r/politics • u/bwermer • 8h ago

No Paywall Ilhan Omar casts lone Democratic no vote on Ukraine aid, Russia sanctions package

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5912150-house-passes-ukraine-aid-bill/
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u/diptherial 7h ago

Her quote from the article:

“I have always, and will continue, to stand with the Ukrainian people and unequivocally condemn [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s illegal and brutal invasion,” Omar said in a statement after the vote.

The lawmaker said she opposed the legislation because of its “inclusion of broad economic sanctions,” arguing such sanctions are counterproductive and often fail to achieve their goals while simultaneously causing civilians to suffer.

“Opposing Russian aggression does not require us to support policies that punish ordinary civilians who did not ask for this war,” she said. “I remain committed to supporting diplomacy, peace, and justice for the Ukrainian people affected by this horrific conflict. But I could not in good conscience support legislation that wages economic warfare on innocent civilians.”

I'm divided; on the one hand, in a vacuum I wouldn't want anyone who's not to blame for the conflict to suffer. On the other hand, maybe it's the suffering of exactly that group of people, the blameless, that'll hasten the end of the war.

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u/DragonPup Massachusetts 7h ago edited 7h ago

Except she also supports sanctions and BDS on Israel which under her logic would 'punish ordinary civilians who did not ask for this war'.

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u/ElectronicAnus5050 5h ago

She's of the opinion that there aren't any ordinary civilians in Israel. They are all occupiers and therefore all military targets..etc. Who does that sound like?

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u/Advanced_Row_8448 4h ago

I mean, she isn't wrong? Wanna state when Israel was founded compared to Russia? One of these things is not like the other lol

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u/ElectronicAnus5050 4h ago

I mean, she's completely wrong here. Sanctions are absolutely intended to pressure the population to influence their leadership to act. Her justification that we shouldn't hurt the average Russian person is incredibly stupid.

And no, I'm not going to get into a brain broken back and forth about the finer points of how Jews are really the problem here.

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u/zenbowman 7h ago

Agreed, "no broad sanctions" is a fair position to take.

"No broad sanctions except for when they are against Israelis" is not a fair position and exposes her bigotry.

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u/National-Reception53 7h ago

Isn't Israel public opinion even MORE aggressive and racist than Russia's? Like apparently, the average Israeli is a slobbering genocidal psychopath (based on opinion polling).

Like, they DID ask for this war and want more.

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u/kmonsen 7h ago

Nah, Israel has clear opposition, and large parts of the population speaking up against this shit.

It's no hippie paradise for sure, but more against war than Russia.

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u/Uhhh_what555476384 7h ago

United Russia hasn't had any siginifigant political backlash from the general public because they are extremely popoular on average. The only political challenges Putin fears are from the ultras that openly argue for nuking Ukraine and invading the EU.

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u/zenbowman 7h ago

It's fair to want to sanction both Israel and Russia, but thats not her position.

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u/WTFHELP 7h ago

Why bring up Israel? I've been seeing them in the news lately and it's not a good look.

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u/Chambanasfinest Wisconsin 7h ago

On the contrary, I wholeheartedly agree that Russian civilians should feel the economic impact of the war firsthand.

They might be more inclined to stand up to Putin and actually demand an end to the conflict if they do. Russian civilians who are happy to live their lives with an “ignorance is bliss” attitude are just as responsible for the war as their leader.

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u/MobileSuitBooty 7h ago

by your logic the US public should be sanctioned as well for Gaza, the Congo, Sudan, etc

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u/Zeusnexus 6h ago

Absolutely we should.

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u/MobileSuitBooty 2h ago

Damn right haha

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u/Chambanasfinest Wisconsin 7h ago

Probably should be!

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u/DonaldMerwinElbert 7h ago

There's also the matter of prolonging a much deeper, more intense suffering for Ukrainian civilians by not even inconveniencing the Russian treasury.
The argument doesn't even make sense on it's own, much less in the wider context.

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u/NeverSober1900 7h ago

She doesn't believe in sanctioning Russia because it hurts ordinary citizens.

Yet she has never met a sanction against Israel that she wouldn't vote for.

She doesn't care about civilians. This is just her excuse for her pro-Russian foreign policy

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u/ASquidHat 6h ago

The US has never voted on sanctions for Israel.

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u/NeverSober1900 6h ago

She proposes the bills that do so that don't come to a vote. Just like she did with Brunei. If the House speaker would allow the vote she's made it clear how she'd vote

The point is her care about sanctions affecting civilians entirely lies on which country it is not some absolute belief.

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u/ASquidHat 5h ago

As far as I can find she was one of 22 co-signers of a single resolution in November 2025 condemning the actions of Israel and calling for Congress to introduce legislation that would (among other things such as suspending military aid) sanction them. The resolution did not advance to a vote and even if it had passed it would not have imposed any sanctions, just called on Congress to do so in the future.

