Democrats Balk on Anti-Trans Bill, Not on $14B for Israel
Turns out, the moral courage to fight bigotry isn't always elective. While some Senate Democrats are reportedly hesitant to cast a decisive vote against a deeply harmful anti-trans bill – one needing 'seven Democratic senators to join Republicans' to pass – their conviction seems to crystalize rapidly when considering military funding. For context, the recent National Security Supplemental
Appropriations Act (HR 815), which included $14 billion in military aid to Israel, passed the Senate 70-29. There, the 'balking' was largely absent. So, defending marginalized Americans against domestic fascism is a tricky political calculation, but arming a foreign military amid a documented humanitarian crisis? That's apparently a bipartisan slam dunk. It appears principled stances are reserved
for issues from which minimal campaign donations are extracted. One might ask: how many LGBTQ+ lives are worth a single mega-donor? Or perhaps, how much 'difficulty' does a simple 'yes' or 'no' vote really present, when trillions of dollars are at stake?