Current Events > Overwhelming demands for a cease-fire catch elected Democrats off guard

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-phone-doesn-t-stop-overwhelming-demands-for-a-cease-fire-catch-democrats-off-guard/ar-AA1jG1wN

An end to the bloodshed in the Israeli-Hamas conflict seemed more remote than ever on Thursday when President Joe Biden answered a question about the chances of a cease-fire by saying: None. No possibility.

But as Biden refuses to use his leverage over the U.S.s Israeli allies, voters and constituents across the country are overwhelming members of his party with demands to stop the violence, which has claimed more than 11,000 lives in the past month.

Staffers from more than two dozen Democratic offices say they are receiving an unprecedented number of calls and emails demanding for members to support a cease-fire an onslaught for which their caucus was wholly unprepared.

Following the Oct. 7 terror attacks on Israel by Hamas militants, up to three weeks passed and the death toll from Israels retaliatory strikes reached the thousands before many offices even formulated an official response. Let it go to voicemail was the prevailing guidance in several offices, one staffer said.

The yawning mismatch between voters and members sentiments on this issue strikes many staffers as outrageous.

This building is not listening, said one Democratic aide. Ive never seen such a disconnect between where voters and constituents are and where Congress is, and thats saying something because theres always a disconnect.

The deluge of calls is producing mixed results. Some members have called for a humanitarian pause as a direct result of the pressure, several staffers said. The Biden administration, which is also feeling the pressure, announced Thursday that Israel had agreed to limited daily pauses in the fighting to allow civilians to leave, with few further details available.

Its cold comfort, but even if members are not speaking up for a cease-fire, the calls and the letters are making a difference, said one staffer. Theyre changing the calculations of how far some members are willing to go to support Israel.

But many more members remain unmoved.

Only 18 House Democrats have signed the cease-fire resolution introduced by Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.). Another handful have calledfor a cease-fireindependently.

On Monday, roughly 50 Democrats issued a less-defined call for a humanitarian pause of limited space and time but that demand was burieddeep in a letter aimed at condemning the use of the phrase from the river to the sea. Twenty-two House Democrats joined Republicans in censuring Rep. Rashia Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian American member of Congress, for using the phrase. And the House and Senate are laboring to pass roughly $14 billion in additional military aid to Israel in the coming weeks.

This is the most Ive ever seen people unified behind an issue and actively calling, one staff member said.
Their office is one of many where staffers say calls for a cease-fire outnumber support for aid to Israel many times over. This is very unprecedented, the staffer said. The phone doesnt stop ringing at any point in the day.
All the staff who spoke for this story requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation. Most work for Democrats, which tracks with a recent Data for Progress poll finding that 80% of Democratic voters support a cease-fire.

The partys hapless response has left staffers horrified and deeply demoralized. Many whose daily job is to speak with constituents said senior staff are handing out talking points that minimize the carnage in Gaza, or that seem designed to confuse callers about where the representative stands.

All his statements are so vague and full of inaccessible jargon that we dont know what his true stance is, one staffer said of the lawmaker they work for.

In one congresswomans office, staff said theyre being told to claim she supports a humanitarian pause, even though she has never said so in public. Another office is sending out automated responses that state the death toll in Gaza is 3,000. That estimate is more than three weeks out of date and thousands shy of the real figures. On Monday, Gazas health ministryestimated that Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 10,000 people, 4,000 of them children.

Another staffer said it did not occur to her superiors that some constituents would have personal ties to Gaza, which she realized when a caller said the bombardment had just killed most of his friends family.

Morning bump

There was a poll out today that said Biden has something like 46 percent of democrats disapprove of how Biden is doing with that war.

Democratic party politicians of out touch with their constituents? No way!

WrkHrdPlayHrdr posted...

There was a poll out today that said Biden has something like 46 percent of democrats disapprove of how Biden is doing with that war.

Considering this war dredged out all of the really awful Democrats I'd say a good portion of those people want him to nuke Palestine

They're calculating that people will still vote for them because the alternative is Republicans. Ignoring that 2016 happened.

Forty_Niners posted...

They're calculating that people will still vote for them because the alternative is Republicans. Ignoring that 2016 happened.

It's a very stupid calculation.

Still dont get why anyone thinks any us politician today wouldnt support Israel. Not sure why people think letting the fascists win and making the situation even worse is a better option.

Interesting. Will they do what the constituents want or what they think they have to do to guarantee some of their campaign funds. Cause we know both GOP and democrats support Israel not out of religion or the goodness of their hearts, but whats convenient for them when raising campaign funds. (theyve said so themselves)

LightHawKnight posted...

