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Do Tennessee Democratic Congressional Candidates Support Ending Aid to Israel?

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In recent days prominent voices across the political spectrum have called for ending all aid to Israel, as their bombardment of Gaza and Lebanon and attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank continue, and Netanyahu does all he can to keep peace with Iran from ending a war he played a key role in dragging us into.

From AOC to Tucker Carlson to Jon Favreau of Pod Save America to even J Street, the calls to stop assisting the country led by Benjamin Netanyahu, who clearly does not want peace, and who is likely trying to keep himself out of prison, have grown louder.

So where do the Democratic congressional candidates in Tennessee stand on this issue? The contested races are in TN-5 (Nashville and surrounding areas) and TN-9 (Memphis), so we asked the 6 candidates in those areas the following question:

AOC, J Street, Jon Favreau, Tucker Carlson and others have now called for an end to all aid to Israel. Do you support that?

Below were their responses in full. (Only Chaz Molder in TN-5 did not respond)

TN-5 CANDIDATES:

 

Mike Cortese:

“Yes. I support halting military aid to Israel.  This is not a position I’ve always held. For years I strongly supported providing defensive weapons to Israel, but, leadership is about responding to reality and the reality today is different.

The Israeli government’s actions, from Gaza to Lebanon to Iran, have gone too far. The continued loss of innocent civilian life is unacceptable and it must stop. Additionally, these actions have created additional conflict, further destabilized the region, and put Americans at greater risk.

The United States has leverage at this moment. We should use it to de-escalate, to protect innocent lives, and to prevent conflict, not enable it.

Let me be absolutely clear: I stand with and love my Jewish friends, neighbors, and communities. I would put my life on the line to protect them.  Those same friends also understand my position to stand for American interests and for human life, which means being honest when American resources and taxpayer dollars are used to cause greater instability and unnecessary bloodshed.”

Jim Torino:

“I support reducing U.S. assistance tied to the war in Palestine until there is a clear commitment to the permanent cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilian lives, and a credible path to a just and lasting peace. US policy should reflect our values, human dignity, accountability, and diplomacy over prolonged conflict.”

Dr. Joyce Neal:

“Yes, I do.”

Chaz Molder:

No response, despite repeated attempts from us to ask him directly.

TN-9 CANDIDATES:

Rep. Justin J. Pearson:

“I agree with this position 100%. Netanyahu is a war criminal and we should not subsidize his wars nor genocide.”

Congressman Steve Cohen:

“I will always value Israel as an ally. From what I understand, I generally concur with J Street’s position that the United States’ and Israel’s relationship should continue as allies but that U.S. military aid should not subsidize Israel.

I have not attended either of Benjamin Netanyahu’s addresses to Congress. I believe that the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu is deleterious to world peace and harms the long-standing relationship between our countries.

I love the United States, but I do not favor the current government led by Donald Trump and his acolytes. I hail Israel as a refuge for the Jewish people who were the victims of genocide by the Nazi regime, but I cannot embrace the current right-wing Israeli government.”

INTRODUCING “A Case of the Mundays” with Wade Munday

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Host Wade Munday talks with public defender Keeda Haynes on the first official episode of A Case of the Mundays. Fresh off her campaign for Congress in District 5, Keeda talks about what went right and what went wrong in her race, and what she’s thinking of doing next. Keeda managed to receive over 40% of the vote in a difficult race against longtime incumbent Jim Cooper, so if she decides to run again she’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

Learn more about Free Hearts.

FULL PODCAST available on Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you like to listen.

ROWE: Rep. Roe Can’t Pretend to Care About Veterans And Stay Silent On Military Children Citizenship Issue

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“You can be anything you want when you grow up! You might even be the President one day!”

These are words military parents whose children are born abroad will no longer be able to say. You see, one of the requirements to run for President is to be a natural-born US citizen, and that’s a requirement military children born overseas will no longer meet.

Rather than being granted “birthright” citizenship, as every child born to US servicemen and government employees serving abroad has been granted for as long as we’ve had families doing so, they’ll now have to be naturalized after the fact. This change will make them explicitly different from being American citizens by birth.

Obviously not every military child is going to grow up and run for President, but that’s just one of many ways this one decision will be a detriment to every future child born to our brave men and women overseas.

When our members are serving abroad, they face unique challenges – interacting with different cultures, integrating their families with their small piece of America that is the base, and a multitude of other factors that aren’t part of a normal citizen’s life. These are all hurdles people expect when they volunteer to serve our nation.

What they don’t expect, however, is to have those challenges compounded by our own country’s insistence on xenophobic and otherwise cruel policies. But that’s exactly what’s happening. In addition to all the other problems being overseas presents, this reversal on birthright citizenship will force them to either go through the hassle of petitioning for naturalization of their children while overseas, or be required to get a travel visa – no small task, especially on short notice in the event an emergency arises – to bring their own biological children to their rightful homes.

The most important factor in all this, however, is who specifically this targets.

The current laws allow children born to two native US citizens (or long-established naturalized ones) birthright citizenship, regardless of their actual birthplace. In other words, this is another overt attempt to discriminate against immigrants. It places an undue burden on people who’ve pledged their loyalty to our country, and makes their lives that much harder if they want to have a family while they’re serving their new country.

This decision is blatantly anti-immigrant, by design. Any person who considers themselves a patriotic American should be appalled by such a decision. It spits in the face of all America claims to represent as a nation, and is just another way of discouraging legal immigrants from coming to our country.

The silence on this from Tennessee’s federal representatives is deafening. Even Phil Roe, the House Veterans’ Affairs chairman, has been completely mum on the subject. For all his standard crowing about all the “great things” he fights for on behalf of veterans, he seems to be prepared to let this decision go completely unchallenged. Ultimately, what matters most is not how high the country’s flag flies on the telescoping flagpole, but rather what you do for it.

This is unacceptable. Phil, on behalf of every single active duty member and veteran in Tennessee, of which I am proud to count myself as one: step up to the plate on this. You can’t pretend to care about veterans or their families ever again if you do nothing to push for a reversal on this policy. You’re an embarrassment to your seat, your post on the VA committee, and our state.

Chris Rowe is an Air Force veteran challenging congressman Phil Roe as a Democratic candidate in TN-1 in 2020. Learn more about Chris and his campaign for congress HERE.