SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
The last two debates have made one aspect of Republican ideology abundantly clear: they think socialism is terrific and they are pledging to increase it. That's not always the case: socialized medicine, for example, is an un-American heresy for teachers, cops, janitors or firefighters. But for military veterans, Republicans think it is not only acceptable but our sacred duty to provide abundant government services.
The last two debates have made one aspect of Republican ideology abundantly clear: they think socialism is terrific and they are pledging to increase it. That's not always the case: socialized medicine, for example, is an un-American heresy for teachers, cops, janitors or firefighters. But for military veterans, Republicans think it is not only acceptable but our sacred duty to provide abundant government services. If veterans come up in Thursday night's debate in Jacksonville, you can be sure the candidates will contradict their supposed faith in the magic of the market.
When asked at last Thursday's debate in Charleston about the needs of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, even Ron Paul, otherwise a consistent believer in the free market and small government, abandoned his principles. "Where the veterans really deserve help, both as a physician and as a congressman, is the people who've come back and aren't doing well health-wise," said Paul. "They need a lot more help. We have an epidemic now of suicide of our military coming back. So they need a lot of medical help, and I think they come up shortchanged. They came up shortchanged after Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War and even now. They don't get care from the Veterans Administration."
Rick Santorum agreed with Paul about medical care but disagreed with Paul's assessment that cuts in taxes and spending would solve the veterans' unemployment problem. "We need to be much, much more aggressive," said Santorum, who noted that his parents worked for the VA and he grew up in a government-provided apartment on VA grounds. "We have a president of the United States who said he is going to cut veterans' benefits, cut our military, at a time when these folks are--four, five, six, seven tours, coming back, in and out of jobs, sacrificing everything for this country, and the president of the United States can't cut one penny out of the social welfare system and he wants to cut a trillion dollars out of our military and hit our veterans. And that's disgusting."
Of course, the fact that healthcare and employment programs are a form of social welfare appears not to occur to Santorum. While he views social welfare as bad except when the beneficiaries are a group he favors, this does not change his view of social welfare in general. Instead, he lies and says it's not social welfare. It's also untrue that Obama wouldn't "cut one penny" out of other social welfare programs. In fact, the same deficit reduction deal that cuts security spending cut domestic discretionary spending by an equal amount.
The security spending cuts Santorum refers to were passed by Republicans in Congress, not dictated by fiat by President Obama. And they are cuts to national security spending, which includes the Pentagon, CIA, Homeland Security and other agencies. There's no reason to expect major cuts to veterans services, but nonetheless Santorum and Mitt Romney have been accusing Obama of cutting spending on veterans.
Romney wanted to find a way to square the Republican affection for veterans' welfare programs with their distaste for the federal government. He arrived at a preposterous solution, presumably inspired by his tortured position on healthcare reform: that social spending is great, but only if it's implemented at the state level, as he did in Massachusetts. "In our state we found a way to help our--our veterans by saying, Look, if you're going to come back, particularly if you're in the National Guard, we'll pay for your education, college degree, both the fees and tuition--we'd give you a full ride," bragged Romney. "And we also had a plan that said, if you come back and you've been out of work for a year or more, we're going to put a--like a bonus on your back, which, if anyone hires you, that bonus goes to them to pay for your training. So we can encourage that to occur. But let's do it at the state level. Let's not have the federal government continue to extend its--its tentacles into everything that goes on in this country." As Romney frequently points out in defense of his moderate record as Governor of Massachusetts, that state has an 85 percent Democratic state legislature. The fact that Republican states such as, say, Mississippi might not provide these same services to their veterans appears not to bother Romney. But is the service of a soldier any less valuable if he has the misfortune to come from a right-wing state?
Newt Gingrich, who may have even less commitment to principles than Romney despite being Romney's supposed conservative alternative, outflanked his opponents from the left. He took issue with Paul's contention that the free market found jobs for 10 million veterans returning from World War II all on its own. "They created a GI Bill which enabled literally millions of returning veterans to go to college for the very first time," recalled Gingrich. "My father, when--who was in the Second World War, went to college on a GI Bill. So there was an enormous expansion of opportunity that enabled them to integrate into a new, emerging society."
