Omar says Israel policy divisions won’t stop her from supporting Biden in November

I don’t understand why people don’t realize that trump is also a Netanyahu ally. They’re old pals.

It’s not like trump winning over Biden would change anything about the US policy on Israel- except probably make it worse, and trump winning over Biden would definitely make things in the US and pretty much everywhere else US policy affects worse.

Everyone realizes it, but that doesn't mean people want to endorse Biden's stance on Gaza. He still needs to earn people's vote if he wants them to go out to the polls and vote for him.
- No, not everyone realizes that. You wouldn't believe how many posts I've seen railing against "genocide" go on to claim that Trump would be tougher on Netanyahu. Saw one a couple days ago that even claimed that because Putin is such an ally of Iran and therefore Hamas that he'd be better for the people of Gaza. Which is just a mind fuck I can't even understand being able to type.
- This is like suggesting the firefighter has to earn your trust before you let them carry you out of the burning building.
As always, you can come right out and say you're supporting Biden and say that Trump is worse, and you can count on someone to ignore it and lecture anyway.
We don’t understand why Biden doesn’t stop supporting Israel.
Its like supporting Bibi would lose Biden votes, but not supporting him wont. Yet he still goes out of his way to support them.
- https://www.axios.com/2024/03/14/us-settler-sanctions-west-bank
  The U.S. Department of Treasury announced new sanctions Thursday against two illegal outposts in the occupied West Bank that were used as a base for attacks by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians, three U.S. officials told Axios.
  Why it matters: It is the first time U.S. sanctions are being imposed against entire outposts and not just against individuals.
  The move comes as the Biden administration ratchets up pressure on the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a range of issues, including settler violence against Palestinians and the war in Gaza. There were nearly 500 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians between Oct. 7 and Jan. 31 of this year, according to the UN humanitarian office (OCHA).
  If they fully drop all support for Israel then multiple countries are likely to start war against Israel, possibly Iran and 2-3 others. That will cause the entire region to destabilize
- I’m not good at detecting sarcasm in text; less so when there’s no text.
  I see a performative monkey. Was that the intent?

It's insane how when someone criticizes anything about Biden, the first move is accusing them of supporting trump, and when they have to clarify trump is obviously worse, everyone then acts like their criticisms of Biden becomes invalid.

Biden is better than trump. But we deserve better than either option.

"Shutting up and voting Biden" doesn't help anything, and is what we give republicans shit for.

