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marsha blackburn
'We Cannot Let the Warmongers Win': US Progressives Reject Calls for Attack on Iran
"We must resist the U.S. becoming embroiled in another costly conflict abroad," said U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee.
Apr 15, 2024
Progressives in the U.S. Congress on Sunday urged the Biden administration to resist calls for an attack on Iran following the country's
retaliation against Israel for the deadly bombing of Tehran's consulate in Syria earlier this month.
The hawkish rhetoric came from both sides of the political aisle in the U.S.—Israel's main ally and weapons supplier.
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), one of Congress' most fervent supporters of Israel's war on Gaza, claimed Iran is "the single most destabilizing force in the Middle East" and "must be held accountable for the aggression it has long shown toward Israel not only directly but also indirectly through proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis."
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), directing her message at President Joe Biden, was more explicit in demanding an immediate military response from the U.S.
"We must move quickly and launch aggressive retaliatory strikes on Iran," Blackburn wrote on social media.
The number two Republican in the U.S. House, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.),
said Saturday that the chamber would "move from its previously announced legislative schedule next week to instead consider legislation that supports our ally Israel and holds Iran and its terrorist proxies accountable."
"The House of Representatives stands strongly with Israel, and there must be consequences for this unprovoked attack," Scalise added. "More details on the legislative items to be considered will be forthcoming."
"As leaders in Washington jump to call for war with Iran and rush additional offensive weapons to the Israeli military, we need to exercise restraint and use every diplomatic tool to de-escalate tensions."
Iran's launch of hundreds of drones and missiles on Saturday marked its first direct assault on Israel, which has repeatedly engaged in covert attacks inside Iranian territory. On April 1, Israel bombed Iran's consulate in the Syrian capital, killing diplomats and a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander.
Iran said its retaliatory firing of missiles and drones—most of which were intercepted—was in line with international law. One person, a seven-year-old girl, was seriously injured in the attack.
Israeli officials immediately vowed revenge, a pledge that intensified global calls for restraint to prevent the regional war in the Middle East from spiraling further out of control.
As
The Intercept's Ken Klippenstein and Daniel Boguslaw noted Sunday, the conflict "now involves at least 16 different countries," including the U.S., which "flew aircraft and launched air defense missiles from at least eight countries, while Iran and its proxies fired weapons from Iraq, Syria, and Yemen."
U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), a vocal supporter of a cease-fire in Gaza, issued a statement Sunday condemning both Israel's attack on Iran's consulate and Tehran's response, which she said "threaten civilian lives and regional war."
"I also condemn the calls by members of Congress and others to initiate war with Iran; to do so without congressional authorization is blatantly unconstitutional," Bush said. "We cannot let the warmongers win; our country and our world are calling for restraint, de-escalation, a lasting cease-fire, and diplomacy. Our government must listen. That is how we save lives."
Bush urged the Biden administration to "take immediate steps, including at the U.N. Security Council and G7, to de-escalate and facilitate an immediate, lasting cease-fire in the region."
U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the lone congressional no vote against the war in Afghanistan, similarly called on the Biden administration to "lead efforts toward de-escalation, diplomacy, and securing a permanent cease-fire in Gaza."
"We must resist the U.S. becoming embroiled in another costly conflict abroad, but rather lead toward peace and security in the region," Lee added.
Axiosreported Sunday that Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly that the U.S. would not "support any Israeli counterattack against Iran." An unnamed official told the outlet that "when Biden told Netanyahu that the U.S. will not participate in any offensive operations against Iran and will not support such operations, Netanyahu said he understood."
Echoing her progressive colleagues, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)
said Sunday that "as leaders in Washington jump to call for war with Iran and rush additional offensive weapons to the Israeli military, we need to exercise restraint and use every diplomatic tool to de-escalate tensions."
"Civilians in not only Gaza, Israel, the West Bank, and Iran but also Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen are bearing the brunt of this escalation, and there must be a cease-fire on all sides," said Omar. "I will continue to call for de-escalation, restraint, and lasting peace."
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Dr King’s Legacy of Protest Is Under Attack
It is disheartening to see the very tools of social change activism used by the civil rights movement getting ruthlessly dismantled thanks to the self-interest and greed of politicians and corporations.