Gingrich's apparent view: that federal college tuition subsidies are good for veterans, but only for veterans. The same goes for healthcare. The next question in the debate was how to repeal "Obamacare." The candidates pledged to do so without any apparent awareness that they had just accepted the premise that providing government healthcare is a good thing when they think the recipient is deserving. Left unexplained is why military veterans are the only people whose work they value. What about police officers and firefighters? Aren't these first responders on the front lines of our current war against terrorism? We lost more of them than soldiers in the attacks of September 11. What about schoolteachers or home health aides? Perhaps the most relevant group is entrepreneurs. Unlike payroll employees, someone starting a small business does not get health insurance through his or her job. Republicans love to lionize small-business owners. They defend them as job creators and argue (disingenuously) that we cannot raise income taxes on top earners because that would hit successful small business owners. But fear of losing one's health insurance is a major disincentive to strike out on your own and start a business. Why don't these pillars of society deserve medical care?
The implied moral superiority of veterans is a recurrent theme on the Republican campaign trail. Mitt Romney asks veterans and active-duty service personnel to raise their hands at his rallies and the audience applauds them. Newt Gingrich wraps himself in military figures and paraphernalia, holding a "veterans' town hall" in front of a tank at a World War II museum in New Hampshire, and being introduced by veterans among fighter planes at a speech on an aircraft carrier in South Carolina. Paul plays the veteran card, blasting Gingrich for dodging the draft and touting his own service. "I'm the only US veteran on this stage tonight," Paul declared at the debate last Thursday in Charleston.
In Monday's debate in Tampa, Gingrich and Romney both declared their support for one component of the DREAM Act: allowing immigrants who serve in the military to become citizens. But they oppose letting illegal immigrants brought here as children receive in-state college tuition.
Mark Krikorian of National Review criticized Gingrich for taking this position by noting how irrelevant it is. Only 3,000 people per year would qualify for Gingrich's exception. Moreover, the Secretary of Defense already has the authority under current law to enlist illegal immigrants, and, once enlisted, they can apply for citizenship. Poor innocent Krikorian, he thinks that Republican candidates articulate policy positions based on whether they actually think they are necessary. Obviously Gingrich didn't take this stance because he knows and cares about the details of immigration policy. It's all about politics: among Republicans every principle flies out the window where veterans are concerned. Socialized medicine and federal investments in education become good things, and illegal immigrants are transmogrified from criminals deserving speedy deportation to model citizens. This plays well among the types of voters who slap "Support Our Troops" stickers on their SUVs, but it has little to do with rational policy or principle.
Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy, justice, and a free press are escalating — putting everything we stand for at risk. We believe a better world is possible, but we can’t get there without your support. Common Dreams stands apart. We answer only to you — our readers, activists, and changemakers — not to billionaires or corporations. Our independence allows us to cover the vital stories that others won’t, spotlighting movements for peace, equality, and human rights. Right now, our work faces unprecedented challenges. Misinformation is spreading, journalists are under attack, and financial pressures are mounting. As a reader-supported, nonprofit newsroom, your support is crucial to keep this journalism alive. Whatever you can give — $10, $25, or $100 — helps us stay strong and responsive when the world needs us most. Together, we’ll continue to build the independent, courageous journalism our movement relies on. Thank you for being part of this community. |
The last two debates have made one aspect of Republican ideology abundantly clear: they think socialism is terrific and they are pledging to increase it. That's not always the case: socialized medicine, for example, is an un-American heresy for teachers, cops, janitors or firefighters. But for military veterans, Republicans think it is not only acceptable but our sacred duty to provide abundant government services. If veterans come up in Thursday night's debate in Jacksonville, you can be sure the candidates will contradict their supposed faith in the magic of the market.
When asked at last Thursday's debate in Charleston about the needs of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, even Ron Paul, otherwise a consistent believer in the free market and small government, abandoned his principles. "Where the veterans really deserve help, both as a physician and as a congressman, is the people who've come back and aren't doing well health-wise," said Paul. "They need a lot more help. We have an epidemic now of suicide of our military coming back. So they need a lot of medical help, and I think they come up shortchanged. They came up shortchanged after Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War and even now. They don't get care from the Veterans Administration."