Liberals always choose to stand in the way of progress. You'll never have better Dems if you don't criticize them. They aren't your friends and voting is a tool.
- Malcolm X put it well:
  The white conservatives aren't friends of the Negro either, but they at least don't try to hide it. They are like wolves; they show their teeth in a snarl that keeps the Negro always aware of where he stands with them.
  But the white liberals are foxes, who also show their teeth to the Negro but pretend that they are smiling. The white liberals are more dangerous than the conservatives; they lure the Negro, and as the Negro runs from the growling wolf, he flees into the open jaws of the "smiling" fox.
  That said, many people have a mistaken view of voting.
  They think “I’m picking someone who represents who I am as a person, and so who I pick is a reflection of my very soul.”
  Or at best, they think “I’m picking someone who will act in my best interests. I may not like them as a person, but the actions they take are at least a good approximation of the actions I want them to take.”
  The reality is more like “I’m picking someone who will inevitably act in the interest of those in power. I need to pick someone who has the right vulnerabilities. They don’t have a good rapport with certain powerful entities, so they don’t mind pissing those ones off if it means they can score some votes as a result.”
  You’re not picking someone to lead your side. You’re picking who you’d rather negotiate with from their side.
You're saying that here, but you have repeatedly said you're voting third party, and I among many others have given you shit for that, as well as your refusal to even acknowledge one thing you think Biden has done well. You complain about this so much on Lemmy that I recognize your name, and can usually tell when you've written a comment before I even look at the name. Go outside sometimes.
Feel free to respond to this but fyi I'm not going to read it.
- Feel free to respond to this but fyi I’m not going to read it.
- I too have seen exactly this from that user.
- your refusal to even acknowledge one thing you think Biden has done well.
  Because everything he's "done well" has been pretty much the same shit they've always done. It's not enough. You can blame Republicans all day long but we need something to change and Democrats are the only option available to progressives and leftists. But every single time there's an opportunity to demonstrate looking towards the future and making these changes Biden has passed that up. Here's some examples:
  Called on congress to block the rail strike: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/biden-calls-on-congress-to-block-potential-railroad-strike
  Walks back his own campaign promise for $50k forgiveness: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/539139-biden-balks-at-50k-student-loan-forgiveness-plan/
  Goes around congress to sell weapons to Israel: https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/29/politics/biden-congress-israel-military-aid/index.html
  Forced federal workers back to office: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/13/politics/in-person-work-biden-administration/index.html
  Increased the defense budget: https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/28/politics/defense-budget-biden-administration/index.html
  These behaviors put me as a voter in a no win situation. If I support Biden after all this what am I doing besides giving establishment Democrats and moderate voters a blank check opportunity to say "See? Everything is fine.". They will completely ignore the fact that I and other voters compromised our principles in order to prop up a candidate we hate for what he's done.
  On the other hand I can protest vote 3rd party or write in. And of course that comes with it's own risks.
  At what point will moderates and establishment Democrats have a moment of self awareness and admit that this isn't a sustainable model? Personally I had hoped 2016 would be that wake up call but instead I'm seeing people try to turn it around as if it's progressives and leftists who need to change.
- You’re saying that here, but you have repeatedly said you’re voting third party
  Nope, never.
  But thanks for blocking me! I know you're going to sign out to check this, but it's still nice to know I'll never get another response from you.
  If you bet banned for personal attacks, please don't forget to also block me on your new account or any alts you currently have
Sure, but "right now" you need to vote for Biden or risk never being able to vote again.
- and the general election is eight fucking months away, so it’s 100% justifiable to vote however the fuck I want to in the primary.
  Which I did, and I voted uncommitted. And I will vote for not Trump in November. But don’t mistake my enthusiasm for “not living in a fascist theocratic state” for enthusiasm towards Biden, because it’s not and never will be.
- And since DNC pulled NH primary delegates for something only republicans can change and Biden supported it...
  We can't even use your point to convince people.
  This sham of a Dem primary might be our last.
  Do you think NH republicans learned their lesson and will change NH state law so the NH Dem primary doesn't have to be first?
  Or do you think they'll leave the law in place so in 2028 the DNC cancels the NH primary again?
  The only people that can fix it are NH republicans and the DNC. And the DNC seems fine with just not letting NH Dems have a say in who the candidate is.
  What's stopping the DNC from canceling other states that vote progressive like NH was?
  They've already argued in court they can do what they want, because primary is nonbinding and they can just ignore it anyways.
  This is the danger of just blindly supporting Dems no matter what. They keep acting more and more like Republicans
- Question: If they run an even worse candidate next time, which considering the trend of them all, they will; Will you finally allow leftists to stop blindly voting for a party that doesn't reflect their values?
  At what point will the responsibility be on the dems to appeal to us, instead of us blindly backing the blue against our better wishes?
It’s the dem magalike cult in action. It’s sad because by denying criticisms of Biden, they’re effectively endorsing changing nothing after the election.
- Supporting the nominee for president does not preclude criticism.
  Is nothing going to change after the election if Biden wins? Probably not, no.
  But in this situation, right now, that's a good outcome given how profoundly things will change if the other person wins.
  I don't know how to make it understood that no matter what criticisms you have about the way Biden and the Democrats have been running this country, absolutely none of them, not a single one, is more important than preventing Trump from winning, because literally everything goes to shit forever if he wins again.
- As soon as conservatives got Faux New, neoliberals have been trying to get the same unquestioning support from their voters.
  The issue is if Dem voters wanted that shit, they'd be republicans.
  The people running the DNC don't understand basic psychology because when they finished their educations, psychology was still pretty new, and the only big studies was shit like Zimbardo that threw out the scientific method and had researchers meddling with experiments to get the desired result.
  Imagine if Verizon hired a guy that stilled used a beeper instead of one of those newfangled mobile phones.
  Sounds ridiculous, right?
  But that's what we're doing with politics and psychology
Sure, but there are only 4 options when November comes: 1) vote for Biden, 2) vote for Trump, 3) vote 3rd party, or 4) don’t vote.
Due to how the US system works, options 2-4 only help Trump, so unless you want a Trump presidency, only option 1 is valid.
Anything else is just at best a pipe dream, or at worst, direct support for someone who will become a dictator.
- If the weatherman says a tornado is going to hit your town tomorrow, would you start getting upset at them for causing a tornado?
  Or would you be appreciative that someone gave you a heads up while there's still time?
  Because I see a lot of people frantically ringing alarm bells. For years at this point.
  The primary still isn't over despite the DNC pulling delegates from NH.
  There's still time to not run Biden. And I know that's unlikely.
  But there's still also time to make noise and hope Biden and the DNC sees reason and move left so trump doesn't win
  But telling people:
  Shut up and vote Biden
  Isn't going to get Biden enough votes to beat trump. He's sitting at less than 1/3 approval with voters...
  We can't just stick our heads in the sand and hope that's enough.
  If you want to be sure we beat Trump, start making noise and praying Biden actually listens.
But we deserve better than either option.
You can deserve all you want, but that won't change the names on the ballot. If you really care, start organizing some grassroots support around 3rd parties, or perhaps take on a role in government in your local jurisdiction. The upcoming election is 99.999% going to be between Trump and Biden. Vote or not, there's very little you can do about alternatives at this point. Start working on the next one.
- Man, if only we had an earlier election where we have a say in who the general candidate was....
  But I'm sure if Biden doesn't move left and trump wins, you're going to do the rational thing and blame Biden and his campaign team for their words and actions.
  I mean, it would be ridiculous if instead you blamed all the people who held their nose and voted D but spent 4 years telling everyone that Biden isn't popular enough to beat trump again. And he needs to do more to reach out to Dem voters.
Change is easier to make early in the process. At the very end of the process, i.e. the election, it’s all but impossible.

