Democrats Are Doing What They Do Best on Venezuela: Nothing

In a colossal spectacle of imperial hubris and reality TV recklessness, the ruling US regime kidnapped a world leader and his wife and ordered them to stand trial on exaggerated charges of “narcoterrorism” (as well as seemingly menacing but ultimately meaningless offenses like machine gun possession, which much of the MAGA movement considers a sacred duty). Efforts to justify this action swing wildly between gangster-style resource extraction and the assertion of a new form of hemispheric hegemony, while purported plans to “run the country” on a puppet colonial basis are clearly non-existent. (Fittingly, the administration’s newly appointed person in this arrangement would be the racist thug who oversaw a wildly unpopular and counterproductive federal siege of terror on American cities that the administration dislikes.) In a symbolic flourish that says it all, the real proximate cause of the illegal coup appears to be the deposed leader’s habit of posting videos of himself dancing to troll America’s most mean-spirited and dance-challenged leader.

All of this would present a series of prime targets for a robust and committed opposition party — especially since an effective (if false) element of the MAGA movement’s mass appeal has been its declared allergy to America’s “forever wars” and the myopic military actions that provoked them. If only we had such a party. Instead, we have the Democratic Party. And what are Democrats doing to denounce the rapacity and self-serving hypocrisy of the Republican ruling caste? For now, as little as possible.

The main complaint among Democratic leaders is that the Trump White House failed to properly consult with Congress before its crime spree. And even this grievance rings hollow. So far, Democrats have shown no inclination to pursue an impeachment resolution against the president — the obvious constitutional remedy for such abuses — even though a growing number of lawmakers are calling for it, alongside leaders of the party’s activist base.

It is reasonable to assume that party leaders will continue to dismiss calls for impeachment and other measures to hold the Trump regime’s thugs accountable — which is, after all, exactly what happened when Trump carried out his illegal bombing of Iran last summer. And the Democratic caucus failed to build support behind two earlier resolutions aimed at curbing the administration’s lawless military adventurism against Venezuela, although a handful of dissident Republicans supported them.

Party leaders’ dismal record of Trump’s brazen defiance of the Constitution’s war powers provisions reinforces the major liability plaguing Democrats heading into a critical midterm cycle: They are simply not serious about following through on their many rhetorical denunciations of the Trumpified Republican Party’s lurch toward sectarian authoritarian rule.

Unfortunately, the party’s inert approach to illegitimate acts of war long predates Trump’s rampage in Venezuela; Top Democrats stood idly by while their own president supported a genocidal war in Gaza – a posture of complicity so deeply ingrained that the Democratic National Committee refused to let a Palestinian speaker take the stage at the party’s convention in 2024. Democrats also enthusiastically welcomed Barack Obama’s raid in Pakistan to kidnap and execute Osama bin Laden, without thinking that it would serve as a precedent for later imperial missions like the ouster of Maduro.

Some of this self-inflicted myopia can be attributed to one variation or another of the “Vietnam syndrome” – the fear of appearing out of step with bellicose public opinion during one of the country’s countless acts of imperial plunder disguised as a national security crisis. That’s the feeble lament of a trio of centrist House Democrats in a recent report Axiosone of the party establishment’s favorite clearinghouses for anonymous bashing of the left. One said Democratic criticism of Venezuela’s MAGA putsch “seems weak… If you don’t recognize our country’s victory, you lose all credibility.” Warmed by these inert centrist lullabies, another lawmaker said, “As Democrats, we can’t just condemn what happened…I wish the Democratic Party would be a little more measured on this.” » Yet another misunderstood soul complained that “everything Trump touches must be bad according to the base.” It is worth noting that none of these heroic dissidents have spoken out publicly – an underhanded maneuver that is far weaker than principled opposition to an illegal, unprovoked violation of another nation’s sovereignty.

At a time when the MAGA creed is poised to spread wantonly across the Western Hemisphere, these slanderous statements are not just self-serving bromides: they are a plea to save oneself the work of doing politics. As Democrats prepare to argue that they should gain control of Congress to avoid the power grabs, racist internment campaigns and crimes of the second Trump in the White House, the last thing they should do is skirt the essential task of drawing firm, principled distinctions between their own agenda and that of the brutal opposition they view as an existential threat to American democracy. Yet this is precisely the reflex of the party leadership. This is why virtually every statement about the Venezuela raid coming from the sanctuaries of Democratic power begins with denunciation of Maduro as an illegitimate dictator — as if that somehow makes a U.S.-led campaign of kidnappings and coups more acceptable. To argue that even undemocratic foreign leaders should be protected from externally organized coups is to make a political argument – ​​a justification for basic guidelines of conduct for any self-proclaimed republic. And making this argument means accepting resistance, risking electoral risks, and reshaping your party’s labor beliefs along more coherent and readable lines.

Democratic leaders have demonstrated time and time again that they can’t be bothered with any of this. Instead, they are willing to treat the Venezuelan travesty as they have most other Trump-era power grabs, crimes, and corrupt deals — as something that can be safely left unattended until it passively matures into an opportunity to score a handful of victories in the next election cycle. With that in mind, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the bully pulpit. Morning Joe Monday to preach bipartisan support for another war powers resolution to prevent further incursions into Venezuela without prior notification to Congress. Never mind that Democrats failed to advance their last two such resolutions. And never mind that Schumer’s call to his Republican colleagues was downright hallucinatory: “If there ever was a time, [Republicans] must step up to the plate. It’s time. And if they don’t, they will feel pressure from their voters.”

In other words: the opposition party that continually rules out impeachment as a viable strategy is banking on lawmakers aligned with a ruling party that has systematically purged and primarily eliminated anti-MAGA dissidents from its ranks to salvage flailing Democratic attempts to get illegal war plans duly put on paper before relevant leaders on Capitol Hill. It’s the opposite of politics – and it’s decidedly weak.