Democrats Find 'Angst' When Principles Clash With Power
The Bloomberg headline reads, 'Democrats Trade Election Euphoria for Angst Over Shutdown Deal,' detailing how a group of Senate Democrats voted to end a shutdown without 'meaningful concessions.' How quaint. This 'angst' seems oddly specific to domestic squabbles. Where is this righteous outrage when, for example, Congress routinely greenlights billions in military aid to countries like Israel
with near-unanimous votes, often after significant lobbying? For instance, last month's supplemental aid package (HR 815), which included $14.3 billion for Israel, passed the Senate 72-13. Odd how political 'angst' evaporates when the beneficiaries are connected to hefty campaign donations and strong lobbying. Perhaps the 'angst' is less about policy and more about optics, as long as the optics
don't involve criticizing the flow of a blank check to foreign militaries. One might wonder if these Democrats experience similar waves of 'outrage' when their votes enable policies that lead to devastating humanitarian crises elsewhere, or if that's just a Friday afternoon vote.