Congressional Progressives Withdraw Ukraine-Russia Diplomacy Letter

[Webster]

(The Guardian) Progressives withdraw letter to Biden on Ukraine
The group of progressive House Democrats, among them high-profile members of Congress including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamie Raskin, who yesterday wrote to Joe Biden urging him to commit to a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine have withdrawn their letter.

Pramila Jayapal of Washington, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement: The Congressional Progressive Caucus hereby withdraws its recent letter to the White House regarding Ukraine.

The letter was drafted several months ago but unfortunately was released by staff without vetting. As chair of the caucus, I accept responsibility for this.

Because of the timing, our message is being conflated by some as being equivalent to the recent statement by Republican [minority] leader [Kevin] McCarthy threatening an end to aid to Ukraine if Republicans take over. The proximity of these statements created the unfortunate appearance that Democrats, who have strongly and unanimously supported and voted for every package of military, strategic, and economic assistance to the Ukrainian people, are somehow aligned with Republicans who seek to pull the plug on American support for President [Volodymyr] Zelenskiy and the Ukrainian forces.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Every war ends with diplomacy, and this one will too after Ukrainian victory. The letter sent yesterday, although restating that basic principle, has been conflated with GOP opposition to support for the Ukrainians’ just defense of their national sovereignty. As such, it is a distraction at this time and we withdraw the letter.”

 

[Webster]

(The Guardian) 'People are furious': Jayapal at center of storm
There is much anguish – and anger – among House Democrats over the publication and then withdrawal of a controversial letter to Joe Biden in which leading progressives urged the US to commit to a negotiated end to the Russian war in Ukraine.

Manu Raju of CNN reports “major Democratic backlash over Jayapal’s decision to release a letter this week – that members signed in June – just two weeks before midterms. Some say they wouldn’t sign it now and were blindsided. ‘People are furious,’ one Democrat says.”

Jake Sherman, a reporter, author and co-founder of Punchbowl News – a Washington website specialising in covering Capitol Hill – is discussing the role and position of Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Sherman writes: “Important to keep in mind when thinking about this episode: CPC chair Jayapal wants to be in [party] leadership and has been making moves to set up a run. As we noted this [morning], being in leadership is asking your colleagues to trust your decision-making abilities.

In addition, Jayapal uses the statement to throw her staff under the bus.” -- In her statement just now, Jayapal said: “The letter was drafted several months ago but unfortunately was released by staff without vetting. As chair of the caucus, I accept responsibility for this.”

Here are two tweets from different sides of the issue – the side which thinks the statement was a terrible mistake and the side which thinks admitting that mistake is at least a sort of a plus.

--Bill Browder, anti-Putin campaigner: “Makes my blood boil. 30 Democrats led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal call on Biden to pair [back] the military support for Ukraine. She wants the US to reward Putin’s murderous aggression. We all know where appeasement goes and it’s nowhere good.”

--Melissa Byrne, progressive activist and Bernie Sanders alum: “Friends can make mistakes and then friends can work to make it better. This is the sign of a functioning system. Good on Pramila Jayapal.”

 

[Webster]

(The Guardian) A signatory to the now-withdrawn letter on Ukraine strategy from progressive Democrats has spoken up in defense of congressional staff amid criticism that the caucus’s leader unnecessarily blamed them for the fiasco.

Congressman Ro Khanna was among the 30 Democrats to sign the letter asking the Biden administration to pursue talks with Russia to end the war while continuing to support Kyiv militarily and economically. His comments come after Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said the letter “was released by staff without vetting” – which was widely seen as an attempt to deflect blame onto employees that answer to her.

---

Insider has heard from a former staffer for Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal, who said the congresswoman keeps a close eye on her office’s interactions with the media and would not have allowed the Ukraine policy letter to be sent without her approval.

“I would be shocked if they hit send on that release without her knowing,” the unnamed staffer said, according to Insider’s report. “Everyone who has worked with her office knows that she keeps a tight grip on media relations. She has held up press releases over small edits and delayed letting staff hit send while she reworks language - though delaying a release by three months would be a new record.”

Jayapal’s interactions with her employees became an issue after she said a mistake by her staff was a reason why the letter was sent out two weeks before the 8 November midterms, even though it had been first circulated among Democrats over the summer. “The letter was drafted several months ago, but unfortunately was released by staff without vetting. As Chair of the Caucus, I accept responsibility for this,” Jayapal said earlier today.

It’s not the first time the Washington congresswoman has been scrutinized over her treatment of employees. Last year, Buzzfeed News published a lengthy story in which several former staffers said Jayapal berates and mistreats her staff even as she pushes for policies that are intended to help America’s workforce.

“I have never worked in a place that has made me so miserable and so not excited for public service as Pramila Jayapal’s office,” a former staffer told Buzzfeed.

Jayapal’s chief of staff responded to the article by saying its anecdotes were “cherry picked” and contained “ugly stereotypes”.