When Ro Khanna Speaks, It Matters-- We Need More Members Of Congress Like Him, Not Pointless Backbenchers

Ro Khanna's grandfather was arrested during the Indian independence movement and wound up sharing a British prison cell with Mahatma Gandhi. No doubt, that's from whom Khanna got the moxie to stand up yesterday in front of Congress and make this absolutely incredible speech opposing the NDAA-- which would be better named "the endless War and Corruption bill." I implore you to listen to what Khanna had to say. It's less than 2 minutes but it has enough in it to be worth an hour to every single American. In fact, please spread it around to your friends and relatives.

In the end, this miserable bill-- pushed by both Pelosi and McCarthy, an example of the pathetic leadership on both sides of the aisle-- passed 377-48. Only 41 Democrats voted NO, including Ro Khanna (CA), AOC (NY), Barbara Lee (CA), Rashida Tlaib (MI), Ilhan Omar (MN), Jamie Raskin (MD), Ayanna Pressely (MA), Pramila Jayapal (WA), Raul Grijalva (AZ), Andy Levin (MI), Joe Neguse (CO), Judy Chu (CA), Jan Schakowsky (IL), Steve Cohen (TN), Tulsi (HI), Bonnie Watson-Coleman (NJ), Jerry Nadler (NY), Chuy Garcia (IL)... So where were all the freshmen the DCCC elected last year? Voting with the GOP, of course. (By the way, there would have been 42 Democrats but Ted Lieu was recuperating in the hospital and unable to cast a vote.)

Hopefully, Austin progressive Mike Siegel will be #43 next time the NDAA comes up for a vote. Endless war and corruption is like a middle name for his GOP opponent, Michael McCaul. Right after McCaul's vote, Mike told us that "I stand with Rep. Khanna and the members of Congress who are willing to take a stand and oppose a blank check for military spending. We are facing a climate crisis, but these same people who support the defense budget ask 'how will we pay' for a Green New Deal. We are in a health care crisis and rural hospitals are closing, but we ask 'how will we pay' for Medicare for All. This vote shows how disingenuous the 'PayGo' tactic can be. Here in TX-10, Rep. McCaul will support cuts to basic nutritional assistance for starving Americans, in service of fiscal austerity, but he can’t be bothered to oppose a $120B increase in military spending. 'The Blob' is a third rail in DC politics, decades after Eisenhower’s admonition about the military industrial complex. We need a progressive movement to stand up to this warmongering, that not only sabotages international diplomacy, but also comes at the cost of a real safety net at home."

Columbus Ohio progressive candidate Morgan Harper is running against a corrupt establishment Democrat, Joyce Beatty, who backed the horrific Pentagon Budget. Afterwards, Morgan sent me a short note: "Why I would have voted ‘no’ on the defense bill that just passed in the House: This bill effectively gives permission for the U.S. to continue its endless wars. It also does nothing to curb the continued abuse of power by the Office of the President to engage in war without congressional approval. Democrats are touting the success of the compromise bill by citing such achievements as extended paid parental leave. To achieve this ‘win’ they accepted the creation of a ‘space force,’ which is nothing more than political fodder for the President’s base. However, this is just another example of Democrats simply not understanding strategy and being out-negotiated, as the President’s circle already wanted extended parental leave. Finally, there is no mention of how this will be paid for. Not only is this in clear opposition to Republicans’ pretend platform of ‘fiscal responsibility’, but also if we’re in the mood to pass spending bills without accounting for how they will be paid for, let’s start by addressing issues of actual importance like housing the homeless. This bill is nothing more than business as usual for Republicans and further evidence that many elected Democrats are no better."

  Arizona progressive Eva Putzova is an admirer of Ro Khanna's politics and see's the Defense Budget the same way he does. Right after the House backed the bill-- including her Blue Dog opponent, Tom O'Halleran-- she told us "The vote by the House of Representatives to approve a new defense budget of $738 billion dollars is a disgrace. It is now $120 billion dollars more than President Obama's last defense budget. This money could have been used to fund free public college for all Americans and many other civilian priorities. The budget also continues funding U.S military aid to the brutal Saudi war in Yemen and failed to impose limitations on Trump's ability to go to war with Iran. And it gives Trump his 'Space Force' which increase the likelihood of armed conflict with Russia and China in space! When I am elected to congress I will not vote for more war spending and profits for arms contractors like my opponent does, but will prioritize spending on universal healthcare, free public college, renewable energy, universal childcare, affordable housing, expanded public access to the internet, and other crucial, popular priorities."

Liam O'Mara, the progressive Democrat running for the Riverside County seat occupied by corrupt Republican Ken Calvert, told us that "This vote shows once again that Republicans and Democrats alike will continue to waste taxpayer dollars on endless wars, in large part as a hand-out to defence contractors, and irrespective of the cost in lives and the destruction of our world. A vote for Calvert is a vote to funnel more cash from the wallets of hard-working Americans, and into the coffers of Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, etc. But it is also a vote to shift corrupt lobbyist cash from the defence industry into the hands of those same grasping Representatives. This is why there exists a bipartisan consensus on permanent war, and why we need a new progressive majority to end it."

Another California progressive Democrat, Kim Williams, a former U.S. diplomat, is running for the Central Valley seat occupied by hard core Blue Dog Jim Costa, a backer of the military industrial complex President Eisenhower warned the country about. Williams has other ideas. "While we are spending more than 60% of discretionary spending on war, roughly 3,000 Americans will die each year from a lack of healthcare, and half a million people will file bankruptcy because of medical debt. Nearly two decades of unending war has distracted the U.S. Government from other serious national security threats and diverted resources from domestic investments in education, healthcare and efforts to fight climate change-- all of which are essential to the health, safety, and well-being of everyone in the country. This is unsustainable and clearly not in our best interests."

Milwaukie, Oregon mayor Mark Gamba is running for a congressional seat held by one of the worst and most corrupt of all the Blue Dogs, Kurt Schrader, a cheerleader for the Republican agenda. "We are already spending more than the next 10 largest militaries in the world combined," said Gamba, "and yet, we are told it's crazy talk to consider providing secondary education for our population, or housing the homeless, or stopping climate chaos while lifting people out of poverty, because 'it will cost too much!!' We could completely accomplish the first two with the 120 billion difference between Obama's last military budget and this one, and we could take a hell of whack at solving climate chaos. I agree that our soldiers deserve a raise and I agree that our federal workers should have paid parental leave (although why that's attached to this bill is a completely different rant), but a Space Force? At what point do we stop funding endless wars and start paying for the real needs of Americans? I would have voted against the bill after the White House stripped out the bi partisan amendments that would end some of those endless wars."

Will County, Illinois progressive Rachel Ventura issued this statement right after the vote:

You have to wonder where the common sense was during the NDAA vote. It is unfathomable to me that Bill Foster voted “yes” for Donald Trump’s proposed space force that was included in the $738 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) legislation. I would have stood with the courageous Democrats who voted “no” on Donald Trump's space army and urged other members to stay focused on the real threat of climate change.



I can't believe that we are blowing billions of dollars on this hypothetical cartoon-like space war, and doing little to address the real crisis. The greatest threat to humanity right now is the climate crisis, and all of those lawmakers, including my opponent, are still funding perpetual war and now even an imaginary war.



Finally, it is sad that Democrats have lost their backbones and are bending to the whims of a man who is clearly unfit to lead this nation. They are undermining their own efforts at impeachment and legitimizing Donald Trump. It is embarrassing.