Thanks. I feel like there's only a few of us even calling this out anymore. It's made me tired and really hating Lemmy.
- I met with a few that tries to argue that the correct choice is to vote for third party. And, other people called them out on it.
  I'm far-left as you come, but, I still vote for the feasible and better option in the general. I always vote for the better in the primary without exception. I voted for Bernie in 2020 primary even if Biden is guaranteed to have the nomination, and voted for Biden.
  And my opinion is that Biden is the better of the two in context of Israel. He at least sanctioned settlers, and some days that will include Jenin(?) settlers. Trump won't do that. And most people that are against Israel has less to do with war at Gaza than settlers and the clowns in Israel government.
- no one is saying that they will vote for trump to support Palestine
- Then there's two of us. TWO OF US!!!
no one is saying they're going to vote for trump over this.
- No, but they are doing the opposite of what is needed in this election cycle: hyping up the democratic base. The right stands together lock step and the left plays the no true Scotsman game
- Ackshually, that is exactly what is happening.
Still have yet to see anyone saying they'll vote Trump. Including Ilhan Omar who the article is about.
You beat that straw man. You beat it good.
- How many are saying they won't vote for Biden, though?

No shit. Everyone doing protest votes for the Democratic nominee was just that, a protest. Hell, in NC, Biden was the only option.

Come November, there is no way in hell I would vote for Trump. Biden could come to my house, burn down everything I own, punch a baby, kick a puppy, kiss my Dad, and I would still vote for him.

The worry is that some people won’t vote for either.
- That is a risk you run when you commit assisted genocide.
kiss my Dad
Why do you include this positive in the list of bad things? I would even vote for Trump if he kissed my dad. lol
- Jokes on him, he'll have to find him first. Daddy! Come home, we have milk.

That's smart. She has to know that things under xtian nationalism would be far worse than under Biden.

We need to be rioting in the streets to change first past the post. The fact that we can only choose from the lesser of two horrible choices is inconceivable.

That said until we have better choices, we still need to consistently choose the better choice.

