Dems AOC & Henry CUELLAR need to focus on border root causes, not give wingnuts ammo

[UTUSN]

Border congresscritter CUELLAR has been giving aid and comfort to wingnuts for weeks (actually over the years), by leaning more on the immigrant facilities with pics he releases much to the glee of wingnut media outlets. His Laredo, TX, district is right on the border and is one of the poorest anywhere, of course, yet he is some kind of "moderate Dem" or Blue Dog and does the "reaching out" thing of talking to "anybody" meaning wingnut talk shows.

And now AOC, to whom I've personally/anecdotally warmed up in recent years, comes along with proposing reparations to the immigrants.


******* It has always been a byword that the difference between wingnuts and Libs is that the former look for external persons to blame and when cornered by the results of their bad policies then throw fast cash (at their contractors and fatcats) - while Libs delve for ROOT, LONG TERM causes and solutions.

Yes, immediate problems exist and must be dealt with (in common sense, restrained ways), but long term the focus needs to be on 1) comprehensive immigration reform and 2) Marshall Plan type assistance to the source countries.

And cut our Dem administration slack for the long term goals while not giving wingnuts aid and comfort in the short term.

[empedocles]

1. Agree

[UTUSN]

2. Thank you. Am at odds with both wings of my own Dem party, bracing for incoming.

[empedocles]

6. Biden needs to politically control the border problem for 2022.

If he doesn't, and we get beat in Nov. '22 . . . US catastrophe.

[comradebillyboy]

3. You are so right...

[mcar]

4. I agree

They need to work with and support the Administration to improve things, not run to the media with all the "crisis" hype.

[Cha]

10. Exactly.. it's a Team

effort to work and keep the majority. Not about them.

[betsuni]

12. +1

[Grins]

5. The problem is Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, etc

The reason penniless people leave their friends and family behind and WALK a thousand miles risking their lives to a country where they don’t speak the language and are hunted - is because the conditions in their home countries ARE WORSE! Because there is no JUSTICE.

Conditions, I think, that have origins in Iran-Contra.

If we can put pressure on Iran and Russia and N. Korea we can put pressure (and HELP) on these countries. It would be a win-win.

[Caliman73]

13. WAY WAY before Iran-Contra

The US has been interfering in the economics and politics of Mexico. Central America, and South America since the 1800's. We have deposed legitimately elected leaders, sent Marines in, launched military campaigns designed to sow the ground for possible spread of slavery, and many other things since early in our own history. The Monroe Doctrine told the old colonial powers that the Western Hemisphere was ours to dictate to, and we have been.

The problem is that whenever a leader emerges that wants to protect their people, the US backs other politicians who don't give a shit about their people.

[BannonsLiver]

7. Reparations are a loser politically.

Even worse than the “defund the police” messaging some people who don’t know anything about politics thought was terrific.

[cinematicdiversions]

9. You know Demilitarize the police was siting right there... NT

[BannonsLiver]

11. Yeah, that's a million times better. Great point. Totally agree.

[MichMan]

8. Fund UBI for Mexico and Central America with a VAT

[Celerity]

14. Pete Buttigieg wants reparations and citizenship for separated immigrant families

He wants to make amends for Trump’s family separations policy.

https://www.vox.com/2019/12/19/21030871/pete-buttigieg-path-citizenship-family-separations-immigrant-reparations-compensation-trump

Pete Buttigieg vowed during Thursday night’s Democratic debate not only to financially compensate the almost 5,500 immigrant families who were separated under the Trump administration’s policies, but also to offer them a “fast track” to citizenship.

It’s a unique proposal in the Democratic field — one that immigrant advocates are currently fighting for in the courts and in Congress. The American Civil Liberties Union and others have filed lawsuits seeking financial damages against the US government on behalf of separated families.

Democrats in Congress, meanwhile, have already introduced legislation that would offer separated families a path to citizenship, which would also give them access to medical and mental health care to cope with the trauma of separation.

Buttigieg — one of the few candidates who has yet to release an immigration plan — is the first presidential candidate to bring up the proposal on the debate stage. “They should have a fast track to citizenship because what the United States did under this president to them was wrong,” the South Bend, Indiana, mayor said Thursday night. “We have a moral obligation to make right what was broken.”

I was the first Buttigieg group poster here on DU. I do not recall much handwringing going on when he said this at the debates.


