We’re 2.5-3 years away from the primary race even starting, and 3+ years away from the convention. This poll means absolutely nothing at this point.

Also told all yall we need progressives to split from DNC and form a fresh 3rd party bruh.

This is a recipe to ensure Republicans fully sweep every election and progressives are ignored even more than they already are. American politics are so incredibly broken, but isolating yourself by breaking off into a party that has 0 chance of ever winning anything isn’t going to fix anything.

Well, we now know for a fact that Abrego Garcia is still alive.

And it’s not about him lying. Of course a piece of shit like Bukele is more than willing to lie to anyone. The point is that he is benefitting politically from this arrangement and if he doesn’t uphold his end he can suffer political harm. It’s not just a promise, it’s a two-way deal.

You are really just completely missing the point here. Motivating people to get out and join me in the streets is exactly what all of this is about.

while ignoring the institution violating the prisoners constitutional rights

Who ever said anything about ignoring anything?

Freeing one guy is the start. It proves that getting sent to these concentration camps isn’t a one-way ticket. And it gives him the opportunity to go public with the conditions there and how he was treated. That’s going to motivate people organizing a hell of a lot more than a Senator giving a speech at a rally ever would.

Why are you pretending like this is about just saving one guy?

I feel like you’re trying to justify your own in action through declaring this meaningful action. Does that resonate with you?

No, that doesn’t resonate with me in the slightest. I feel like you’re trying to justify your own inaction by pretending like a Senator sitting in his office writing legislation nobody will ever read has some kind of impact on anything.

I never said it would stop anything. But it’s a hell of a lot more than sitting at home writing legislation that will never get a vote and pretending like politics as usual is how anything works anymore.

Trump lashed out in the same way he does against everyone who does something he doesn’t like and you take that as proof he’s some kind of mastermind behind everything? Man, do you not understand Trump at all.

First, I said Representatives and Senators. There are 260 Democrats in Congress (well, 258 +2 independent who caucus with Dems), not 45. But that’s beside the point. What are they doing for us in Congress right now? Absolutely nothing. Hell, a bunch of Dem Senators are acting like Vichy collaborationists helping the fascists confirm appointments and pass their CR. They’re actively working against us by just sitting in Congress.

But even that’s beside the point. They’re not going to arrest or kill a bunch of sitting US members of Congress. Even just saying ‘no’ to 1 of them was such a bad look that they completely folded and, for the fist time ever, let someone out of CECOT, even just temporarily. They’ve NEVER let anyone out before, and Van Hollen just showing up on his own scared them enough to crack.

Why do you think an even greater number would scare them less?

That didn’t happen when just 1 Senator went and didn’t live stream his visit. If they really wanted to, they could have claimed he did something violent or something. There’d have been no way to prove otherwise. And he was able to get them to crack just by holding a press conference. The bad PR from 1 guy getting denied scared them so much that they let him meet Abrego Garcia.

So why do you think they’d do that if there was a large group and the entire thing was being live streamed?

…in Venezuela? One of the 2 countries in the western hemisphere we don’t have diplomatic relations with? A country Trump tried to do a violent coup in last time he was in power? You think they’re going to build a concentration camp for Trump and start taking prisoners?

You have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about, and it really shows.

I’m not talking about just getting a picture. And you think Republicans will resign because…why? Because we asked them to? Why would they? This is all exactly what they want.

I’m 39 years old, so try again.

And how will that accomplish more than his trip to El Salvador did?

There is no chance in hell that all 300+ Republican Congress people are in on this grift.

This is a rather naive understanding of American politics. Yes, they’re all in on it. Stopping hoping for the nice Republicans. They don’t exist. They’re all fascists.

Your suggestion is to keep trying to appeal to the better nature of Republicans. That’s exactly what the Democrats have been doing for the past decade. Hell, it’s what they’ve been doing since 2009. It doesn’t work. They don’t have a better nature. They want the fascism.

There is NOTHING Democrats can do in Congress. Trying to protest to Republican politicians directly isn’t going to get them to change their minds. Van Hollen did more in a single trip to El Salvador to resist the fascists than anyone has done in Congress in 10+ years.

What is your suggestion? Van Hollen got them to crack just by holding a press conference. I’m suggesting they continue this line of attack, but to a greater magnitude.

Get a list of everyone that’s been sent down there and get every Democrat who represents all 300+ of them in Congress, every single Democratic Representative and Senator from their states/districts. All of them go down and insist on seeing all of their constituents. Do what Van Hollen did, but on a larger scale.

What’s your suggestion? Stay at home and try the same thing they’ve been doing for the past decade?

Anything but writing or passing legislation am I right!

How do you propose a party that doesn’t control any branches of government pass legislation? And what do you think that would accomplish when the regime has already shown they’re willing to ignore the law and courts whenever they want?

You want them to just sit in their offices and do the exact same thing they’ve been doing for the past decade? That’s how we got here.

Yet 1 single Senator taking a trip down to El Salvador was enough to scare the Salvadoran government to let someone out of CECOT for the first time ever, even just temporarily to meet with Van Hollen. And you call this just a photo op? Just 1 guy taking a flight and hosting a press conference was enough to scare them into cracking. And you’re saying he should have stayed home to write legislation that’d never even get a vote, let alone get passed into law?

You are a deeply unserious person.

Just 1 single Senator was enough to scare them into backtracking on their previous denial and grant a face-to-face meeting with Abrego Garcia. He’s been locked back up now, but, as far as I’m aware, this was the first time anyone locked up in CECOT has ever been let out even on a short-term basis to meet with someone outside the concentration camp.

And that’s what just 1 Senator was able to accomplish. The bad PR of denying him was enough to scare them into it. So my question is, what could 40 manage to accomplish?

Peaceful demonstrations have ALWAYS played a part in every successful social movement. They shouldn’t be the ONLY thing people are doing. They should be paired with more radical strategic actions. But solely relying on violence is also a losing strategy. We should embrace a diversity of tactics, not shout down people who are out there trying to do something.

Van Hollen on his own going down there was enough to cajole them into giving him a face-to-face meeting with Abrego Garcia. Two days ago half the people on the internet were convinced Abrego Garcia was already dead, but just 1 Senator was able to disprove that. The government of El Salvador was so afraid of the optics of denying just a single Senator that they backed down from their initial refusal and completely capitulated.

And you think it’s fantasy that a larger number could accomplish more? You are clearly not paying the slightest bit of attention.

The Republicans control the Senate and they want this to happen. There are not 60 Senators, let alone a majority, who are opposed to sending people to concentration camps.

Playing by the normal rules of politics is how we got here. Staying in their offices and just voting in the Senate is what they’ve been doing for the past decade to oppose Trump, and the fascists have only gotten stronger. What the fuck do you think that’s going to accomplish?

Van Hollen on his own went down there and was able to cajole them into giving him a face-to-face meeting with Abrego Garcia. They were so afraid of the optics of just a single Senator getting denied an face-to-face meeting that they went back on their previous denial and granted it. I’d love to see what a whole crowd could accomplish.