3 ms·

Former Arcadia mayor, Eileen Wang, plead guilty to being an illegal foreign agent [1]. She faces up to 10 years in prison. What did she do? She allegedly promot

by jmyeet 5mo ago

Former Arcadia mayor, Eileen Wang, plead guilty to being an illegal foreign agent [1]. She faces up to 10 years in prison. What did she do? She allegedly promoted Chinese propaganda and communicated with the CCP. If Israel was treated to the same standard, two-third of Congress would be tried for treason and most of the Beltway would now be in Federal prison. Senator Lindsey Graham said in his own words he goes to Israel "every two weeks". Jake Auchincloss, Democratic congressperson, said regarding the presumptive Democratic nominee for senate in Maine, Graham Platner, "I'd vote for someone else" [3]. Put another way, he'd rather a Republican win than an anti-Israel Democrat. When then president George HW Bush threatened to pause a $10 billion loan to Israell over illegal settlements, he famously complained "there are 1,000 lobbyists up on the Hill today lobbying Congress for loan guarantees for Israel and I’m one lonely little guy down here asking Congress to delay its consideration of loan guarantees for 120 days." [4] The level of influence is unreal. [1]: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/arcadia-mayor-federally-charged-acting-illegal-agent-peoples-republic-china https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/arcadia-mayor-federally... [2]: https://www.rev.com/transcripts/graham-press-conference-in-israel https://www.rev.com/transcripts/graham-press-conference-in-i... [3]: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5895682-graham-platner-maine-senate-jake-auchincloss/ https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5895682-graham-platner... [4]: https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-lonely-little-george-h-w-bush-changed-the-us-israel-relationship/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-lonely-little-george-h-w-b...

JumpCrisscross 5mo ago
> What did she do? She allegedly promoted Chinese propaganda and communicated with the CCP Wang "secretly served the interests of the Chinese government." Doing it covertly is the core of the problem for an elected. > If Israel was treated to the same standard, two-third of Congress would be tried for treason Eileen Wang wasn't charged with treason. Our electeds are allowed to have foreign sympathies because voters are allowed to have foreign sympathies. If it's out in the open, it's fine, even if one may disagree with it. And for what it's worth, Israel has become toxic in the Democratic party, something it wasn't before, as well as on the isolationist (and let's be honest, anti-Semitic) wing of the GOP. So you're starting to see those expressions shift.
- jmyeet 5mo ago
  > Doing it covertly is the core of the problem for an elected. Oh I'm sorry, are all these politicians registered under FARA as registered foreign agents for Israel? > And for what it's worth, Israel has become toxic in the Democratic party It's become toxic in the Democratic voter base, not the Democratic Party establishment. The establishment still actively runs spoiler candidates against anti-Israel candidates (eg Andrew Cuomo, Haley Stevens Mallory McMorrow, Janet Mills, George Latimer, Wesley Bell, Bhavini Patel).
  - JumpCrisscross 5mo ago
    > are all these politicians registered under FARA as registered foreign agents for Israel? It would be ridiculous to require them to be for simply advocating for a sympathetic position. Doing so would mean the President unilaterally gets to decide all foreign policy, since if a member of Congress takes a position, they're a foreign agent. > It's become toxic in the Democratic voter base, not the Democratic Party establishment It's still unclear the degree to which the voters who view it as toxic are politically organized and valuable. The establishment will always lag the ground truth; it would be premature to take a defeatist bent already. All that said, it’s still a foreign policy issue. A small minority will care deeply about it; most people just don’t care relative to pocketbook issues.

by jmyeet 5mo ago

JumpCrisscross 5mo ago

> What did she do? She allegedly promoted Chinese propaganda and communicated with the CCP Wang "secretly served the interests of the Chinese government." Doing it covertly is the core of the problem for an elected. > If Israel was treated to the same standard, two-third of Congress would be tried for treason Eileen Wang wasn't charged with treason. Our electeds are allowed to have foreign sympathies because voters are allowed to have foreign sympathies. If it's out in the open, it's fine, even if one may disagree with it. And for what it's worth, Israel has become toxic in the Democratic party, something it wasn't before, as well as on the isolationist (and let's be honest, anti-Semitic) wing of the GOP. So you're starting to see those expressions shift.

jmyeet 5mo ago
> Doing it covertly is the core of the problem for an elected. Oh I'm sorry, are all these politicians registered under FARA as registered foreign agents for Israel? > And for what it's worth, Israel has become toxic in the Democratic party It's become toxic in the Democratic voter base, not the Democratic Party establishment. The establishment still actively runs spoiler candidates against anti-Israel candidates (eg Andrew Cuomo, Haley Stevens Mallory McMorrow, Janet Mills, George Latimer, Wesley Bell, Bhavini Patel).
- JumpCrisscross 5mo ago
  > are all these politicians registered under FARA as registered foreign agents for Israel? It would be ridiculous to require them to be for simply advocating for a sympathetic position. Doing so would mean the President unilaterally gets to decide all foreign policy, since if a member of Congress takes a position, they're a foreign agent. > It's become toxic in the Democratic voter base, not the Democratic Party establishment It's still unclear the degree to which the voters who view it as toxic are politically organized and valuable. The establishment will always lag the ground truth; it would be premature to take a defeatist bent already. All that said, it’s still a foreign policy issue. A small minority will care deeply about it; most people just don’t care relative to pocketbook issues.