Rick Santorum agreed with Paul about medical care but disagreed with Paul's assessment that cuts in taxes and spending would solve the veterans' unemployment problem. "We need to be much, much more aggressive," said Santorum, who noted that his parents worked for the VA and he grew up in a government-provided apartment on VA grounds. "We have a president of the United States who said he is going to cut veterans' benefits, cut our military, at a time when these folks are--four, five, six, seven tours, coming back, in and out of jobs, sacrificing everything for this country, and the president of the United States can't cut one penny out of the social welfare system and he wants to cut a trillion dollars out of our military and hit our veterans. And that's disgusting."
Of course, the fact that healthcare and employment programs are a form of social welfare appears not to occur to Santorum. While he views social welfare as bad except when the beneficiaries are a group he favors, this does not change his view of social welfare in general. Instead, he lies and says it's not social welfare. It's also untrue that Obama wouldn't "cut one penny" out of other social welfare programs. In fact, the same deficit reduction deal that cuts security spending cut domestic discretionary spending by an equal amount.
The security spending cuts Santorum refers to were passed by Republicans in Congress, not dictated by fiat by President Obama. And they are cuts to national security spending, which includes the Pentagon, CIA, Homeland Security and other agencies. There's no reason to expect major cuts to veterans services, but nonetheless Santorum and Mitt Romney have been accusing Obama of cutting spending on veterans.
Romney wanted to find a way to square the Republican affection for veterans' welfare programs with their distaste for the federal government. He arrived at a preposterous solution, presumably inspired by his tortured position on healthcare reform: that social spending is great, but only if it's implemented at the state level, as he did in Massachusetts. "In our state we found a way to help our--our veterans by saying, Look, if you're going to come back, particularly if you're in the National Guard, we'll pay for your education, college degree, both the fees and tuition--we'd give you a full ride," bragged Romney. "And we also had a plan that said, if you come back and you've been out of work for a year or more, we're going to put a--like a bonus on your back, which, if anyone hires you, that bonus goes to them to pay for your training. So we can encourage that to occur. But let's do it at the state level. Let's not have the federal government continue to extend its--its tentacles into everything that goes on in this country." As Romney frequently points out in defense of his moderate record as Governor of Massachusetts, that state has an 85 percent Democratic state legislature. The fact that Republican states such as, say, Mississippi might not provide these same services to their veterans appears not to bother Romney. But is the service of a soldier any less valuable if he has the misfortune to come from a right-wing state?
Newt Gingrich, who may have even less commitment to principles than Romney despite being Romney's supposed conservative alternative, outflanked his opponents from the left. He took issue with Paul's contention that the free market found jobs for 10 million veterans returning from World War II all on its own. "They created a GI Bill which enabled literally millions of returning veterans to go to college for the very first time," recalled Gingrich. "My father, when--who was in the Second World War, went to college on a GI Bill. So there was an enormous expansion of opportunity that enabled them to integrate into a new, emerging society."
Gingrich's apparent view: that federal college tuition subsidies are good for veterans, but only for veterans. The same goes for healthcare. The next question in the debate was how to repeal "Obamacare." The candidates pledged to do so without any apparent awareness that they had just accepted the premise that providing government healthcare is a good thing when they think the recipient is deserving. Left unexplained is why military veterans are the only people whose work they value. What about police officers and firefighters? Aren't these first responders on the front lines of our current war against terrorism? We lost more of them than soldiers in the attacks of September 11. What about schoolteachers or home health aides? Perhaps the most relevant group is entrepreneurs. Unlike payroll employees, someone starting a small business does not get health insurance through his or her job. Republicans love to lionize small-business owners. They defend them as job creators and argue (disingenuously) that we cannot raise income taxes on top earners because that would hit successful small business owners. But fear of losing one's health insurance is a major disincentive to strike out on your own and start a business. Why don't these pillars of society deserve medical care?
The implied moral superiority of veterans is a recurrent theme on the Republican campaign trail. Mitt Romney asks veterans and active-duty service personnel to raise their hands at his rallies and the audience applauds them. Newt Gingrich wraps himself in military figures and paraphernalia, holding a "veterans' town hall" in front of a tank at a World War II museum in New Hampshire, and being introduced by veterans among fighter planes at a speech on an aircraft carrier in South Carolina. Paul plays the veteran card, blasting Gingrich for dodging the draft and touting his own service. "I'm the only US veteran on this stage tonight," Paul declared at the debate last Thursday in Charleston.
