Democratic Primaries

ancianita

(36,101 posts) Fri Feb 21, 2020, 11:55 PM Feb 2020

Wait. Reconsider that tweet OP a Sanders smear. Here's why.

1. Sanders voted yes on the 2015 Magnitsky Act: http://classic.maplight.org/us-congress/bill/114-s-284/8112670/total-contributions.table

2. Sanders voted yes on the Iran Libya Sanctions Act, and later voted again to extend it: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/104-1996/h250.

3. And he's publicly called for sanctions on Russia but, again, didn't want to endanger the nuclear agreement with Iran.

4. He's also said Saudi Arabia should be sanctioned, especially if the Saudi government killed Khashoggi.

"I think one of the strong things that we can do is not only stop military sales, not only put sanctions on Saudi Arabia, but most importantly, get out of this terrible, terrible war in Yemen led by the Saudis," Sanders said on CNN's "State of the Union."

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/14/politics/bernie-sanders-saudi-arabia-cnntv/index.html

It's always easier to eat up some tweet than fact check it. Not cool. Votes about bills are always complicated by the compositions of those bills, very often full of pork or other shenanigans.

We have always known how evil NDAA's are. Yet perfectly justifiable sanctions have been rolled into them. I wouldn't have voted for any of this country's fucked up NDAA's myself. I've read enough of them to know how they prop the hated Patriot Act that denies constitutional rights, nevermind the sections that overfund questionable uses of our money for military industrial contractors.

Mish-mashed bills that "roll in" various Acts and fundings should stop. Speaker Pelosi should make a new House rule to allow only clean bills to the floor for votes, instead of these bills that create complications that confound lawmakers' voting. New clearn bills, besides, will set a good example for the Senate's own sleazy bill writing tendencies.

Sanders is not one to avoid defending his record. Let's relax about him here, and just let him.

That's the least we can do at this point. Please. Give the clamor a rest.

Unity of support is the goal.

Support never necessitates agreement.

Mutual support builds unity, not uniformity.

EDIT: BIG thank you to Garrett78 for doing all the first link citing I used above. It's this kind of homework that makes DU a great place to learn. Garrett, you've brought the temperature down. Thanks.