The Squad (United States Congress): Difference between revisions

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'''The Squad''' is a group of six Democratic Party members of the U.S. House of Representatives. It has been described as the most progressive and left-wing members of the U.S. Congress, but it has increasingly been criticized by left-wing voices for abandoning their stated aims.  
'''The Squad''' is a group of six [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] members of the [[United States of America|U.S.]] House of Representatives. Although this group has been described as being the most progressive and left-wing members of the U.S. Congress, it has increasingly been criticized for succumbing to the political weight of the [[Imperialism|pro-imperialist]], right-wing [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] and its billionaire donors.<ref>{{News citation|journalist=[[Richard Medhurst]]|date=2021-10-19|title=The Squad' Always Votes Against You|url=https://youtu.be/kuH7oDZp6Sg|newspaper=[[YouTube]]|archive-url=|archive-date=|retrieved=}}</ref> The Squad has been accused by critics of employing the "rotating hero" variant of the "rotating villain"<ref>{{Web citation|author=Glenn Greenwald|newspaper=Salon|title=The Democratic Party's deceitful game|date=23-2-2010|url=https://www.salon.com/2010/02/23/democrats_34/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130202748/https://www.salon.com/2010/02/23/democrats_34/|archive-date=13-10-2023|retrieved=30-11-2023|quote=The primary tactic in this game is Villain Rotation.  They always have a handful of Democratic Senators announce that they will be the ones to deviate this time from the ostensible party position and impede success, but the designated Villain constantly shifts, so the Party itself can claim it supports these measures while an always-changing handful of their members invariably prevent it.}}</ref> strategy of the Democrats, in which the Squad has a rotating member or members vote against Imperialist policy while the rest vote in favor as a means of preserving the credibility of the group as a whole.    


== Membership ==
== Membership ==
Initial members elected in 2018:
Initial members elected in 2018:


* Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
* [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]]
* Ilhan Omar  
* [[Ilhan Omar]]
* Ayanna Pressley  
* [[Ayanna Pressley]]
* Rashida Tlaib
* [[Rashida Tlaib]]


Additional members elected in 2020:
Additional members elected in 2020:


* Jamaal Bowman
* [[Jamaal Bowman]]
* Cori Bush
* [[Cori Bush]]


== Criticism ==
== Criticism ==
While the right-wing media endlessly hounds The Squad for nominally supporting progressive policies, left-wing criticisms of them also exist. Here are some examples of various criticisms that have been waged.
While the right-wing media endlessly hounds The Squad for nominally supporting progressive policies, left-wing criticisms of them also exist. Here are some examples of various criticisms that have been waged.<ref>{{News citation|title=Force the Vote: The churn within the Democratic Party, the ‘Fraud Squad’ and the plank for ‘Medicare for All’ that appears abandoned|url=https://www.opindia.com/2021/01/force-the-vote-aoc-democratic-party-jimmy-dore-medicare-for-all/}}</ref>


* AOC Lines Up with Pelosi, Bolton and Trump in Support of Coup Attempt in Venezuela<ref>[https://orinocotribune.com/aoc-lines-up-with-pelosi-bolton-and-trump-in-support-of-coup-attempt-in-venezuela/ AOC Lines Up with Pelosi, Bolton and Trump in Support of Coup Attempt in Venezuela]</ref>
=== Criticism of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez  ===
* AOC lined Up with Pelosi, Bolton and Trump in support of the coup attempt in Venezuela.<ref>[https://orinocotribune.com/aoc-lines-up-with-pelosi-bolton-and-trump-in-support-of-coup-attempt-in-venezuela/ AOC Lines Up with Pelosi, Bolton and Trump in Support of Coup Attempt in Venezuela]</ref>
* AOC praised Nancy Pelosi, enemy of the proletariat for her whole career.<ref>[https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-ocasio-cortez-on-the-view-20200219-gcliuehkgbb77dovdjxt3j2p3i-story.html AOC visits ‘The View’ to praise Nancy Pelosi as the ‘mama bear of the Democratic Party’ and chide ‘Bernie bros’]</ref>
* AOC voted "present" on the Israel funding vote and could not defend her decision.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Rayhan Uddin|newspaper=Middle East Eye|title=AOC faces backlash for crying, but not voting, over bill to fund Israel's Iron Dome|date=24-11-2021|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-iron-dome-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-aoc-present-condemned|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725123906/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-iron-dome-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-aoc-present-condemned|archive-date=30-1-2023|retrieved=30-11-2023}}</ref>
* In 2021, AOC transferred $160k of her own campaign funds to right-wing "CIA Democrats".<ref>[https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/04/05/demo-a05.html Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez funds the CIA Democrats] by [[Eric London]] on [https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/04/05/demo-a05.html World Socialist Web Site], the publication of the [[Trotskyism|Trotskyist]] [[Fourth International]]</ref>
*Did not support [[force the vote]] to demand [[Medicare for All]].<ref>{{News citation|title=Force the Vote: The churn within the Democratic Party, the ‘Fraud Squad’ and the plank for ‘Medicare for All’ that appears abandoned|url=https://www.opindia.com/2021/01/force-the-vote-aoc-democratic-party-jimmy-dore-medicare-for-all/}}</ref>
 
=== Criticism of Ilhan Omar ===
* Ilhan Omar supporting $62B bill that includes unconditional support for Israel<ref>[https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210802-ilhan-omar-votes-for-bill-to-continue-unconditional-us-aid-to-israel/ Ilhan Omar backs $62bn bill that includes continued unconditional support for Israel]</ref>
 