In Monday's debate in Tampa, Gingrich and Romney both declared their support for one component of the DREAM Act: allowing immigrants who serve in the military to become citizens. But they oppose letting illegal immigrants brought here as children receive in-state college tuition.
Mark Krikorian of National Review criticized Gingrich for taking this position by noting how irrelevant it is. Only 3,000 people per year would qualify for Gingrich's exception. Moreover, the Secretary of Defense already has the authority under current law to enlist illegal immigrants, and, once enlisted, they can apply for citizenship. Poor innocent Krikorian, he thinks that Republican candidates articulate policy positions based on whether they actually think they are necessary. Obviously Gingrich didn't take this stance because he knows and cares about the details of immigration policy. It's all about politics: among Republicans every principle flies out the window where veterans are concerned. Socialized medicine and federal investments in education become good things, and illegal immigrants are transmogrified from criminals deserving speedy deportation to model citizens. This plays well among the types of voters who slap "Support Our Troops" stickers on their SUVs, but it has little to do with rational policy or principle.
The last two debates have made one aspect of Republican ideology abundantly clear: they think socialism is terrific and they are pledging to increase it. That's not always the case: socialized medicine, for example, is an un-American heresy for teachers, cops, janitors or firefighters. But for military veterans, Republicans think it is not only acceptable but our sacred duty to provide abundant government services. If veterans come up in Thursday night's debate in Jacksonville, you can be sure the candidates will contradict their supposed faith in the magic of the market.
When asked at last Thursday's debate in Charleston about the needs of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, even Ron Paul, otherwise a consistent believer in the free market and small government, abandoned his principles. "Where the veterans really deserve help, both as a physician and as a congressman, is the people who've come back and aren't doing well health-wise," said Paul. "They need a lot more help. We have an epidemic now of suicide of our military coming back. So they need a lot of medical help, and I think they come up shortchanged. They came up shortchanged after Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War and even now. They don't get care from the Veterans Administration."
Rick Santorum agreed with Paul about medical care but disagreed with Paul's assessment that cuts in taxes and spending would solve the veterans' unemployment problem. "We need to be much, much more aggressive," said Santorum, who noted that his parents worked for the VA and he grew up in a government-provided apartment on VA grounds. "We have a president of the United States who said he is going to cut veterans' benefits, cut our military, at a time when these folks are--four, five, six, seven tours, coming back, in and out of jobs, sacrificing everything for this country, and the president of the United States can't cut one penny out of the social welfare system and he wants to cut a trillion dollars out of our military and hit our veterans. And that's disgusting."
Of course, the fact that healthcare and employment programs are a form of social welfare appears not to occur to Santorum. While he views social welfare as bad except when the beneficiaries are a group he favors, this does not change his view of social welfare in general. Instead, he lies and says it's not social welfare. It's also untrue that Obama wouldn't "cut one penny" out of other social welfare programs. In fact, the same deficit reduction deal that cuts security spending cut domestic discretionary spending by an equal amount.
The security spending cuts Santorum refers to were passed by Republicans in Congress, not dictated by fiat by President Obama. And they are cuts to national security spending, which includes the Pentagon, CIA, Homeland Security and other agencies. There's no reason to expect major cuts to veterans services, but nonetheless Santorum and Mitt Romney have been accusing Obama of cutting spending on veterans.
Romney wanted to find a way to square the Republican affection for veterans' welfare programs with their distaste for the federal government. He arrived at a preposterous solution, presumably inspired by his tortured position on healthcare reform: that social spending is great, but only if it's implemented at the state level, as he did in Massachusetts. "In our state we found a way to help our--our veterans by saying, Look, if you're going to come back, particularly if you're in the National Guard, we'll pay for your education, college degree, both the fees and tuition--we'd give you a full ride," bragged Romney. "And we also had a plan that said, if you come back and you've been out of work for a year or more, we're going to put a--like a bonus on your back, which, if anyone hires you, that bonus goes to them to pay for your training. So we can encourage that to occur. But let's do it at the state level. Let's not have the federal government continue to extend its--its tentacles into everything that goes on in this country." As Romney frequently points out in defense of his moderate record as Governor of Massachusetts, that state has an 85 percent Democratic state legislature. The fact that Republican states such as, say, Mississippi might not provide these same services to their veterans appears not to bother Romney. But is the service of a soldier any less valuable if he has the misfortune to come from a right-wing state?