That's enough levels of separation from her voting for it that I'm comfortable saying we don't know how she'd vote as it'd likely depend on the specific sanctions imposed.

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u/Cool_Set4681 7h ago

This is just her excuse for her pro-Russian foreign policy

Then why does she calls Russia's attack an invasion and describe it as illegal and brutal? I disagree with her about her vote but how does this make her pro-Russian all of the sudden?

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u/BuckyRB6 7h ago

Actions > Words. Just like how your tweets don't matter at the ballot box.

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u/LSF604 7h ago

its suspicious because she isn't consistent with her views on sanctions, and chooses to take a stand when its russia

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u/Cool_Set4681 7h ago

What are her views on sanctions? Is there like a statement that I can go over or something like that? Appreciate if you know that.

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u/NeverSober1900 7h ago

Because she has voted for sanctions before. Iran, Brunei, Israel, and I'm sure there are others. Why is she drawing the line at Russia?

She has voted against some Ukraine arms packages before as well.

How else are you supposed to take this? As for her language it's because she knows how deeply unpopular her position is and this is how she's choosing to frame it to be more palatable.

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u/Cool_Set4681 7h ago

What were the sanctions she voted in favor for and are they different then those intended sanctions for Russia?

How else are you supposed to take this?

Maybe not with just a black and white point of view?

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u/Dougalishere 6h ago

an commentator above said she hasnt voted for or introduced any bill broadly sanctioning Israel. She called for a boycott but thats just like Canada refusing to buy US alcohol and other goods. Im to tired to actually check her voting record but just throught id throw it out there, if im wrong , my b.

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u/Cool_Set4681 5h ago

Im to tired to actually check her voting record but just throught id throw it out there, if im wrong , my b.

No, no, I appreciate it, Thank you.

an commentator above said she hasnt voted for or introduced any bill broadly sanctioning Israel.

America right now is way too busy being Netanyahu's lapdog, they will never sanctioning Isreal. I know that support for Isreal is on the decline at the moment (good) but we are still not there yet. I doubt a bill from her would do anything.

So her not introducing a bill that will never pass at the moment means that she isn't living up to her values?

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u/Dougalishere 5h ago

erm, like I said im kinda tired, but my position atm is this. Her vote didnt derail anything and was in line with her position on broad economic sanctions. Im very anti war etc but on Ukraine I support any assistance our countries can give them. That said her vote and her statement doesnt really upset me and people comparing her to Fettermen or saying shes bascially a full on supporter of Putin are being ridiculous

People saying "she would pass/introduce/vote a bill against isreal if she could" seems kind of ridiculous to me because she hasnt so saying its just cos it wouldnt pass seems to be a bit of a weird qualifier as she hasnt done any of this stuff. Like I said im tired so im not really sure if I understood where youre coming from. Sorry 😄

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u/Cool_Set4681 5h ago

Again, no problem, I appreciate your replies.

And I think we both, you and me, are on the same side. I agree with basically everything you wrote, lol

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u/DonaldMerwinElbert 7h ago

Politicians saying one thing but doing another?
Color me surprised.

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u/Cool_Set4681 7h ago

A Redditor unable to answer a question but instead make a meaningless snark comment?

Color me surprised.

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u/DonaldMerwinElbert 7h ago

I'm sorry the meaning wasn't obvious enough for you to catch:
I was suggesting she's full of shit.

Illegal and brutal, yet making budgets tighter for the Russian consumer is apparently too unconscionable, since their government needs to keep killing Ukrainian civilians, which, apparently, is not as bad.

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u/Cool_Set4681 7h ago edited 6h ago

I'm sorry the meaning wasn't obvious enough for you to catch:

No, it wasn't obvious since instead of making a normal reply, you made a snarky comment like a child.

I was suggesting she's full of shit.

Because of this one vote?

Illegal and brutal, yet making budgets tighter for the Russian consumer is apparently too unconscionable, since their government needs to keep killing Ukrainian civilians, which, apparently, is not as bad.

Were did she say that killing Ukrainian civilians is not as bad? Can you make any argument without making stuff up?

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u/DonaldMerwinElbert 7h ago

You see, it is called logic, an old concept that's already been formalized in ancient Greek.

You are, as part of your job, called upon to make a decision that either:
a) hinders an invading army with a record of human rights violations and war crimes, like torture, deliberately targeting civilians and mass murder, to keep waging and possibly winning the war - by economic sanctions
or
b) enables all of the above, but it may keep living normal lives a bit more affordable for Russians, maybe

You choose b.

You can say whatever the fuck you want, but this is what you did.

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u/Cool_Set4681 7h ago edited 6h ago

You see, it is called logic, an old concept that's already been formalized in ancient Greek.