=== Criticism of Jamaal Bowman ===
* Jamaal Bowman praised imperialist war criminal Colin Powell upon his death.<ref>[https://twitter.com/jamaalbowmanny/status/1450093676303114242?s=21 Jamaal Bowman on Twitter] on 10/18/21</ref>
* Denounced the Palestinian Uprising of 10-7-2023. <ref>{{Web citation|author=Jamal Bowman|newspaper=Twitter|date=2023-10-26|url=https://twitter.com/RepBowman/status/1717552242822091260|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240121190447/https://twitter.com/RepBowman/status/1717552242822091260|archive-date=2024-1-21|retrieved=2024-1-21|quote=Consistent with every statement I’ve shared, it is important to state that October 7th is one of the most traumatic and tragic events to Israeli’s and the Jewish community globally since the Holocaust.}}</ref>
 
=== Support for Ukrainian Nazis ===
The Squad (with the exception of Cori Bush) voted in favor of sending billions of dollars to Ukrainian Nazis during the [[2022 Russo-Ukrainian conflict]].<ref>{{News citation|title=The Squad nowhere to be seen as Ukraine package sails through|url=https://unherd.com/thepost/the-squad-nowhere-to-be-seen-as-ukraine-package-sails-through/}}</ref><ref>{{News citation|author=[[Max Blumenthal]] and [[Aaron Maté]]|newspaper=[[The Grayzone]]|title=Bernie and the Squad surrender to the war machine's Ukraine scam|date=2022-05-27|url=https://youtu.be/iCP6AxQqZd8}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
[[Category:United States Congress]]
[[Category:United States Congress]]

Latest revision as of 19:12, 21 January 2024

The Squad is a group of six Democratic Party members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Although this group has been described as being the most progressive and left-wing members of the U.S. Congress, it has increasingly been criticized for succumbing to the political weight of the pro-imperialist, right-wing Democratic Party and its billionaire donors.[1] The Squad has been accused by critics of employing the "rotating hero" variant of the "rotating villain"[2] strategy of the Democrats, in which the Squad has a rotating member or members vote against Imperialist policy while the rest vote in favor as a means of preserving the credibility of the group as a whole.

Membership

Initial members elected in 2018:

Additional members elected in 2020:

Criticism

While the right-wing media endlessly hounds The Squad for nominally supporting progressive policies, left-wing criticisms of them also exist. Here are some examples of various criticisms that have been waged.[3]

Criticism of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

  • AOC lined Up with Pelosi, Bolton and Trump in support of the coup attempt in Venezuela.[4]
  • AOC praised Nancy Pelosi, enemy of the proletariat for her whole career.[5]
  • AOC voted "present" on the Israel funding vote and could not defend her decision.[6]
  • In 2021, AOC transferred $160k of her own campaign funds to right-wing "CIA Democrats".[7]
  • Did not support force the vote to demand Medicare for All.[8]

Criticism of Ilhan Omar

  • Ilhan Omar supporting $62B bill that includes unconditional support for Israel[9]

Criticism of Jamaal Bowman

  • Jamaal Bowman praised imperialist war criminal Colin Powell upon his death.[10]
  • Denounced the Palestinian Uprising of 10-7-2023. [11]

Support for Ukrainian Nazis

The Squad (with the exception of Cori Bush) voted in favor of sending billions of dollars to Ukrainian Nazis during the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian conflict.[12][13]

References

  1. Richard Medhurst (2021-10-19). "The Squad' Always Votes Against You" YouTube.
  2. “The primary tactic in this game is Villain Rotation. They always have a handful of Democratic Senators announce that they will be the ones to deviate this time from the ostensible party position and impede success, but the designated Villain constantly shifts, so the Party itself can claim it supports these measures while an always-changing handful of their members invariably prevent it.”

    Glenn Greenwald (23-2-2010). "The Democratic Party's deceitful game" Salon. Archived from the original on 13-10-2023. Retrieved 30-11-2023.
  3. "Force the Vote: The churn within the Democratic Party, the ‘Fraud Squad’ and the plank for ‘Medicare for All’ that appears abandoned".
  4. AOC Lines Up with Pelosi, Bolton and Trump in Support of Coup Attempt in Venezuela
  5. AOC visits ‘The View’ to praise Nancy Pelosi as the ‘mama bear of the Democratic Party’ and chide ‘Bernie bros’
  6. Rayhan Uddin (24-11-2021). "AOC faces backlash for crying, but not voting, over bill to fund Israel's Iron Dome" Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 30-1-2023. Retrieved 30-11-2023.
  7. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez funds the CIA Democrats by Eric London on World Socialist Web Site, the publication of the Trotskyist Fourth International
  8. "Force the Vote: The churn within the Democratic Party, the ‘Fraud Squad’ and the plank for ‘Medicare for All’ that appears abandoned".
  9. Ilhan Omar backs $62bn bill that includes continued unconditional support for Israel
  10. Jamaal Bowman on Twitter on 10/18/21
  11. “Consistent with every statement I’ve shared, it is important to state that October 7th is one of the most traumatic and tragic events to Israeli’s and the Jewish community globally since the Holocaust.”

    Jamal Bowman (2023-10-26). Twitter. Archived from the original on 2024-1-21. Retrieved 2024-1-21.
  12. "The Squad nowhere to be seen as Ukraine package sails through".
  13. Max Blumenthal and Aaron Maté (2022-05-27). "Bernie and the Squad surrender to the war machine's Ukraine scam" The Grayzone.