Far from the first time that the Committee--the Democratic Party's official voice in San Francisco--has been at odds with Pelosi. (Photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images)
San Francisco Democrats Adopt Venezuela Stance Diametrically Opposed to Pelosi's
It seems clear than when Nancy Pelosi speaks of the “San Francisco values” that she represents, this does not extend to foreign policy
At its most recent monthly meeting, San Francisco's Democratic County Central Committee adopted a resolution on Venezuela diametrically opposed to the stance taken by the city's top Democrat, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who represents the lion's share of the city's voters. The resolution opposed "any military intervention in Venezuela; all covert interference in that nation's affairs; the use of economic sanctions and assets seizures designed to further immiserate its people; and all further measures designed to impose so-called 'regime change' from Washington."
Pelosi, on the other hand, in a statement remarkable for its similarity to one issued by Donald Trump, explicitly endorsed the President's call for regime change, announcing that she supported "the decision of the National Assembly, Venezuela's sole remaining democratic institution, to recognize Juan Guaido, President of the National Assembly, as the Interim President." The second part of the Democratic Committee's resolution, calling upon the city's "elected representatives in Congress to vigorously oppose such policies," would appear, then, to fall on deaf ears in this instance.
While far from the first time that the Committee--the Democratic Party's official voice in San Francisco--has been at odds with Pelosi in this realm, the gap yawned particularly broadly this time, as the resolution passed 17-0, with eight abstentions. And only two of those eight came from members actually voted onto the committee, the other six being the proxies of elected officials, including Senator Dianne Feinstein, who serve ex officio. No proxies for Pelosi or the city's other Representative, Jackie Speier, were in attendance.
A rise in the awareness of the disastrous nature of our foreign policy seems inevitable.
The fact that discussion of an upcoming dinner honoring Pelosi was also on the group's agenda that evening lent a certain irony to the proceedings--as well as highlighting the intertwined strands of unity and conflict extending throughout the Democratic Party. On the one hand, Pelosi has garnered national, even global attention as a leader of "the resistance" to Donald Trump. On the other hand, her failure to sponsor single payer, Medicare-for-all legislation, her less than enthusiastic response to the Green New Deal, and her retrograde, interventionist foreign policy ideas put her sharply at odds with the bulk of those at the core of that "resistance."
Traditionally, our foreign military adventures have not been a matter of great domestic concern, at least when there are few American casualties involved--but that could be changing. When Common Defense, a group of anti-Trump military veterans, launched its "End the Forever War" campaign, they immediately secured the support of Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. With the two left-most Democratic presidential candidates now pledged to "fight to reclaim Congress's constitutional authority to conduct oversight of U.S. foreign policy and independently debate whether to authorize each new use of military force, and act to bring the Forever War to a responsible and expedient conclusion," a rise in the awareness of the disastrous nature of our foreign policy seems inevitable.
And meanwhile, back in San Francisco, it seems clear than when Nancy Pelosi speaks of the "San Francisco values" that she represents, this does not extend to foreign policy.
FINAL DAY! This is urgent.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just hours left in our Spring Campaign, we're still falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
At its most recent monthly meeting, San Francisco's Democratic County Central Committee adopted a resolution on Venezuela diametrically opposed to the stance taken by the city's top Democrat, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who represents the lion's share of the city's voters. The resolution opposed "any military intervention in Venezuela; all covert interference in that nation's affairs; the use of economic sanctions and assets seizures designed to further immiserate its people; and all further measures designed to impose so-called 'regime change' from Washington."
Pelosi, on the other hand, in a statement remarkable for its similarity to one issued by Donald Trump, explicitly endorsed the President's call for regime change, announcing that she supported "the decision of the National Assembly, Venezuela's sole remaining democratic institution, to recognize Juan Guaido, President of the National Assembly, as the Interim President." The second part of the Democratic Committee's resolution, calling upon the city's "elected representatives in Congress to vigorously oppose such policies," would appear, then, to fall on deaf ears in this instance.
While far from the first time that the Committee--the Democratic Party's official voice in San Francisco--has been at odds with Pelosi in this realm, the gap yawned particularly broadly this time, as the resolution passed 17-0, with eight abstentions. And only two of those eight came from members actually voted onto the committee, the other six being the proxies of elected officials, including Senator Dianne Feinstein, who serve ex officio. No proxies for Pelosi or the city's other Representative, Jackie Speier, were in attendance.
