On Thursday, amid escalating military tensions between the United States and Iran, triggered by the U.S.-ordered drone strike near the Baghdad International Airport that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the House of Representatives voted 224-194 to pass a concurrent resolution directing President Trump to remove all hostilities against Iran in the absence of an imminent attack. The resolution was passed on a mostly party-line vote, with nearly every Democrat voting for it, in addition to three Republicans, as well as the House's sole Independent, Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan. However, there were eight Democratic Representatives who voted with the majority of Republicans against the resolution. They are Reps. Anthony Brindisi and Max Rose of New York, Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Kendra Horn of Oklahoma, Elaine Luria of Virginia, Ben McAdams of Utah, and Stephanie Murphy of Florida. While their statements varied, most Democrats were overall quick to condemn the strike that killed Gen. Soleimani, so why did these eight representatives break with their party to oppose easing tensions?
In the 2020 election cycle, three of these eight representatives -- Gottheimer, McAdams, and Murphy -- have received $6,000, $7,000, and $41,500 from PACs associated with the defense industry, respectively, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Additionally, with the exception of Murphy, all eight of their campaigns have received funding from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which has taken $11,553 from lobbyists for Lockheed Martin, the top lobbying company in the industry, namely Jim Dyer, Charles Smith, and David J. Leiter. Additionally, Future Forum PAC, to which Leiter donated $1,000, has contributed to Brindisi, Gottheimer, McAdams, Murphy (the PAC's chairwoman), and Rose. Leiter also gave $250 to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's PAC, PAC to the Future, which has given to Gottheimer, Horn, and Luria, as well as $1,000 to the Blue Dog PAC, which has helped fund the campaigns of all these eight representatives, except Cunningham and Luria. The Congressional Black Caucus PAC has also donated to Rose, after it accepted $4,500 from fellow Lockheed Martin lobbyists Sudafi Henry and Darrel Thompson.
Furthermore, AmeriPAC, whose donors include Raytheon, Northrup Grumman, and General Dynamics, have donated to Brindisi, Gottheimer, Horn, McAdams, and Rose, according to FEC filings. Additionally, Cunningham and Horn respectively took $16,000 and $10,000 from the Frontline Defense Fund.
Given who their donors are, it is unsurprising, yet still disappointing, that these eight Democratic Representatives, despite being on the brink of another disastrous war in the Middle East, chose to side with them. While the anti-war protests across the country have given hope to people that the U.S. can avoid a war with Iran, but as long as those in power are taking this kind of money, they will need to continute to make their voices loud and clear in order to have any hope of piercing through that influence.
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