wendy davis's picture

@irishking

thank for the reminder. but on other issues kinda a big splash in a very small pond save fr the breathlessness in the msm media. 'revolutionary movement afoot!'. or is the obverse of that, i forget how it goes.

more akin to jacobin magazine, really. not really socialists, but the #fake left in most essays. ah well, the next wall street meltdown will help folks sharpen their credos, as would possible nuclear war, maybe even the climate chaos sixth extinction already baked in. who can say?

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@wendy davis @wendy davis K?

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wendy davis's picture

@QMS

in electoral politics, those who 'believe' in a candidate brook no criticism. how many times over the two decades i've been blogging have i heard the equivalent of 'in a journey of a thousand miles, the first step is key'; 'let not the good be the enemy of the perfect'; 'every notch X gets us closer to where we want to go...'; or rebecca solnit's 2012:

'O rancid sector of the far left, please stop your grousing! Compared to you, Eeyore sounds like a Teletubby. If I gave you a pony, you would not only be furious that not everyone has a pony, but you would pick on the pony for not being radical enough until it wept big, sad, hot pony tears. Because what we’re talking about here is not an analysis, a strategy, or a cosmology, but an attitude, and one that is poisoning us. Not just me, but you, us, and our possibilities.

The poison often emerges around electoral politics. Look, Barack Obama does bad things and I deplore them, though not with a lot of fuss, since they’re hardly a surprise. He sometimes also does not-bad things, and I sometimes mention them in passing, and mentioning them does not negate the reality of the bad things."

"At a demonstration in support of Bradley Manning this month, I was handed a postcard of a dead child with the caption: “Tell this child the Democrats are the lesser of two evils.” It behoves us not to use the dead for our own devices, but that child did die thanks to an Obama administration policy. Others live because of the way that same administration has provided health insurance for millions of poor children or, for example, reinstated environmental regulations that save thousands of lives.

You could argue that to vote for Obama is to vote for the killing of children, or that to vote for him is to vote for the protection for other children or even killing fewer children. Virtually all US presidents have called down death upon their fellow human beings. It is an immoral system."

vote for obomba, love rebecca

cult of personality goes of the rails far too often, methinks. where do the collective WE want to go? 'we'.is.not.monolithic.

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