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As a former soldier who spent a decade in active combat zones in both Iraq and Afghanistan, I’ve seen more than my fair share of extreme violence. But as we witnessed the abject brutality inflicted by Hamas against innocent civilians in Israel this past week, I find myself shocked by the level of violence, terror, and pure evil involved in this unprecedented attack. There should be no daylight between the U.S. and Israel, full stop. We must stand firm behind our ally in the Middle East. But at a moment when we need real leadership from the U.S. government, our legislative branch is failing to meet it. There is no clear and consistent message coming from Congress, the majority party in the House is in complete disarray, and for the first time in our history, we are without a Speaker of the House. Thankfully, I am greatly encouraged by the stance that the Biden Administration is taking. President Biden in particular is showing exactly what American leadership should look like at a time such as this. Bravo. —Marcus Flowers, Co-Founder, Mission: Democracy
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Gym night
Steve Scalise, we hardly knew ye. The House Majority Leader was nominated by Republicans to be the next Speaker of the House on Wednesday. He dropped out just a day later, after House Republicans failed to coalesce behind him. An exasperated Rep. Mike Rogers accused the eight Republican “traitors” who voted to remove former Speaker Kevin McCarthy of “paralyzing” the House. Rogers predicted the GOP might never get to the 217 votes needed to name McCarthy’s replacement without Democratic help.
Any hope of that is unlikely now. On Friday afternoon, MAGA Rep. Jim Jordan was nominated by Republicans in an internal secret-ballot vote behind closed doors, defeating late entrant Rep. Austin Scott. Jordan, you’ll recall, voted against certifying President Biden’s victory in the 2020 election and is one of the key lawmakers leading House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into Biden. It’s 10 days and counting without a Speaker. Stay tuned.
With friends like these…
The horrific surprise attack launched by the Hamas terror group against Israel a week ago threw into stark relief Americans’ disparate views on war, U.S. commitments abroad, and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some of those views were truly execrable. One was truly predictable, but no less shameful.
Just days after 1,200 innocents, including dozens of U.S. citizens, were killed in Israel, Donald Trump took the opportunity to publicly criticize Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for being caught unprepared by Hamas. He later complained to supporters at a campaign event that Netanyahu pulled out from the 2020 assassination of Iranian intelligence chief Qasem Soleimani. “I’ll never forget that Bibi Netanyahu let us down,” he said. “That was a very terrible thing.” Trump even went on to praise Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia that is allied with Hamas, calling them “very smart.”
What’s really behind it? Trump’s lingering bitterness that Netanyahu recognized Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election. “If the election wasn’t rigged, there would be nobody even thinking about going into Israel,” he said. For Trump, there is no “big picture”; everything comes back to personal grievances. Is it any wonder that in at least one focus group, voters said they trust President Biden over Trump on Israel-Hamas war?
Israel orders the evacuation of 1.1 million people from northern part of Gaza, the UN says —Associated Press
U.S. and Qatar deny Iran’s access to $6 billion from prisoner deal —The New York Times
Jared Kushner’s Middle East actions under spotlight after Israel attack —Newsweek
Attack on Israel puts foreign affairs on the 2024 map —The Dispatch
Here’s what else happened this week:
A new indictment charges Sen. Menendez with being an unregistered agent of the Egyptian government —Associated Press
North Korea provided Russia with weapons, White House says —The Washington Post
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run for president as independent, leaving Democratic primary —The New York Times
Aurora police officer Randy Roedema guilty in death of Elijah McClain —The Washington Post
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One more thing…
According to MAGA Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, hanging out with white supremacists isn’t a problem, but calling someone out for it sure is. When Republican Rep. Nancy Mace said this week that she would not vote for Rep. Steve Scalise as the next House Speaker because he “attended a white supremacist conference and compared himself to David Duke” (a pretty good reason not to, in our opinion), Greene was appalled. “What I do think is an unfair and quite frankly disgusting attack is members of our conference using … Democratic talking points,” Greene said. Sigh. —The Hill
If you don’t live in Greene’s district, you can’t vote her out, but you can help us demote her. Mission: Democracy is taking back the national narrative from the MAGA extremists. Help us do it with a donation today!
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New York reps prepare to clean House
A group of House Republicans from New York is introducing a resolution to expel disgraced Rep. George Santos from Congress. “Today, I’ll be introducing an expulsion resolution to rid the People’s House of fraudster George Santos,” Rep. Anthony D'Esposito said on Wednesday. He told reporters he considers Santos “a stain” on the House and on New York state. “It's time that we move on from George Santos,” D’Esposito said. The resolution will be co-sponsored by fellow New York House Republicans Nick LaLota, Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro, Nick Langworthy, and Brandon Williams. LaLota said he considers Santos an “immoral” and “untrustworthy” person. Booting Santos would require a two-thirds vote of the entire House. LaLota is confident of the resolution’s chances. "I predict this resolution is going to catch fire. Many people feel how we do," he said. It’s about time! —NBC
It’s nice to get reminders that, at its best, government can still work for the public interest. Share a story of hope from your community for a future issue of Democracy Defender. Please include your name and state with your submission. Thank you!
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‘We stand with Israel’
“The brutality of Hamas—this bloodthirstiness—brings to mind the worst rampages of ISIS. This is terrorism. But sadly, for the Jewish people, it’s not new. This attack has brought to the surface painful memories and the scars left by a millennia of antisemitism and genocide of the Jewish people. So, in this moment, we must be crystal clear: We stand with Israel. And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself, and respond to this attack.
There is no justification for terrorism. There is no excuse. Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination. Its stated purpose is the annihilation of the State of Israel and the murder of Jewish people. They use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed with no regard to who pays the price. The loss of innocent life is heartbreaking.
Like every nation in the world, Israel has the right to respond—indeed has a duty to respond—to these vicious attacks. … [D]emocracies like Israel and the United States are stronger and more secure when we act according to the rule of law. Terrorists purposefully target civilians, kill them. We uphold the laws of war. It matters. There’s a difference.” —Remarks by President Biden on the terrorist attacks in Israel, October 10, 2023
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Democracy Defender is the weekly newsletter of Mission: Democracy, a political action committee founded to defend democracy against extremists in Congress. To learn more about Mission: Democracy, please visit our website at www.missiondemocracy.org.
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