Newt Gingrich, who may have even less commitment to principles than Romney despite being Romney's supposed conservative alternative, outflanked his opponents from the left. He took issue with Paul's contention that the free market found jobs for 10 million veterans returning from World War II all on its own. "They created a GI Bill which enabled literally millions of returning veterans to go to college for the very first time," recalled Gingrich. "My father, when--who was in the Second World War, went to college on a GI Bill. So there was an enormous expansion of opportunity that enabled them to integrate into a new, emerging society."
Gingrich's apparent view: that federal college tuition subsidies are good for veterans, but only for veterans. The same goes for healthcare. The next question in the debate was how to repeal "Obamacare." The candidates pledged to do so without any apparent awareness that they had just accepted the premise that providing government healthcare is a good thing when they think the recipient is deserving. Left unexplained is why military veterans are the only people whose work they value. What about police officers and firefighters? Aren't these first responders on the front lines of our current war against terrorism? We lost more of them than soldiers in the attacks of September 11. What about schoolteachers or home health aides? Perhaps the most relevant group is entrepreneurs. Unlike payroll employees, someone starting a small business does not get health insurance through his or her job. Republicans love to lionize small-business owners. They defend them as job creators and argue (disingenuously) that we cannot raise income taxes on top earners because that would hit successful small business owners. But fear of losing one's health insurance is a major disincentive to strike out on your own and start a business. Why don't these pillars of society deserve medical care?
The implied moral superiority of veterans is a recurrent theme on the Republican campaign trail. Mitt Romney asks veterans and active-duty service personnel to raise their hands at his rallies and the audience applauds them. Newt Gingrich wraps himself in military figures and paraphernalia, holding a "veterans' town hall" in front of a tank at a World War II museum in New Hampshire, and being introduced by veterans among fighter planes at a speech on an aircraft carrier in South Carolina. Paul plays the veteran card, blasting Gingrich for dodging the draft and touting his own service. "I'm the only US veteran on this stage tonight," Paul declared at the debate last Thursday in Charleston.
In Monday's debate in Tampa, Gingrich and Romney both declared their support for one component of the DREAM Act: allowing immigrants who serve in the military to become citizens. But they oppose letting illegal immigrants brought here as children receive in-state college tuition.
Mark Krikorian of National Review criticized Gingrich for taking this position by noting how irrelevant it is. Only 3,000 people per year would qualify for Gingrich's exception. Moreover, the Secretary of Defense already has the authority under current law to enlist illegal immigrants, and, once enlisted, they can apply for citizenship. Poor innocent Krikorian, he thinks that Republican candidates articulate policy positions based on whether they actually think they are necessary. Obviously Gingrich didn't take this stance because he knows and cares about the details of immigration policy. It's all about politics: among Republicans every principle flies out the window where veterans are concerned. Socialized medicine and federal investments in education become good things, and illegal immigrants are transmogrified from criminals deserving speedy deportation to model citizens. This plays well among the types of voters who slap "Support Our Troops" stickers on their SUVs, but it has little to do with rational policy or principle.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans said they disapprove of the Trump administration slashing the Social Security Administration workforce.
As the US marked the 90th anniversary of one of its most broadly popular public programs, Social Security, on Thursday, President Donald Trump marked the occasion by claiming at an Oval Office event that his administration has saved the retirees' safety net from "fraud" perpetrated by undocumented immigrants—but new polling showed that Trump's approach to the Social Security Administration is among his most unpopular agenda items.
The progressive think tank Data for Progress asked 1,176 likely voters about eight key Trump administration agenda items, including pushing for staffing cuts at the Social Security Administration; signing the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is projected to raise the cost of living for millions as people will be shut out of food assistance and Medicaid; and firing tens of thousands of federal workers—and found that some of Americans' biggest concerns are about the fate of the agency that SSA chief Frank Bisignano has pledged to make "digital-first."
Sixty-three percent of respondents said they oppose the proposed layoffs of about 7,000 SSA staffers, or about 12% of its workforce—which, as progressives including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have warned, have led to longer wait times for beneficiaries who rely on their monthly earned Social Security checks to pay for groceries, housing, medications, and other essentials.
