A time of reckoning
Much is being made of the probable consequences of Trump’s Iran war for the US economy and the midterm elections. And “it’s the economy, stupid” still describes the dominant consideration in the minds of American voters.
But to the extent that foreign policy affects the ballot box, the fact that Trump’s invasion is a proxy war for the Netanyahu regime in Israel could also be a factor in November. Here, the distinction seems less along party lines than the willingness of candidates to apply the standard of national interest to military intervention.
Both major parties in America have mostly stood by Israel, even as its policy of violent apartheid against Palestinians has intensified. As Democrats try to figure out how to exploit the disaster that the Trump GOP has become, they’ll need to come clean on the blank-check policy towards Israel.
“PARTY OFFICIALS TOLD ME they think Democratic voters will be motivated in the upcoming elections to back candidates who feel authentic—candidates who seem like independent thinkers unafraid to say what they truly believe. Following Joe Biden’s presidency, being critical of Israel is increasingly viewed as a way to demonstrate independence and regain voter trust that deteriorated under Biden. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who has been outspoken about Israel’s human rights violations, has predicted that the nature of the U.S. relationship with Israel will be a “defining moral issue for our party and nation in 2026 and 2028.”
“It’s not just a debate over Gaza or Palestine and it’s more than just a debate about foreign policy. It is a bigger debate about how America acts in the world. But it’s also a question of ‘Can we trust our leaders?,’” said Matt Duss, a former foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and executive vice president at the progressive think tank Center for International Policy. “When any candidate is running for office and they’re telling you, ‘Here’s what I’m going to do for you,’ but then when they ask about this one issue they revert to these same bullshit talking points—that seriously undermines their credibility. I think that’s what it did for Harris. And I think the reverse is true for Mamdani.”
“It really has become a litmus-test issue,” Duss added. “There’s still a lot of very justifiable anger on the part of progressive Democrats who felt that they were just completely gaslit and lied to by the Biden administration.”
*snip*
“When I interviewed Newsom last month, he attributed Kamala Harris’s 2024 loss in part to the party’s support of Israel. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told the Washington Post last year that the party’s inability to address the “angst over Gaza” contributed to Trump’s win. And in her book about the 2024 campaign, Harris said that Biden’s poor polling was due in part to his “perceived blank check to Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza” and said that his remarks about Palestinians “came off as inadequate and forced.”
“It’s an undeniable fact that this hurt us,” a former senior adviser on the Harris campaign told me. “Was it the primary reason we lost? No. But the emotions were real and we didn’t do enough to show our voters that they could trust us on it.”
All signs point to a disaster for the US economy come November. But many Americans will be asking how we got here and who can we trust to fix it. Part of that trust will come from acknowledging the role played by blindly tethering US policy to Israeli government policy and demanding change and accountability.
US must decouple from Israel
But to the extent that foreign policy affects the ballot box, the fact that Trump’s invasion is a proxy war for the Netanyahu regime in Israel could also be a factor in November. Here, the distinction seems less along party lines than the willingness of candidates to apply the standard of national interest to military intervention.
Both major parties in America have mostly stood by Israel, even as its policy of violent apartheid against Palestinians has intensified. As Democrats try to figure out how to exploit the disaster that the Trump GOP has become, they’ll need to come clean on the blank-check policy towards Israel.
“PARTY OFFICIALS TOLD ME they think Democratic voters will be motivated in the upcoming elections to back candidates who feel authentic—candidates who seem like independent thinkers unafraid to say what they truly believe. Following Joe Biden’s presidency, being critical of Israel is increasingly viewed as a way to demonstrate independence and regain voter trust that deteriorated under Biden. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who has been outspoken about Israel’s human rights violations, has predicted that the nature of the U.S. relationship with Israel will be a “defining moral issue for our party and nation in 2026 and 2028.”
“It’s not just a debate over Gaza or Palestine and it’s more than just a debate about foreign policy. It is a bigger debate about how America acts in the world. But it’s also a question of ‘Can we trust our leaders?,’” said Matt Duss, a former foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and executive vice president at the progressive think tank Center for International Policy. “When any candidate is running for office and they’re telling you, ‘Here’s what I’m going to do for you,’ but then when they ask about this one issue they revert to these same bullshit talking points—that seriously undermines their credibility. I think that’s what it did for Harris. And I think the reverse is true for Mamdani.”
“It really has become a litmus-test issue,” Duss added. “There’s still a lot of very justifiable anger on the part of progressive Democrats who felt that they were just completely gaslit and lied to by the Biden administration.”
*snip*
“When I interviewed Newsom last month, he attributed Kamala Harris’s 2024 loss in part to the party’s support of Israel. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told the Washington Post last year that the party’s inability to address the “angst over Gaza” contributed to Trump’s win. And in her book about the 2024 campaign, Harris said that Biden’s poor polling was due in part to his “perceived blank check to Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza” and said that his remarks about Palestinians “came off as inadequate and forced.”
“It’s an undeniable fact that this hurt us,” a former senior adviser on the Harris campaign told me. “Was it the primary reason we lost? No. But the emotions were real and we didn’t do enough to show our voters that they could trust us on it.”
All signs point to a disaster for the US economy come November. But many Americans will be asking how we got here and who can we trust to fix it. Part of that trust will come from acknowledging the role played by blindly tethering US policy to Israeli government policy and demanding change and accountability.
US must decouple from Israel
Epstein elites vs. the people. Bring it on!
It’s a significant issue in the House primary in my district: Illinois 9th.
That should be interesting considering the location.
Joel:
It is quite simple Joel and as X-Military, I can speak on the issue. My Lai was one example of us running wild. Due to whatever causes us to do so and a government offering little relief to a war which could not be won. The US has a bad habit of placing us in bad situations. However . . .
“You, we, our allies do not get to murder people.”
For some reason, we turn the other way when we do it and when our allies or opposition does it, it is a different story. And we are led by a president who has no regard for us and calls us snooks. Trump and his son-in-law see resorts and beach front property on the Mediterranean. Just got to rid the place of those pesky Palestinians living there.
With regard to Kamala Harris who put Trump in his place? Trump did not want another debate with Harris. He did poorly. Even so, can a female of color win the presidency? I believe that played a part in this election. That and a late start.
If we look back at Hillary, many women abandoned her for Trump. I believe much of the United States is not ready for a woman in the White House, especially one of color.
I find the 1950’s scifi hypothesis that on a sub-conscious level we know it’s the end of the world (as we know it) and this wilding in those with diminished mental capacities is that sub-conscious recognition “leaking” out …
Diminished mental capacities ~ the weak minded
yeah, sincerity is the key: if you can fake that, you’ve got it made.