This is how we lose not just the battle but the war. And make no mistake about it, this is a war; America is at war with itself.
Ten days ago, 75 Democrats in the House broke away from their party and praised ICE for all the wonderfully illegal and heartless things they are doing. They expressed their “gratitude” to the so-called “law enforcement” organization that, in recent months, has been responsible for sheer terror and illegal arrests among both documented and undocumented non-white citizens in this country.
ICE is causing more trauma than the Proud Boys, the Nazis, or any other White Nationalist or terrorist group who specializes in creating havoc and inflicting trauma. Among the group of Democratic ICE lovers were Michigan’s U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, who is originally from Chikodi, India, and Colorado’s U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Eritrea.
No, seriously.
This is the “law enforcement” organization, at Trump’s direction, that has snatched students off of college campuses, young children away from their mothers, and families off the street in broad daylight right in front of stunned onlookers. Stunned onlookers who more than once quickly became un-stunned and mounted strenuous protests against such lawless behavior being inflicted upon their communities by these “law enforcement” officers. Most Americans are not lawyers, but most Americans do understand the concept of “due process,” and what it means when that due process is threatened or snatched away.
A majority of his caucus (Minority Leader Rep. Hakeen Jeffries), 113 members, voted against the resolution. But a third of House Democrats voted to express "gratitude to law enforcement officers, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, for protecting the homeland."
Of course, the terrorist anti-semitic attack was horrific and needed to be dealt with forcefully. That should go without saying. But why such a justified response to a terrorist act had to be tied to any praise for ICE is mind-boggling. If this is because the suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, is a (non-white) Muslim who was not born and raised as an American, then perhaps some attention should be paid to the fact that Soliman’s wife provided evidence to law enforcement against her husbandafter the attack. So, shouldn’t that be weighed in as part of the equation as well? From Newsweek:
“Mohamed Sabry Soliman's wife turned over his iPhone to police shortly after his arrest on Sunday for a violent hate crime in Boulder, Colorado, according to a federal affidavit.
“Soliman allegedly threw Molotov cocktails into a pro-Israel crowd near the Boulder Courthouse, injuring eight people. His wife provided the phone to the authorities at the Boulder Police Department after being seen leaving their home. The FBI says Soliman had told officers he left messages for his family on the device.”
The Democrats we have elected to Congress don’t always need to be in lockstep, but if we are to have even a remote shot at putting the brakes on this runaway crazy train then they had damned sure better be unified. This is especially imperative when it comes to the Democratic position on ICE. This legally sanctioned “law enforcement” organization is behaving worse than the criminals it is supposed to be protecting us from.
If our elected Democratic leadership can’t recognize that what ICE has been doing is dangerous, fascist, and illegal, then we have a serious problem. Because the Democrats, for better or worse, are the only political party we have to represent sanity, and We the People. Just last weekend, an estimated 12.5 million protesters around the world who were truly representing We the People stood up against Trump’s deranged policies, which most definitely include how he is deploying ICE.
And at the time those Democrats were expressing their love and admiration for ICE, thousands of protesters were in the streets of Los Angeles loudly demonstrating against the illegal and heartless treatment of undocumented citizens being modeled by ICE.
I know there are those who continue to insist that we need a third party, and perhaps we do at some point. But we really don’t have the time at present to create another new (viable) third party in addition to the Green Party and whoever else. It’s just not going to happen in time. Which means we need to work with who and what we have and demand better. Much better.
Sometimes it’s We the People who need to lead the leaders.
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We know the "Republicans" are being kept tightly in line by what I would call Mafia tactics. "You don't vote for this, maybe something happens to your daughter's career." I'm not exaggerating. I'm beginning to wonder what sort of pressures are being applied to Democrats. Everyone has a weakness that they don't care to chat about with journalists. It might be a clue that these immigrants, as high as they have climbed, are praising thugs.
We know the "Republicans" are being kept tightly in line by what I would call Mafia tactics. "You don't vote for this, maybe something happens to your daughter's career." I'm not exaggerating. I'm beginning to wonder what sort of pressures are being applied to Democrats. Everyone has a weakness that they don't care to chat about with journalists. It might be a clue that these immigrants, as high as they have climbed, are praising thugs.
Is there a list of which Democrats were praising ICE?
Especially a list with their office numbers so that constituents can contact them?