The problem with not voting - eviltoast
  • DeltaSMC@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Okay, so maybe we’re getting somewhere. I can see that you just described that the Dems can compromise (e.g. gay marriage), although you really want to frame it in the context of losing votes. Whatever, fine. I think we just agreed that Dems can compromise. That’s big.

    Second thing is that it sounds like you’re a single issue voter. Or rather, this issue with Israel and Palestine, right now, is a roadblock.

    Third thing is I want to set the stage and expectations first. You mentioned earlier about how Obama did not encode (I assume into law) RvW. Can we first agree that it’s Congress, not the president that has that power? If so, let’s move on.

    Moving onto the Palestinian genocide, can we also agree that this is a complex foreign conflict? And that any actions, words, or even the wrong look our president gives will have serious, often unexpected consequences? If so, let’s proceed.

    There are 2 expectations you need to set for yourself: what would you be happy with and are those things realistic?

    For the first: since this is another nation, would you be happy with him denouncing Israel’s actions? How about invoking sanctions? Can you only be happy with things that he cannot directly control, for example, having Israel and Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire? Or Israel withdrawing?

    The second part of this: if you want a specific outcome that is out of the president’s direct control, we need to do a thought experiment. What, specifically, would you say would be the actions that Biden must take (BE SPECIFIC) and at what time and at what location and in what order to achieve your desired outcome?

    I’ll give you an example that you could mimic, if you want complete removal of Israeli troops from Gaza immediately, should Biden: 1) threaten Israel with reneging on military support, at 2) within 24 hours, and 3) at a press conference and live phone call? The consequences of this could be 1) Israel complies, 2) Israel is offended and ignores the demand, 3) Israel is offended and becomes an enemy. What are the chances that #1 is the outcome? And if it was, what are the global consequences of that? America just forced an ally under threat of not protecting them to do something it wasn’t willing to do. This proposal is terrible, and I think my made up expectation of immediate removal of troops through threatening Israel is not a good expectation to have. Your turn.

    I really want to see your proposal of what Biden should do, with specifics, that would satisfy your demands. Please don’t cop out and just say “END GENOCIDE” without specifics. Global politics is hard.

    • Krono@lemmy.today
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      8 months ago

      Reagan picked up the phone and threatened Israel in 1984, and Israel immediately withdrew from their invasion of Lebanon.

      HW Bush did a similar thing: call up Israel, threaten their military aid, and Israel immediately capitulated.

      Why does Biden refuse to pick up the phone? Saying this solution is impractical is simply ignoring history.

      If hes so afraid of the backlash, maybe he should also consider the backlash of being the only powerful nation to support this genocide. Loss of prestige and moral superiority on the world stage? Violent blowback against US troops in the region, or even worse, terrorist attacks on US civilians? And on the domestic stage, this is a huge gift to Trump.

      Why is Bidem willing to sacrifice so much to continue this genocide?

    • Linkerbaan@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Dems controlled everything during Obama but let’s not dwindle on that.

      Besides the Holocaust thing Hitler was pretty big on industrializing. It guess that was also just a “one-issue thing.”?

      Direct ceasefire.

      Hostage exchange.

      Palestinian state according to 1967 borders or make israel find a compromise with the Palestinians. Palestinians have shown to be willing to negotiate. Israel does not negotiate because they don’t need to as long as Biden supports them unconditionally.

      This issue is going on only because everyone wants to hot potato it. Even Biden is actively doing everything he can not to fix it.

      Israel can not ignore those demands because they are fully dependent on American support. Biden can 100% control these issues. These types of issues with israel have happened in the past and American president’s were able to shut them down at will.