Still dont get why anyone thinks any us politician today wouldnt support Israel. Not sure why people think letting the fascists win and making the situation even worse is a better option.

Exactly. Do people already forget how bad ISIS is/was? Hamas is no different. Their mission statement is to slaughter all Jews, how are they even taken seriously at the negotiation table? And if they achieve their goals they'll just move on to another culture to wipe out. Shia Islam, Christians, etc..

LightHawKnight posted...

Still dont get why anyone thinks any us politician today wouldnt support Israel. Not sure why people think letting the fascists win and making the situation even worse is a better option.

"people dont want civilians killed...they surely support Hamas"

Is that what yore saying? Cause thats how you sound. I think everybody is ok with the eradication of Hamas. Just that Israels way of doing things is turning out way too costly in civilians lives. Gives the impression they would outright kill everybody if the world wasnt looking.

THERE ARE better ways of going about this.

JuanCarlos1 posted...

"people dont want civilians killed...they surely support Hamas"

Is that what yore saying? Cause thats how you sound. I think everybody is ok with the eradication of Hamas. Just that Israels way of doing things is turning out way too costly in civilians lives. Gives the impression they would outright kill everybody if the world wasnt looking.

THERE ARE better ways of going about this.

There are better ways, but those are not going to happen. Letting the literal fascists win is only going to make it worse.

LightHawKnight posted...

There are better ways, but those are not going to happen. Letting the literal fascists win is only going to make it worse.

So youre just telling me you are pro genocide. No different than GOP members saying they should level Gaza into a parking. No humanity. Oh, but what about poor Israelites? Well they have the power and military backing of the US, but killing less civilians is too hard. With how much money US gives to Israel, they could relocate people from Gaza to different countries. There are definitely ways, just no will.

Man...........history wont be kind on those were okay with this.

Why are you guys arguing with a dude that supported Jan 6

JuanCarlos1 posted...

"people dont want civilians killed...they surely support Hamas"

Is that what yore saying? Cause thats how you sound. I think everybody is ok with the eradication of Hamas. Just that Israels way of doing things is turning out way too costly in civilians lives. Gives the impression they would outright kill everybody if the world wasnt looking.

THERE ARE better ways of going about this.

Oh I agree with you in that there are better ways rather than carpet bombing Gaza. But you are wrong in that not everyone is ok with the eradication of Hamas. Some people think of them of freedom fighters.

But the real crux is, how many civilian deaths are acceptable? We are talking about a terrorist group that keeps its HQ underneath the main hospital in Gaza City.

kelemvor posted...

Oh I agree with you in that there are better ways rather than carpet bombing Gaza. But you are wrong in that not everyone is ok with the eradication of Hamas. Some people think of them of freedom fighters.

But the real crux is, how many civilian deaths are acceptable? We are talking about a terrorist group that keeps its HQ underneath the main hospital in Gaza City.

And prevents (even killing people) its civilians from fleeing to safety and admitted multiple times that Palestinian civilian safety is not their responsibility.

JuanCarlos1 posted...

So youre just telling me you are pro genocide. No different than GOP members saying they should level Gaza into a parking. No humanity. Oh, but what about poor Israelites? Well they have the power and military backing of the US, but killing less civilians is too hard. With how much money US gives to Israel, they could relocate people from Gaza to different countries. There are definitely ways, just no will.

Man...........history wont be kind on those were okay with this.

So you are telling me you want fascists to be in charge of the US and democracy to be removed. Got it.

JuanCarlos1 posted...

So youre just telling me you are pro genocide. No different than GOP members saying they should level Gaza into a parking. No humanity. Oh, but what about poor Israelites? Well they have the power and military backing of the US, but killing less civilians is too hard. With how much money US gives to Israel, they could relocate people from Gaza to different countries. There are definitely ways, just no will.

Man...........history wont be kind on those were okay with this.

Sadly, this has been *all* of human history. Current mankind just pretends we are more civilized but we'll instantly go back to barbarism if given the option. If that weren't true, the Geneva Convention would have more teeth and former Presidents like Dubya and others like Putin would have been strung up.

LightHawKnight posted...

So you are telling me you want fascists to be in charge of the US and democracy to be removed. Got it.

To be clear the Israeli government are the fascists here

TheGoldenEel posted...

To be clear the Israeli government are the fascists here

And that changes republicans taking power is horrible for us how?

LightHawKnight posted...

And that changes republicans taking power is horrible for us how?

This article is about how constituents pressuring democrats can work, btw