Forty-five percent of people surveyed said they were "very concerned" about the cuts.
Only the Trump administration's decision not to release files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case was more opposed by respondents, with 65% saying they disapproved of the failure to disclose the documents, which involve the financier and convicted sex offender who was a known friend of the president. But fewer voters—about 39%—said they were "very concerned" about the files.
Among "persuadable voters"—those who said they were as likely to vote for candidates from either major political party in upcoming elections—70% said they opposed the cuts to Social Security.
The staffing cuts have forced Social Security field offices across the country to close, and as Sanders said Wednesday as he introduced the Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act, the 1-800 number beneficiaries have to call to receive their benefits "is a mess," with staffers overwhelmed due to the loss of more than 4,000 employees so far.
As Common Dreams reported in July, another policy change this month is expected to leave senior citizens and beneficiaries with disabilities unable to perform routine tasks related to their benefits over the phone, as they have for decades—forcing them to rely on a complicated online verification process.
Late last month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted that despite repeated claims from Trump that he won't attempt to privatize Social Security, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act offers a "backdoor way" for Republicans to do just that.
The law's inclusion of tax-deferred investment accounts called "Trump accounts" that will be available to US citizen children starting next July could allow the GOP to privatize the program as it has hoped to for decades.
"Right now, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are quietly creating problems for Social Security so they can later hand it off to their private equity buddies," said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) on Thursday.
Marking the program's 90th anniversary, Sanders touted his Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act.
"This legislation would reverse all of the cuts that the Trump administration has made to the Social Security Administration," said Sanders. "It would make it easier, not harder, for seniors and people with disabilities to receive the benefits they have earned over the phone."
"Each and every year, some 30,000 people die—they die while waiting for their Social Security benefits to be approved," said Sanders. "And Trump's cuts will make this terrible situation even worse. We cannot and must not allow that to happen."
"Voters have made their feelings clear," said the leader of Justice Democrats. "The majority do not see themselves in this party and do not believe in its leaders or many of its representatives."
A top progressive leader has given her prescription for how the Democratic Party can begin to retake power from US President Donald Trump: Ousting "corporate-funded" candidates.
Justice Democrats executive director Alexandra Rojas wrote Thursday in The Guardian that, "If the Democratic Party wants to win back power in 2028," its members need to begin to redefine themselves in the 2026 midterms.
"Voters have made their feelings clear, a majority do not see themselves in this party and do not believe in its leaders or many of its representatives," Rojas said. "They need a new generation of leaders with fresh faces and bold ideas, unbought by corporate super [political action committees] and billionaire donors, to give them a new path and vision to believe in."
Despite Trump's increasing unpopularity, a Gallup poll from July 31 found that the Democratic Party still has record-low approval across the country.
Rojas called for "working-class, progressive primary challenges to the overwhelming number of corporate Democratic incumbents who have rightfully been dubbed as do-nothing electeds."
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in June, nearly two-thirds of self-identified Democrats said they desired new leadership, with many believing that the party did not share top priorities, like universal healthcare, affordable childcare, and higher taxes on the rich.
Young voters were especially dissatisfied with the current state of the party and were much less likely to believe the party shared their priorities.
Democrats have made some moves to address their "gerontocracy" problem—switching out the moribund then-President Joe Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race and swapping out longtime House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) for the younger Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.).
But Rojas says a face-lift for the party is not enough. They also need fresh ideas.
"Voters are also not simply seeking to replace their aging corporate shill representatives with younger corporate shills," she said. "More of the same from a younger generation is still more of the same."
Outside of a "small handful of outspoken progressives," she said the party has often been too eager to kowtow to Trump and tow the line of billionaire donors.
"Too many Democratic groups, and even some that call themselves progressive, are encouraging candidates' silence in the face of lobbies like [the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee] (AIPAC) and crypto's multimillion-dollar threats," she said.
A Public Citizen report found that in 2024, Democratic candidates and aligned PACs received millions of dollars from crypto firms like Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreesen Horowitz.
According to OpenSecrets, 58% of the 212 Democrats elected to the House in 2024—135 of them—received money from AIPAC, with an average contribution of $117,334. In the Senate, 17 Democrats who won their elections received donations—$195,015 on average.
