this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2024
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Protesters calling for Israel to cease fire in its war with Hamas who have disrupted US public events and infrastructure are practicing “leftwing fascism” or “leftwing totalitarianism”, a senior US House Democrat said, adding that such protesters are “challenging representative democracy” and should be arrested.

“Intimidation is the tactic,” said Adam Smith of Washington state, the ranking Democrat on the House armed services committee. “Intimidation and an effort to silence opposition … I don’t know if there’s such a thing as leftwing fascism. If you want to just call it leftwing totalitarianism, then that’s what it is. It is a direct challenge to representative democracy now.”

Smith was speaking – before the outbreak this week of mass protests on US college campuses, many producing arrests – to the One Decision Podcast and its guest host Christina Ruffini, a CBS News reporter.

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[–] bl_r@lemmy.dbzer0.com 64 points 6 months ago (1 children)

This person would 1000% call MLK a left wing fascist, fuck this guy

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 35 points 6 months ago

You may remember this guy (Adam Smith) from every other time Israel comes up...

Likewise, AIPAC gave Seattle-area Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), who has also failed to call for a ceasefire, more money than any other donor this year. Open Secrets found the defense industry and pro-Israel groups earned the top spots for Smith donors.

https://www.thestranger.com/news/2023/12/15/79308454/jewish-protesters-shut-down-university-bridge-during-rush-hour-to-call-for-ceasefire-in-gaza

Dudes getting bribes from AIPAC and pretty much every major defense corporation.

He's taking the money both ways.

[–] dylanmorgan 34 points 6 months ago

Christ, what an asshole.

[–] tooLikeTheNope@lemmy.ml 20 points 6 months ago

leftwing fascism

hmmm, so does he mean "leftwing rightwingers"?

[–] Rottcodd@lemmy.world 17 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

So... is he desperately dishonest or insane?

Because none of that hysterical gibberish made even the slightest bit of sense.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world -5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I dunno, he said he wasn’t sure it was a thing and the headline decided he said it was.

[–] Rottcodd@lemmy.world 11 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Yes - he framed his statement with one of the stock phrases that people use when they want to be able to say something, then later, if necessary, claim that that's not really what they said

I don't think a news source has a responsibility to include that bit of transparent rhetorical trickery in a headline.

[–] WraithGear@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

“I’m not a bigot, but…”

[–] Rottcodd@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

Yep.

The goal is to be able to say something while evading responsibility for having said it.

[–] merthyr1831@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

lemmy user (clueless): Gosh, could you imagine if the other guy wins and starts calling for arrests of people opposing the genocide?

[–] HowMany@lemmy.ml 3 points 6 months ago

Senior democrat who has never read the Constitution and thinks he's in the Duma.

[–] chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 months ago (3 children)

“You come to our town hall meeting, it’s one thing to try to get attention. They got their attention. But literally, they wouldn’t stop screaming insults at me. They wouldn’t … even let me answer the very questions they were raising.

“I got two words into it and they started screaming at me again. So this is a different thing than your standard protest. In my view, the solution to it is if they are committing a crime – which by the way, shutting down a freeway, shutting down an airport, intimidating people, there’s a crime – [they] ought to be arrested.”

Protesting at public figures’ homes should also be subject to arrest, Smith said.

“The point of it is intimidation. And I think it is harassment. It’s a crime, and I think [they should] be arrested for it.

It sounds like what he is complaining about is protestors not being civil, not letting him speak at his own event and going to his house. I don't know if that's a fair complaint given the circumstances, but a little different than the headline implication that he's broadly accusing people objecting to Israel's actions of being fascists.

[–] laughterlaughter@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

The part about letting him speak might be reasonable. Let the man speak and see if he'll say something helpful.

Everything else... well, boo-hoo, being harassed at your home certainly beats having your children murdered by drone attacks.

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

When every answer starts with blaming Hamas for the IDF continuing a genocide you're going to get shouted down.

The point of a Town Hall is to see what your constituents want. I think they made it very clear.

[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] Woozythebear@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Dems will let 10 billion people die with their tax money instead of holding Biden accountable.

[–] delirious_owl@discuss.online 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The US only has one viable choose at the ballot box: supporr the genocide.

The US is not a democracy if it inkybhas one party

[–] Alsephina@lemmy.ml 5 points 6 months ago

"...a one-party state but, with typical American extravagance, they have two of them."

[–] istanbullu@lemmy.ml -3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Democrats are the party of genocide and mass murder.

[–] PoliticalAgitator@lemmy.world 11 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Isn't it funny how when both sides are actually the same, suddenly it's only Democrats?

[–] imnotfromkaliningrad@lemmy.ml 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

they are the ones currently commiting the crimes.

[–] PoliticalAgitator@lemmy.world -3 points 6 months ago

Democrats are not sitting in their office ordering aid trucks to be blown up. They're neoliberals funneling public funds to private businesses because that's what neoliberals do.

I'm all for dismantling the military industrial complex and prying greedy neoliberals out of positions of power but voting Republican (or not voting at all) just isn't going to achieve that.