Jan 18, 2024
Six Decades Ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led the March on Washington, turning the tide of public opinion and leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
That legacy of protest and advocacy continues today but it is under attack, which is why we must be honest and critical as we reflect on the current status of civil rights and activism in the U.S.
As always, during this time of year when we honor Dr. King’s legacy and plan to celebrate Black History Month, we see a great deal of platitudinal quotes and simplified portrayals along with an underlying tone of proverbial pats on our collective backs for a job well done, for progress.
Dr. King’s life was tragically taken in Tennessee, and now, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, representing the same state, chooses to tarnish his legacy by undermining the spirit of democracy and activism that he dedicated his life for.
As an activist and community organizer, collective action in the form of protest was Dr. King’s primary tool. What would he make of the government reprisals we see across the globe against protesters? As a gifted orator and preacher, he used his voice as a catalyst for mobilizing people and shifting culture. What would he say about the proliferation in censorship and other tactics of repression and regressive policies?
We ask these questions because by doing so we are able to pave another path toward justice and a world that truly upholds the legacy of the civil rights movement. The attacks on dissent and free speech that we are seeing today are heartbreaking, but there’s also the tremendous will of people who refuse to give up, a resilience and staying power that is reminiscent of the civil rights movement.
Increasingly, protest is becoming a less viable instrument for social change and holding powerful entities such as elected officials, police, and corporations accountable. From the persecution of Cop City protesters in Georgia to the widespread attempts to squash civil disobedience, a strategy that Dr. King came to see as the necessary tool of the oppressed, we are witnessing a crisis unfold for social change organizing.
Thanks to the lobbying power of big corporations and police unions, hundreds of anti-protest bills have been introduced in the United States since 2017 in nearly all 50 states to interfere in the long legacy of American protest, with policies ranging from dramatically increased civil fines for protesters and criminal penalties for specific forms of protest.
Last week, Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), introduced S. 3492, a federal bill that would create penalties for protesters who block or “attempt” or “conspire” to block public roads and highways. The “Safe and Open Streets Act” would essentially make the long-held practice of collective action in our nation’s history a crime punishable by a fine of an unspecified amount and incarceration in a federal prison for up to five years. The pretext of safety and open streets cannot overshadow the potential abuse and selective enforcement that is inherent in this and other anti-protest legislation.
The Equity Alliance, a Tennessee-based grassroots organization that works to build Black political power and where Tequila is the CEO, finds bitter irony in the fact that Dr. King’s life was tragically taken in Tennessee, and now, Blackburn, representing the same state, chooses to tarnish his legacy by undermining the spirit of democracy and activism that he dedicated his life for.
How far have we come if more than five decades after Selma, we are seeing protesters against Cop City, a multiplex police training facility in Georgia, being charged as domestic terrorists?
But this is not unique to the United States; individual freedoms are getting abrogated across the world. Countries such as Argentina and many countries across Europe are also seeing a steady and consistent effort by their governments to prevent people from speaking up, taking action, and putting pressure on their elected officials to listen to the will of the people.
More recently, we have seen a worldwide crackdown on protests against the war in Gaza, which also runs counter to the principles that Dr. King espoused around global solidarity. A year before his death, he famously made a speech at Riverside Church in New York City entitled “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” in which he not only denounced the war but also the censorship of free speech. Moreover, Dr. King sought international connections and solidarity with movements for freedom across the globe from anti-colonialist struggles in Africa to the movement for Dalit freedom in India.
The ripple effects of right-wing repressive policies that we are seeing today along with the attacks on dissent and the severe injuries caused by the overuse of “less lethal weapons” against protesters would also be deeply disconcerting to him. The violent attacks on protesters by police forces and individuals invested in upholding the status quo would likely serve as a reminder of the brutality that came upon civil rights protesters in Selma in 1965 and the violence inflicted on Black bodies by white individuals for hundreds of years. How far have we come if more than five decades after Selma, we are seeing protesters against Cop City, a multiplex police training facility in Georgia, being charged as domestic terrorists?
