Gaza Watch
Adam Gessaman 
I teach AP US Government. I’ve never seen polling showing Congress this out of touch across the board. It’s wild.
It’s useful to note that this survey was a little over three weeks ago. Since then, support for a ceasefire has increased along with support for the US to be a neutral arbiter in the region. https://www.reuters.com/world/us-public-support-israel-drops-majority-backs-ceasefire-reutersipsos-2023-11-15/
US public support for Israel drops; majority backs a ceasefire, Reuters/Ipsos shows
U.S. public support for Israel's war against Hamas militants in Gaza is eroding and most Americans think Israel should call a ceasefire to a conflict that has ballooned into a <a href="/world/middle-east/biden-says-gaza-hospitals-must-be-protected-2023-11-14/">humanitarian crisis</a>, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Sashin@adam Why is this?
@sashin campaign donations, aversion to political risk, and hewing to long-held beliefs probably explain most congresspeople’s stances on this issue.
@adam Who are the donations likely from? Who stands to gain from this? Is it Lockheed Martin, Raytheon et al?
🦕 Justus ☠️ Tóth 🏁 Römeth@Squig @adam I once heard that there is a way of getting something to the effect of a donation discreetly in the form of insider trading information.
Is it possible that something like this is happening over there?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3U6rhWT-QE&t=2s
How Do Politicians Keep Getting So Rich?
wrosecrans
libreware sniffer@adam whats the difference between house and just voters?
@tengkuizdihar House Republicans or House Democrats refers to members of the US House of Representatives. It is comparing representatives’ support for a ceasefire to that of the people who elected them.
@adam then this graphics is pretty sad. It means the will of the people are not alligned with the action of house members.
What a sad day for a self proclaimed "democratic" country.
Toot Ωncommon - SHUT 🇺🇸 DOWN@adam Another take is that what the people initially want doesn’t hold over time especially when their opinion is being constantly force-fed. The public at large hasn’t born daily witness and is largely ignorant of the history of this decades-long conflict. The same public that believes by similarly wide margins that the invasion of Ukraine began in 2021, not 2014. Seems the story here could be our leaders know facts and have the leadership to wait for public opinion to right itself. Just maybe.
@opethminded it’s a plausible explanation. It does presume that we send our most sage statesmen to DC and/or that some special secret knowledge justifies their current rejection of their constituents’ wishes.
Isn’t it just as plausible that they fear changing course because we’ve stigmatized changing one’s mind?
@adam I think that, as with any issue of such size and complexity, there are a few significant considerations that control, not just one.
@opethminded Completely agree. 🙂
Matt Sicker@adam @opethminded the politicians may not be individually smart, but they do hire a lot of policy nerds and people who do know their shit (but are often disproportionately wealthy people because who else can afford to live in DC and work as a staffer)
@sickmatter They do surround themselves with more knowledgeable people. It’s also very uncommon for those people to speak publicly against their members’ actions, but that did happen earlier this week. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/13/us/politics/democratic-aides-congress-israel-hamas.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
@adam interesting! It’s extremely rare for them to speak out like this; I’ve literally never heard this happen before. Do staffers get access to intelligence reports and shit, too? Or is that limited to the politicians? Could be that the staffers don’t even know why their bosses are supportive of Israel’s actions (for whatever reason that might be)
@sickmatter I haven’t heard of any general classified briefings for all of Congress re: this conflict. The Gang of 8 has the most access to briefings, but all congresspeople have some access.
I’m skeptical of the idea that there is secret information that would persuade Americans that the bombing of Gaza is necessary, effective, and humane. It would be in Israel’s best interest to release that evidence and our representatives would be repeating it to justify their position.
@adam I’m also skeptical that releasing any supposed evidence will help, either. Suppose it’s tactical information about where specific Hamas individuals are; sharing that info publicly would just cause those individuals to move somewhere else! Plus, who would believe the politicians providing evidence? Politicians are often great at providing selective evidence (especially Republicans; remember yellow cake)
DadsForSensibleCurfews@adam there's a message hidden in this data
Power_to_the_People (he/him)@adam @adam Well, it does comport with what Gilens & Page revealed - in 2014! That is, there is now virtually no correlation between "the will of the people" and what the govt chooses to do. Classic "elite vs. the masses" stuff, I guess - and, as in virtually all historical examples, it's the masses who've got it right. "Same as it ever was" (h/t Talking Heads), it appears...
https://pnhp.org/news/gilens-and-page-average-citizens-have-little-impact-on-public-policy/
#GilensandPage #democrature #PotemkinDemocracy #SameAsItEverWas
Pauxlll Kruczynski@adam @StillIRise1963 the members of the Squad (a name I don’t love but use for ease) and their cohorts are the real voice of the people and of what could and should be here in the US. Seeking equity, seeking better lives for all. Attacks against them are transparent in their desperate attempts to silence this better path that deviates from business as usual. People need to wake up.
(And no progressives, aren’t perfect, but they never claim to be, either. Unlike other career pols)
Sid 🇵🇸@adam love a democracy. Hope to live in one someday
Raven Onthill@adam regardless of what Congress wants or the public thinks, how is a ceasefire to be accomplished when both sides want to keep on fighting?
@ravenonthill I think there may be more than two groups involved and their desire for conflict varies widely. Reducing this to “both sides” is a faulty heuristic.
@adam it's Likud and its coalition vs. Hamas. Both groups have international supporters. Unless these ruling coalitions can be pried out of power - and they have stayed in power for years despite intense opposition - I do not see how the other factions you write of can make any headway; with the acts of 10/7, Hamas has undone all moderate Israeli opposition.
Durand@adam I don’t think that’s lot of touch. That’s just deliberate
Ursidinoj/The Bjornsdottirs@adam US is not a democracy.
RodneyPetersonTalentAgencyThis country has never been quite the shithole it is today.
It took years of deliberate planning and subterfuge to get this far down that road.
WhichOne'sPink 🇫🇮@adam This because they all own shares in Boeing, Lockheed-Martin and Raytheon?
BlueintheSouth@adam I'm sure MOC's have more information than the rest of us do, but this seems fairly straightforward
Anarcho-Daddy@adam i have been saying that its just a matter of time before the truth on the ground seeps out through the propaganda and then theres going to be a lot of backpedaling because theres no way that the mass majority of people anywhere is going to be ok with the results of an ethnic cleansing, its just too obviously unjust and atrocious, the sad part is that people will find ways to rationalize and excuse and no politicians will be held accountable for thier moral failures...