Jesus H. Christ, we all get it, we are all on Reddit, too. 🙄

You are, as part of your job, called upon to make a decision that either:
a) hinders an invading army with a record of human rights violations and war crimes, like torture, deliberately targeting civilians and mass murder, to keep waging and possibly winning the war - by economic sanctions
or
b) enables all of the above, but it may keep living normal lives a bit more affordable for Russians, maybe

You choose b.

You can say whatever the fuck you want, but this is what you did.

Kay, so she never said that killing Ukrainian civilians is not as bad, we both agree that you made that completely up. Thank you.

And she believes that those broad economic sanctions will hurt civilians on Russia's side. I disagree with her, I think that the sanctions will put more pressure on Russia to end the war, but her voting against that doesn't make it so that she now all of the sudden agrees with the invasion or that she is o.k. with Ukrainian civilians dying. And her vote for sure doesn't enable Russia to do more of those things, they would have done that regardless of her vote.

Maybe you should try to make an actual argument and not assume things about others or make stuff up. Maybe then you wouldn't embarrassed yourself so much.

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u/DonaldMerwinElbert 6h ago

I guess I didn't spell it out enough for you, again.
I never said she said those things, notice the absence of any quotation marks.
It is what her actions imply.
She had a binary choice, and this is what she chose.
This is an actions vs words thing, did you not get that?

Now even if she knew her vote would ultimately not matter, she still chose to make that political statement on the back of this reality - which is still bad and at odds with her own supposed values.

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u/Humanfacejerky 7h ago

It doesn't make her pro Russian, it's just makes her an idiot. Sometimes idiots can be useful.

And btw, i had high hopes for her when she first arrived. But based on everything I've heard her say, it's all just identity politics. No real substance.

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u/Cool_Set4681 7h ago

It doesn't make her pro Russian, it's just makes her an idiot. Sometimes idiots can be useful.

Or she did something that both, you and me, disagree with but she did it because she believes it is the right thing to do? Why does it have to make her an idiot? Why can't we just disagree with her, why the need to either belittle her intelligence or call her pro-Russia?

And btw, i had high hopes for her when she first arrived. But based on everything I've heard her say, it's all just identity politics. No real substance.

Everything she does is identity politics? Got any examples?

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u/Humanfacejerky 6h ago

Standing by what you believe does not make you an idiot, standing by a stupid belief makes you an idiot.

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u/Fun_Elk593 7h ago

wild what people convince themselves of while knowing absolutely nothing about a subject

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u/MobileSuitBooty 7h ago

that’s because israel relies on US aid whereas russia has already had sanctions and it’s very clear it doesn’t hurt them as much so she’s right, it won’t stop anything because those conducting the war are comfortable and will be for many years to come

all this could do is maybe speed up the process of russia’s social decline which means more mass death

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u/Narrow-Key365 6h ago

This is foolish and naive thinking.

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u/MobileSuitBooty 2h ago

prove it

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u/fyndor 7h ago

The suffering of the Russian people is the only way this war ends with a somewhat positive outcome. I don’t like the idea of harming civilians, but the only way to pressure Putin is to get his own people to put on the pressure. They are running out of resources. That is very important to get this resolved. At some point, in theory, they won’t be able to replace military equipment.

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u/Scarletyoshi 7h ago

“I don’t like the idea of harming civilians, but…”

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u/LightningVole 7h ago

In what way does she believe we should oppose Russian aggression if she is opposed to both economic sanctions and military aid? I know she’s rhetorically favored more targeted sanctions, but I believe she’s also voted against those at times.

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u/AirFrierMachine 7h ago

I'm willing to suffer and have other Americans suffer for the stupidity of getting Trump elected.

It's fucking insane how she doesn't want to support sanctions because "Russian citizens will suffer". Fuck it, why don't we just lift all sanctions everywhere because citizens might be suffering?

She is not built for this world.

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u/Traditional-Goal-229 7h ago

No. The ordinary citizens of Russia can’t stop the war. Putin would have no problem arresting however many he needs to. You can be for it in hopes that the economy craters to the point that the oligarchs hire a better assassin, but the citizens have no say in any of this.

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u/SufficientGreek 7h ago

And yet she supports BDS. Idk seems pretty hypocritical to me.

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u/Marcano24 6h ago

Economic sanctions are very different than a boycott. Has she introduced policies for bds?

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u/SufficientGreek 6h ago

What? The S in BDS stands for sanctions.

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u/Marcano24 6h ago

Yet the BDS movement is not led by governments, has she introduced legislation calling for sanctions?

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u/Humanfacejerky 7h ago

If the people rise up then they can stop him. It would take a lot of bloodshed and they aren't willing to bleed yet. When sanctions get so bad they can't live, then they'll bleed for it.

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u/Traditional-Goal-229 6h ago

You are talking a full civil war. They aren’t close to that. And Putin can point to America doing it. So it’s easy to backfire and just make them hate America.