Christ, Grow a Spine

As usual whenever there’s anything happening that isn’t a total, complete political no-brainer, the whiners in the Dem caucus run to the DC press (in this case Axios) to trauma dump:

What we're hearing: One swing-district House Democrat told Axios in a text message on Saturday, "Nuance is dead in politics."

• "Maduro is bad, glad he is gone ... You can't have it both ways," the lawmaker said, venting that "everything Trump touches must be bad according to the base."

• Another vulnerable House Democrat told Axios in a phone interview: "As Democrats we can't just condemn what happened ... I wish the Democratic Party would be a little bit more measured on this."

• "I think it looks weak," a third centrist House Democrat said. "If you don't acknowledge when there is a win for our country, then you lose all credibility."

Between the lines: It's not just about politics. The second lawmaker who spoke to Axios noted that Democrats widely condemned Venezuela's sham elections last year and have long advocated for democracy abroad.

• "What happened to when they had the election and Maduro stole the election? There were Democrats condemning that," the House Democrat said.

• "Have we forgotten what's happened ... in that country?"

• The third House Democrat told Axios they were surprised "how negative the response has been" from their colleagues.

Another gem: “[…] some of the party's swing-district and centrist members firmly believe that approach risks backfiring with average voters and that the party shouldn't reflexively condemn Trump at every turn — no matter how provocative his moves.”

It’s fine to start your statement with “Maduro sucked, but…” and then crap on Trump, especially since there seems to be no indication of an end game from the Trumpers, other than invading Cuba. In other words, there’s plenty to criticize even if you though Maduro should go. Being such a major chickenshit that you’re worried that you’re being too negative towards Trump is pretty fucking surprising after the wreck and ruin he created last year. Be afraid that you’re not being negative enough is my advice to these whiners.

Moving on, it really is galling that Trump lumped Mexico into a group of countries that include Venezuela, Cuba and Colombia. Venezuela has 30 million residents, Cuba has 10 million and Colombia has 54 million. Mexico is bigger than all of them combined (and then some) at 132 million. Mexico is the biggest trading partner of the US, and the US is Mexico’s biggest trading partner. There’s just no comparison between Mexico and those other countries in terms of its importance to the US, and the leverage it has over the US. Also, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has an approval rating solidly pegged at 70% — she’s not an unpopular dictator who stole the last election.

The USMCA, the trade agreement that Trump signed, is up for review in July. Claudia has been far more aggressive battling cartels than her predecessor AMLO, despite Trump’s carping about Mexico’s attempts to rein in cartels. If Trump and his minions start droning fentanyl labs in Mexico without the cooperation of the Mexican government, or stage some other imperialist intervention, Mexico is not powerless. It’s just gutter racism that keeps Trump, Miller and the rest of them underestimating their neighbor to the South.