The two top Democrats in Congress—Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)—both have long histories of support from AIPAC, and embraced crypto with open arms after the industry flooded the 2024 campaign with cash.
"Too often, we hear from candidates and members who claim they are with us on the policy, but can't speak out on it because AIPAC or crypto will spend against them," Rojas said. "Silence is cowardice, and cowardice inspires no one."
Rojas noted Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), who was elected in 2022 despite an onslaught of attacks from AIPAC and who has since gone on to introduce legislation to ban super PACs from federal elections, as an example of this model's success.
"The path to more Democratic victories," Rojas said, "is not around, behind, and under these lobbies, but it's right through them, taking them head-on and ridding them from our politics once and for all."
"History will not forget," said UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
The United Nations human rights expert assigned to the Palestinian territories illegally occupied by Israel is calling on countries around the world to send military forces to end the genocidal Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip.
Since March 2024, "I've warned the UN I serve at great personal cost: the destruction of Gaza's health system is clear proof of genocidal intent," Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese said on social media Wednesday. "I'm in disbelief at its paralysis. States must break the blockade, send NAVIES with aid, and stop the genocide. History will not forget."
Albanese also shared her new joint statement with Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, special rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. They said that "in addition to bearing witness to an ongoing genocide we are also bearing witness to a 'medicide,' a sinister component of the intentional creation of conditions calculated to destroy Palestinians in Gaza which constitutes an act of genocide."
"Deliberate attacks on health and care workers, and health facilities, which are gross violations of international humanitarian law, must stop now," the pair continued. "There is a moral imperative for the international community to end the carnage and allow the people of Gaza to live on their land without fear of attack, killing, and starvation, and free from permanent occupation and apartheid."
Their comments came as a growing number of governments are recognizing the state of Palestine or threatening to do so. In a Wednesday interview with The Guardian, Albanese stressed that the renewed push for Palestinian statehood should not "distract the attention from where it should be: the genocide."
"Ending the question of Palestine in line with international law is possible and necessary: End the genocide today, end the permanent occupation this year, and end apartheid," she said. "This is what's going to guarantee freedom and equal rights for everyone, regardless of the way they want to live—in two states or one state, they will have to decide."
As Common Dreams reported earlier Thursday, Israel's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, claimed that the Israeli and U.S. governments have approved an expansion of settlements in the West Bank, which he said "finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize."
Meanwhile, in Gaza, the 22-month Israeli assault has left the coastal enclave in ruins and killed at least 61,776 Palestinians and wounded 154,906 others—though experts warn the real figures are likely far higher. Those who have survived so far are struggling to access essentials, including food, largely due to Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid and killings of aid-seekers.
On Thursday, over 100 groups—including ActionAid, American Friends Service Committee, Médecins Sans Frontières, Oxfam, and Save the Children—released a letter stressing that since Israel imposed registration rules in early March, most nongovernmental organizations "have been unable to deliver a single truck of lifesaving supplies."
"This obstruction has left millions of dollars' worth of food, medicine, water, and shelter items stranded in warehouses across Jordan and Egypt, while Palestinians are being starved," the letter notes. As of Thursday, the Gaza Health Ministry put the hunger-related death toll at 239, including 106 children.
Both the registration process and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation "aim to block impartial aid, exclude Palestinian actors, and replace trusted humanitarian organizations with mechanisms that serve political and military objectives," the letter argues, noting that Israel is moving to "escalate its military offensive and deepen its occupation in Gaza, making clear these measures are part of a broader strategy to entrench control and erase Palestinian presence."
The coalition called on all governments to "press Israel to end the weaponization of aid," insist that NGOS not be "forced to share sensitive personal information," and "demand the immediate and unconditional opening of all land crossings and conditions for the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid."
During an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting on Sunday, Riyad Mansour, the state of Palestine's permanent observer to the UN, formally requested "an immediate international protection force to save the Palestinian people from certain death."
In response, Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the US-based advocacy group DAWN, said in a Tuesday statement, "Now that Palestine has formally requested protection forces, the UN General Assembly should move urgently to mandate such a force under a Uniting for Peace resolution."
"Israel has made clear for the past two years that no amount of pleading, pressure, or negotiation will end its atrocities and deliberate starvation in Gaza; only international peacekeeping forces can achieve that," she added.