A rise in the awareness of the disastrous nature of our foreign policy seems inevitable.
The fact that discussion of an upcoming dinner honoring Pelosi was also on the group's agenda that evening lent a certain irony to the proceedings--as well as highlighting the intertwined strands of unity and conflict extending throughout the Democratic Party. On the one hand, Pelosi has garnered national, even global attention as a leader of "the resistance" to Donald Trump. On the other hand, her failure to sponsor single payer, Medicare-for-all legislation, her less than enthusiastic response to the Green New Deal, and her retrograde, interventionist foreign policy ideas put her sharply at odds with the bulk of those at the core of that "resistance."
Traditionally, our foreign military adventures have not been a matter of great domestic concern, at least when there are few American casualties involved--but that could be changing. When Common Defense, a group of anti-Trump military veterans, launched its "End the Forever War" campaign, they immediately secured the support of Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. With the two left-most Democratic presidential candidates now pledged to "fight to reclaim Congress's constitutional authority to conduct oversight of U.S. foreign policy and independently debate whether to authorize each new use of military force, and act to bring the Forever War to a responsible and expedient conclusion," a rise in the awareness of the disastrous nature of our foreign policy seems inevitable.
And meanwhile, back in San Francisco, it seems clear than when Nancy Pelosi speaks of the "San Francisco values" that she represents, this does not extend to foreign policy.
At its most recent monthly meeting, San Francisco's Democratic County Central Committee adopted a resolution on Venezuela diametrically opposed to the stance taken by the city's top Democrat, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who represents the lion's share of the city's voters. The resolution opposed "any military intervention in Venezuela; all covert interference in that nation's affairs; the use of economic sanctions and assets seizures designed to further immiserate its people; and all further measures designed to impose so-called 'regime change' from Washington."
Pelosi, on the other hand, in a statement remarkable for its similarity to one issued by Donald Trump, explicitly endorsed the President's call for regime change, announcing that she supported "the decision of the National Assembly, Venezuela's sole remaining democratic institution, to recognize Juan Guaido, President of the National Assembly, as the Interim President." The second part of the Democratic Committee's resolution, calling upon the city's "elected representatives in Congress to vigorously oppose such policies," would appear, then, to fall on deaf ears in this instance.
While far from the first time that the Committee--the Democratic Party's official voice in San Francisco--has been at odds with Pelosi in this realm, the gap yawned particularly broadly this time, as the resolution passed 17-0, with eight abstentions. And only two of those eight came from members actually voted onto the committee, the other six being the proxies of elected officials, including Senator Dianne Feinstein, who serve ex officio. No proxies for Pelosi or the city's other Representative, Jackie Speier, were in attendance.
A rise in the awareness of the disastrous nature of our foreign policy seems inevitable.
The fact that discussion of an upcoming dinner honoring Pelosi was also on the group's agenda that evening lent a certain irony to the proceedings--as well as highlighting the intertwined strands of unity and conflict extending throughout the Democratic Party. On the one hand, Pelosi has garnered national, even global attention as a leader of "the resistance" to Donald Trump. On the other hand, her failure to sponsor single payer, Medicare-for-all legislation, her less than enthusiastic response to the Green New Deal, and her retrograde, interventionist foreign policy ideas put her sharply at odds with the bulk of those at the core of that "resistance."
Traditionally, our foreign military adventures have not been a matter of great domestic concern, at least when there are few American casualties involved--but that could be changing. When Common Defense, a group of anti-Trump military veterans, launched its "End the Forever War" campaign, they immediately secured the support of Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. With the two left-most Democratic presidential candidates now pledged to "fight to reclaim Congress's constitutional authority to conduct oversight of U.S. foreign policy and independently debate whether to authorize each new use of military force, and act to bring the Forever War to a responsible and expedient conclusion," a rise in the awareness of the disastrous nature of our foreign policy seems inevitable.
And meanwhile, back in San Francisco, it seems clear than when Nancy Pelosi speaks of the "San Francisco values" that she represents, this does not extend to foreign policy.