With two proposed bills up for votes in Congress over funding for Israel, we all know who the loser is if these bills fail- the fascist legislature and Israel, of course. But who are the winners if these bills fail? The American people are the winners, immigrants and asylum seekers, Palestinians, and human rights. Just looking at the two sides, it is extreme and encapsulates the divide between the American people standing for peace and humanity against those who supposedly “represent” their constituents.
For months now, the Biden administration has been negotiating with the GOP to get a huge funding bill passed that would provide money for Israel, Ukraine, and border “security.” This bill has stalled because of just how far Biden pushed the GOP’s inhumane border policies. It is actually a bit surprising to see some Democrats make a stand against this bill because it does fund Israel, but at the cost of any progressive border policy that Biden and many Democrats campaign on and have claimed that they stood for, but several Democrats are planning to vote against this unethical border bill. What is even more surprising is the game the Republicans are playing over this bill. A large number of Republicans are also planning to vote against it because they say it is not harsh enough on immigration and border “security” despite it fulfilling all of their demands. Biden threw out all of his promises on immigration rights to get this bill passed because he has a genocide to fund, so compromising on his previous border policy was not an issue, and the fact that he folded so easily was to the dismay of the super-ultra-conservative Trump Republicans.
The Trump Republicans needed Biden to pushback on these extremely harsh border policies that they have been advocating for, but he allowed them in this funding bill. So instead of claiming a win, they are choosing to play the victim and claim that this bill does not go far enough to end illegal immigration, which the GOP uses as a means to drum up fear and support from their voting base. To be perfectly clear, this bill needs to be dead in the water, it is just very ironic that the GOP are the ones to do it because they got everything they demanded but are still killing the bill.
Why is the GOP killing a bill they would normally support? Trump does not want Biden to have a win. If the bill does pass, it will demonstrate that Biden is just like Trump on border policy. They are no different on their views of the border no matter how either president spins it because the outcome is the same. They both want the border shut down with limited application processing for asylum seekers, immigrants, and migrants. And they both want immigrants deported without trial as quickly as possible. They both erected a border wall that harms the environment and the sovereignty of Indigenous communities. There is no difference in their border policies. This upsets the GOP because they are the ones to be the cruelest and now they are no different than the Democrats. Now they have to differentiate themselves somehow and go even crueler.
To prove how serious these extremist Republicans are willing to go, Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed his own bill to fund Israel. He knows this is really what the Biden administration wants, though the president has said he would veto the bill if it comes to his desk, which is also just as baffling as the Republicans refusing to vote for a bill that complies with their harsh immigration policies.
Both the White House and the entire legislative branch has lost sight of what they are meant to do- listen to their constituency and advocate for progress to help Americans. Neither of these bills accomplishes the goals that an actual representative of the people should be fighting for, so the winners of these two bills failing are the people that these elected officials represent.
What could be accomplished with $118 billion dollars spent on Americans and their needs? We could have healthcare for all, a better education system for children, homeless people could have actual assistance, student loans could be paid off, green initiatives could be implemented which promote jobs, clean water for all Americans, and the most important part would be that Americans would be both heard and seen if our own taxpayer dollars went to improve our country and not fund wars and harm immigrants.
It is sad to realize how little the American voter matters in the scheme of the current state of American politics. Elected officials look at voters with contempt and not for input. They want us to vote for our own oppression and fund it. What they did not count on was the games they are playing has backfired on them and they are the ones that are dismantling the democratic system with their own hands. All we have to do is watch them continue to degrade our democratic system until it is at a complete standstill. They cannot differentiate themselves from one another because both parties are rooted in racism and oppression. This entire situation demonstrates that perfectly. Neither bill will be passed, and humanity will take the win.
There will be a fallout from this, though. The Democrats and the Republicans are now going to attempt to outdo one another with punitive and fascist policies that attack American’s rights.
What can you do? Vote them all out and vote 3rd party. Ideally, we could all sit down and vote on ways to restructure the US government to fix the broken imbalances, but that would require elected officials to listen to voters and relinquish their power for dramatic changes. This is what must happen if the US is to continue as a functioning government, or people will become desperate and take matters into their own hands.
While these bills unravel and the politicians squabble over who is the harshest, let’s all sit back and enjoy watching their true demeanor betray themselves. We win when these bills fail.
From the river to the sea, may the whole world be free.
Protest
Boycott
Vote 3rd party.
Demand sanctions for- Israel, US, UK, France, Germany, Canada, UAE, Chad, Rwanda, and Uganda.
Please extend your energy to all people facing genocide and atrocities- Palestine, Sudan, Congo, West Papua, the Rohingyas, Armenians, and the Uyghurs.
Articles for reference:
Axios: Senate releases new $118 billion package for Ukraine, Israel, border
The Guardian: Biden would veto standalone Israel aid bill backed by GOP, says White House
NBC: Speaker Mike Johnson defends advancing Israel bill that White House dismisses as a ploy