Nearly half of all Democrats in the House of Representatives voted Wednesday to cut off US military aid to Israel, a move that underscored a dramatic shift away from the US support the Mideast ally has enjoyed for nearly 60 years.
While House lawmakers ultimately rejected Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) amendment to a national security spending bill that would have eliminated the $3.3 billion in annual foreign military financing provided to Israel’s military, the details of the vote were viewed as an encouraging sign by defenders of Palestine and the rule of law.
Massie and 103 Democrats voted for the measure, while 215 Republicans and 98 Democrats rejected it. The overall tally was 104 for, 314 against, and 10 “present” votes, with 9 absences.
Sorry citizen, your time for self expression and democracy, as materialized by a single vote for one preset option you had no voice towards, in an election rigged by the party brass, has passed. Please go back to being an obedient worker drone. See you in two years, which is plenty often enough for a satisfactory democracy!
You (general you, not you personally) can and should express your opinion in other ways as well. It’s just the price / collateral damage that’s far higher in the general election. You’ll express frustration at some issues and sacrifice others in the process, without achieving much.
You won’t tear down that pyramid by ripping the golden cover off the top. Attack the base, shatter the bricks holding up the corrupt tip, and the whole thing will start shaking.
Notice that the party brass didn’t throw as much of a tantrum about the lost presidency as they did about the slew of progressives unseating “safe” candidates in primaries. That’s where they actually start to worry.
Votes need to be a tool for establishing public consensus, but that doesn’t mean they have to be the only tool.
The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House
Some tools can be appropriated, and some tools will be needed to build a new house. Don’t discard them all.
Voting alone may not be enough, but it’s a useful way to communicate public opinion. Establishing the consensus that enough people are behind you encourages participation in direct action, and building democratic legitimacy helps make your changes stick.
You probably need more than votes to achieve change, but you’ll need them to make it last.