Not sure if this has been discussed here or not, but what were 30 members of the House Progressive Caucus thinking when they signed this letter urging Joe Biden to step up diplomacy to “seek a realistic framework for a cease fire” in Ukraine? From Le Post:
A group of 30 House liberals is urging President Biden to dramatically shift his strategy on the Ukraine war and pursue direct negotiations with Russia, the first time prominent members of his own party have pushed him to change his approach to Ukraine.
A letter sent by the group to the White House on Monday, first reported by The Washington Post, could create more pressure on Biden as he tries to sustain domestic support for the war effort, at a time when the region is heading into a potentially difficult winter and Republicans are threatening to cut aid to Ukraine if they retake Congress.
In the letter, the 30 Democrats led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, call on Biden to pair the unprecedented economic and military support the United States is providing Ukraine with a “proactive diplomatic push, redoubling efforts to seek a realistic framework for a cease fire.”
The public pushback was immediate and harsh, and then things got weird:
this is embarrassing. they are now having to explain what the letter meant or rather try to interpret it in such a way as to make it make sense after signing it. there are some very impressive signatories. They shld have read what they were signing. https://t.co/7zm4CjUHiX
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 25, 2022
It’s pretty obvious that Putin is pinning his hopes on the West losing its nerve, and the timing is not just bad in relation to conditions on the ground in Ukraine but also in the context of the political situation in the U.S., where Kevin McCarthy recently took a break from measuring curtains in Pelosi’s office to hint that his caucus will yank the rug out from under Ukraine if they take power. So why now?
One signatory, Rep. Pocan, says the draft was written in July and notes that the Post coverage used an illustration that suggests the signatories held a press conference about it yesterday, which they did not:
Not sure why it’s dated 10/24 as it was from July. Its intent is that we strive for a ceasefire, and leave the option of punishing Putin for the invasion. The reaction in some press is making it out different than an ask for more peaceful approaches in July. I don’t get timing…
— Mark Pocan (@MarkPocan) October 25, 2022
Okay, but still: why send this letter a few weeks before an election that is taking place within the larger context of a transnational hard-right movement that is intent on knocking over democracies worldwide? It makes no sense.
It’s not that the text of the letter(s) is objectionable — everyone who isn’t in Putin’s corner wants Russia to stop bombing, kidnapping and killing Ukrainians (which could happen today on the say-so of one man — Putin). Many of us are anxious about a cornered-rat tyrant with nuclear weapons, and we’re nervously watching the war’s effect on energy and food markets.
But again, why was this letter necessary now? The follow-up “explainer” reaffirms signatories’ commitment to Biden’s stance on Ukraine, i.e., that Ukraine is a sovereign nation that makes its own decisions. That affirmation erases the rationale for sending the letter at all, let alone in late October.
If this letter is about appeasing so-called tankies, it crosses the boundary from embarrassing to downright disgraceful. I have a ton of respect for some of the folks who signed the letter, including Reps. Jayapal and Raskin, but this seems like a giant self-own at the worst possible time — for everyone.
Open thread.
Some members of House Progressive Caucus seem to go wobbly on UkrainePost + Comments (235)