Defending Rights and Dissent, a D.C.-based organization that works to strengthen participatory democracy and the right to political expression and where Sue is the executive director, has been tracking the settlements from police departments in the aftermath of the 2020 Black Lives Matter uprising. Police departments from across the country have paid out over $113 million to protesters that were harmed by police. We imagine this underhanded admission of culpability would be troubling to Dr. King because, on the one hand, yes, protesters have more legal recourse than protesters had during his time, but this is yet another reminder of the unchecked power of law enforcement and the continued and disproportionate violence inflicted on Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
And yet despite all these setbacks to progress and injustice, we believe that Dr. King would have been heartened by the millions of people around the world who refuse to be silenced. This is encouraging and surely a vestige of the influence that he and so many other social change movement leaders of the past set in motion for future generations.
Realistically speaking, we know the euphemistic arc toward freedom has been more of a zigzag line across history. The struggle for freedom and belonging is part of human existence; it is an unavoidable part of life. However, it is disheartening to see the very tools of social change activism used by the civil rights movement getting ruthlessly dismantled thanks to the self-interest and greed of politicians and corporations.
This time of year as we make time to honor Black freedom fighters, we must commit to a truthful assessment of where we are in carrying the torch of justice that Dr. King set aflame for the world and recommit to reigniting it by pushing back on all attempts to repress people power.
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US Public Opposes Big Pharma Attack on Medicare Drug Price Negotiations by 5-to-1 Margin
"Elected officials who align themselves with this unpopular and greedy industry, against the will of voters, do so at their own political risk," said one patient advocate.
Sep 19, 2023
Republican lawmakers who support Big Pharma's efforts to block Medicare from negotiating for lower drug prices do so at their own peril, said an advocacy group Tuesday as it released polling data that shows the U.S. public overwhelmingly opposes drug companies' scheme.
Along with Hart Research Associates and GS Strategy Group, Patients for Affordable Drugs Now (P4ADNOW) polled 1,000 likely voters from August 23-27 and found that respondents opposed the numerous lawsuits the pharmaceutical industry has filed to block implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act's provision allowing Medicare to negotiate.
Seventy-two percent of voters said the law should be implemented, and 77% said they didn't believe the industry's claim that it's suing because of concerns about the provision's constitutionality—saying they think companies are only concerned it will reduce their profits, which reached a combined $110 billion last year for the eight largest pharma firms.
"The American people understand the lawsuits to block lower drug prices through Medicare negotiation are not about looking after the best interests of patients and consumers, but about the industry seeking to restore its unilateral power to dictate prices of brand name drugs without limits in the United States," said David Mitchell, founder of P4ADNOW. "The lawsuits are a naked assault against the will of the American people, and we stand with the people."
Ninety percent of respondents said lowering drug prices should be an important or a top priority for Congress, and 53% said they had an unfavorable view of drug companies after learning of the lawsuits they have filed against the Biden administration. Eighty-four percent supported allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies to lower costs for patients.
The poll was released less than a month after the Biden administration announced the first 10 prescriptions that will be subject to the negotiations, drawing applause from Democratic lawmakers and patient advocates.
Republicans such as Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Mike Crapo of Idaho—who received a combined $468,900 in campaign donations from pharma companies and their political action committees from 2017-22—have joined the industry in attacking the law, claiming it will "stunt the development of lifesaving treatments and cures," as Blackburn said last month.
Only 18% of voters included in the poll agreed that the law will harm research and development in the industry, while 67% believed drug companies will still be able to make huge profits and find new treatments and cures for diseases.
"Efforts in Congress to undermine implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act fly in the face of the wishes of the overwhelming majority of voters—84% of whom support the law, including 93% of Democrats, 78% of independents and 80% of Republicans," said Mitchell. "Elected officials who align themselves with this unpopular and greedy industry, against the will of voters, do so at their own political risk."
Merith Basey, executive director of P4ADNOW, noted that pharmaceutical companies draw huge profits in other high-income countries, despite the fact that they negotiate drug prices with federal agencies working on behalf of patients.
"Those nations have better health outcomes, longer life expectancy, and for lower cost," said Basey. "It's in the United States that the drug industry seeks to fleece patients with unlimited pricing power."
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