Top Tweets for #THIRDWAY

It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say. But that’s exactly what the Trump Administration is doing to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. To understand why this is so appalling, it’s important to know the facts. Congresswoman Omar came to this country with her father when she was 12 years old. Five years later, her father became a naturalized citizen. If Ilhan had been 18 at the time, she would have had to apply for citizenship separately. But because she was 17, she became a naturalized citizen automatically. Congresswoman Omar went on to graduate from college, work as a community organizer, become the first Somali-American legislator elected to public office in the U.S., and win a seat in Congress. There, she has been one of the Trump Administration’s fiercest critics, which has led the president to repeatedly single her out as someone who he believes does not belong in this country. Now the Administration is actively trying to deport Congresswoman Omar, seemingly based solely on the unsubstantiated theory that she was actually 18 when her father was naturalized, and therefore is not a citizen. Federal agents have raided her home, confiscated personal records, and seized her phone — all to try and uncover a nonexistent smoking gun from 20 years ago that will somehow make their case. Think about that. The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president. And it’s not the first time this has happened. Under President Trump, the Justice Department has repeatedly gone after those he considers his political enemies — from the Attorney General of New York, to the former head of the FBI, to members of the Federal Reserve. In those cases, the prosecutions either stalled or were dismissed for having no basis in law, and the same is likely to happen in this case. But not before Congresswoman Omar’s life has been turned upside down, her legal bills have piled up, and she’s been forced to spend time fighting unsubstantiated charges instead of serving the people of Minnesota. The fact that any president, or any administration, is willing to engage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about Congresswoman Omar’s political views. Because if this becomes the new normal, there’s no reason to believe it will stop with her — or that future presidents, in either party, won’t do the same.

These DSAers are not progressive Democrats like Bernie Sanders – these are anti-American radicals. We’ve had plenty of policy and political disagreements w/Sen Sanders, but we do not believe he wants to do any of these loony things or fundamentally alter the nature of the republic. 8/

I’m not a Democrat. I’m not a Republican. I stand with the majority of Americans who are sick of both of them. We’re undeclared by choice. We’re politically homeless on purpose. Because neither party speaks for us. They speak for themselves, their donors, their media machines, and their permanent political class. The rest of us? We’re just the captive audience they’re fighting over. People keep screaming that you have to “evolve” by picking a side. Pick a team. Wave a flag. Hate the other guy harder. That’s not evolution. That’s just joining a new cult. Real evolution is using your damn common sense. It’s looking at the world without the red filter or the blue filter. It’s admitting that both sides have their share of power-hungry idiots, corrupt operators, and ideologues who would rather burn the country down than lose control of it. Yeah, we’re stuck voting for the lesser of two evils most of the time. That’s the reality of a two-party system that refuses to die. And let’s be honest about the body count, communism has murdered more people in the last hundred years than fascism ever did. The numbers aren’t even close. Starvation, gulags, re-education camps, killing fields. But that doesn’t make fascism acceptable either. Both are authoritarian nightmares. Both crush the individual. Both demand loyalty over truth. Neither belongs in a free country. So stop telling me I have to choose a jersey. I don’t. Most of us don’t. We just want a government that minds its business, protects the border, doesn’t bankrupt the next generation, and stops treating half the country like the enemy. That’s not radical. That’s basic. That’s common sense. The parties can keep their tribes. We’ll keep our eyes open. Happy Monday.