House Progressives stepped on a foreign policy rake this week, just weeks before the midterm elections. Their caucus was forced to detract a letter they sent to the Biden administration urging diplomacy in the Ukraine conflict after it caused outrage from Democrats and others on the left.
Remember when the left was the ‘anti-war movement’ under Bush? Things sure have changed.
Politico reports:
House progressives retract Russia-diplomacy letter amid Dem firestormHouse progressives on Tuesday retracted a letter calling on President Joe Biden to engage in direct diplomacy with Russia, less than 24 hours after it sparked intense backlash from other Democrats.The about-face comes as some Democratic lawmakers vent their fury that the letter backing talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin — originally drafted and signed in June — wasn’t recirculated before its public release on Monday. That release made it appear that the 30 House Democrats who signed on, all lawmakers in the roughly 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, were urging the Biden administration to push for diplomacy immediately despite Russia’s engagement in war crimes and indications of a military escalation against Ukraine.Making the timing of the letter even more politically perilous: Ukraine is not ready for negotiations at this point, especially because its months-long counteroffensive has been successful to date, and there’s no indication Putin is ready to deal either.“The Congressional Progressive Caucus hereby withdraws its recent letter to the White House regarding Ukraine,” the caucus’ chair, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), said in a statement after POLITICO first reported that the retraction was imminent. “The letter was drafted several months ago, but unfortunately was released by staff without vetting.”
Oh, ‘the staff’ is to blame?
Tim Meads of the Daily Wire has more:
“The Congressional Progressive Caucus hereby withdraws its recent letter to the White House regarding Ukraine,” Jayapal said in a statement.Jayapal, who bills herself as a friend of working-class Americans, promptly threw the schleps working for her on Capitol Hill under the bus…In reaction, establishment Democrats, directly and indirectly, criticized the CPC for its actions.Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), for example, rebuked anybody who even suggests that Ukraine or the U.S. could engage in good-faith negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.“We cannot engage in magical thinking regarding the nature of the Russian threat,” Connolly said. “Russia has lied about its intentions in Ukraine and overturned international agreements fundamental to safeguarding peace on the European continent.”
How did this all fall apart so fast?
Karen Townshend of Hot Air explains what really happened here:
The backlash was swift from other progressives. Some correctly warned that the letter undermine U.S. support for Ukraine. Some progressives were concerned about the timing of the letter, as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said last week that when Republicans take back the majority in the House, he won’t approve “a free blank check” for the White House on Ukraine. Democrats, including Biden, quickly pushed back on McCarthy’s comments. Progressives said it made them look like they were siding with McCarthy and other conservatives on cutting back on aid to Ukraine.
The left cannot allow themselves to be seen agreeing with Republicans on anything.
Featured image via YouTube.
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