We need to be rioting in the streets to change first past the post.
Trump's going to win more than 50% of the vote in my state of Texas. Complaining about FPTP is so 1996 "Ross Perot Could Have Won" energy. In states and districts so heavily weighted that one party will take 60%+ it simply doesn't matter.
That said, it might be nice if we had real proportional representation - party ballots and larger congressional delegations - such that voting for a Green or Libertarian or Reform party ballot means you might actually be sending someone who shares your views to the assembly, rather than just signaling dissatisfaction with the dominant parties.
Even the California Jungle Primary system would be preferable.
- With a proportional representation system the parties hold all of the power and the only thing that matters is the negotiations that happen behind closed doors to form a coalition.
  If the party you voted for isn't part of the ruling coalition then your vote didn't matter. Sure you got someone sitting in a seat in a legislature that shares your opinions on things but the agenda is already been determined by those who negotiated the coalition.
  And while you may thinking that it's possible that a party that shares your views might get into the ruling coalition, but it's just as likely that a small far right party could get into a coalition, which is exactly what happened in Israel's proportional representation system.
  Or as we saw in the EU's proportional representation system, a fringe separatist party can gain notoriety and expand their influence on the population and you end up with a Brexit.
  "First past the post" or as I like to call it, a community representation system, has individual representatives control the seat. That individual representative can leave the party and will still hold the seat. Which means the party has to keep the representatives of the communities happy. And those representatives have to keep their communities happy. If a minority group in a community is willing to organize they can influence the representative, and that representative can influence the party. The power dynamics flow from the people upwards.
  Proportional representation systems only look good from the perspective of a spreadsheet. From the perspective of power dynamics (which is all important in politics) they're terrible systems. You get to vote for a party that completely conforms to a checklist, but that party may have zero impact on real policy. Sure you have to make an effort to influence your representative in a community representation system, but shouldn't the people willing to make the most effort have the most influence?
I think what you really need is a civil war to get anything changed. Historically this is how it tends to work.
- enjoy the downvotes. lemmy is apparently full of limp-wristed pacifists. oh well. let them learn the hard way what happens when you are too chicken shit to stand up for what's right.

See, little shits? Being a serious person means not masturbating to your ideals until you are murdered.

But what if getting murdered is what gets you off?
- Then I want you to call me.

Given how famously obstinate she is, the fact that even she appreciates the simple reality of the situation should be a wake up call for any people that are still harping on this.

It just doesn't make any sense to be against Israel's actions and at the same time do nothing to stop our own Netanyahu from obtaining power.

It's bizarre to me how there seems to be this contingent of people that don't understand we are in an emergency situation. It's not even "lesser of two evils" anymore it's "the building is in flames, grab the nearest fire extinguisher".

Biden IS the lesser of two evils. That's what we're saying.
We WANT to grab a fire extinguisher. Not a smaller lighter.
- But there's no reason to believe you'll reach the extinguisher, it's pretty much impossible in first past the post.

The fact of the matter is that democrats are betting it all on the least popular president in modern history, who is also an octogenarian. The hope is he will somehow be disliked less than cheetolini.

The problem isn't that democrats are going to vote for Trump. The problem is that polling indicates that Biden is already losing, so every person that decides NOT to vote for him by staying home or voting third party is just another nail in the coffin.

Biden deciding to run for reelection is the presidential politics equivalent of Ginsburg refusing to retire. And it's right there in front of us. And we know it's insane. But now everyone is just knuckling down and buckling up, because here we are.

You’re an idiot

Disgusting. Or we can not support him and set a precedence for the rest of time that a president cannot survive genocide.

You can work within the system or outside of it. Within the system there are only two actual presidential options, Republican or Democrat.
I despise Biden for what he's complicit in as well, but on election day there's not much we can do. We're not getting every Democrat to vote for a third party, and even if we did it would still have to get past the electoral college. The time to fight within the system is every other day.
Now if you're talking about sending messages in other, more old school french ways...

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said policy differences toward Israel between her and President Biden won’t stop her from supporting him in the November general election.

“Of course,” Omar said Tuesday, when asked by CNN’s Abby Phillip on “NewsNight” whether she would vote for Biden if the election were held that day, in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.

Last month at a press conference, Omar, a strong supporter of a cease-fire in Gaza, accused the Biden administration “of greenlighting the massacre of Palestinians.” She went after the Biden administration for the approval of extra aid to Israel without congressional approval.

“This administration cannot claim to be an honest broker of peace while greenlighting the massacre of Palestinians.

Omar, in the same Tuesday interview, also accused White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan of not sharing the “full picture” when it comes to Gaza cease-fire talks.

“And the fact that they will not do so says a lot to me, about Hamas’s regard for innocent Palestinian civilians,” Sullivan continued.

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