Now AOC suggests the same limited, targeted thing and is dumped in with the worst (by far, it is not even close) Democratic member in the House (and as he is in a deep Blue district that has never elected a Rethug once in its entire history, he is the literally ONLY incumbent Dem in Congress I support a primary challenge to, albeit we need a moderate, not a prog to do so, just a moderate who believes in our platform in terms of multiple massive points, which Cuellar simply does not), the anti-LGBTQ, forced-birther, voting with Trump almost 70% of the time in the 115th Congress, campaigning AND fundraising for a Republican radical RW racist climate change denier (John Carter), anti-immigrant (only Dem in Congress to vote to make i easier to send children back to dangerous Central American origins without due process), massively pro big oil, very poor on climate change, and anti green tech, pro private prison (biggest Dem by far in terms of contributions from that sector, including the Trump scandal-ridden GEO Group, who run immigrant camps (including some of the worst) for massive profit , but NOT the one in Donna, TX he sandbagged Biden with, quelle surprise) Henry Cuellar.

Interesting.

I am a massive supporter of BOTH Buttigieg and AOC. I find that to be consistent with my embrace of our big tent philosophy, a philosophy that I find to be absolutely vital to our maintaining majority control. Apparently, judging on the hundreds of replies I have gotten over the years, my dual support is not at all accepted by some, and the pushback sure as hell does not mostly come from the AOC wing. Other than some Sanders people in the old Primary section who were anti-Pete, I can scarce recall any truly significant and/or mean spirited, sustained, utterly unrelenting negativity tossed his way since those days from the further left environs. Oh if I could but say the same about the other end of our Party's political spectrum when it comes to a certain House Representative from NY-14.


AOC: Reparations should be made to undocumented immigrant families separated by Trump policies

BTW, AOC talks oh so often (and at great lengths) about the systemic root causes of most every issue she takes a strong position on. It is simply false to try and frame it as something she does not do.

[UTUSN]

16. My focus is with post #4 "running to media/crisis hype" not root causes. Not undermining our Admin

by having to divert our energies to circular firing squad besides having to battle the Wingnuts. Pete is one of my faves and I said I've liked AOC more in recent years, but I don't give blanket approval to anybody, particularly in Primaries (that are now over) policies/positions. I also am firmly with the post(s) saying that reparations are a totally loser policy for politics, as much as "defunding police" was.

Separately from the Primaries being over, does PB still advocate reparations? And you were clear that he was specifically referring to the Drumpf separated families, but that specificity is irrelevant to what I said about reparations above. And that issue doesn't make me like him or AOC less.

I don't need to be convinced about the catalog of CUELLAR's deviations from MY mainstream Dem/Lib orthodoxy. And my "dump in" of AOC with him was about their undermining our unity, not helping us with the border against the Wingnuts. Here, with the reparations thing, she is not doing the root cause thing, which I'll take your word she does in *other* things. You framed MY topic as an attack on AOC plus PB, which is a distortion. On reparations and "defunding police" I'm a NO no matter who says it.

I also mentally practice the big tent approach but that doesn't keep me from frustration with blue dogs or whatever other opposites-from-within.

Also, when I have to repeat and re-state MY stuff, "discussion" isn't what's happening. And I'm one-finger typing on Kindle so I've said what I've said. Not to mention I'm not going to be converted to or defeated by a different pov.

[Celerity]

18. my reply was not really aimed at you overall, I should have been more clear on that

Hard to tell what Buttigieg wants to do in terms of reparations, as he is in the Biden Cabinet now and is not going to go off the trail too much in terms of pronouncing policy diktats of his own design or desire. I am sure in his heart of hearts he thinks that course of action a just cause.

I do not find a suggestion for Trump-damaged families to get compensatory reparations to be a circular firing squad event. Cuellar's tossing Biden under the bus by leaking those pics and then engaging with RW media about it all, I think, does have a stronger case to be made for it in terms of earning that label.

I did on OP on that as soon as it occurred btw.

cheers

[UTUSN]

19. & I've liked about all of your posts that I've seen.

[Celerity]

20. thank you, and the same in return from me

[speak easy]

15. 'Trump's favorite Democrat' seldom misses a chance to put the boot into the Democratic Party

Cuellar, I mean

[Cha]

17. Kr TY!

[Hortensis]

21. Ocasio and Cuellar are both rated by Center for Effective Lawmaking

for their effectiveness in advancing their agendas in congress.

Cuellar: https://thelawmakers.org/find-representatives

Interestingly, while he positions himself in front of cameras focused on the plight of the people at the border, he mostly ignores immigration problems as a legislator.

Ocasio-Cortez: https://thelawmakers.org/find-representatives

Same as Cuellar on immigration, climate, all the rest except housing, guessing a hot topic at home.

Here are the ratings for all 435 house members, separated by party. The low performers are toward the bottom of the lists, as well as the party leaders whose leadership functions are not evaluated by these metrics.

https://thelawmakers.org/find-representatives