Thursday Throwdown: The Progressive Ukraine Letter Embarrassment

The place to get your exclusive dose of midweek media madness.

We’re 5 days out from the midterm elections and politicians of all parties, creeds, shapes, and sizes are trying their very hardest to prove that they don’t deserve our vote. Just this week, Democrat Tom Malinowski pulled out McCarthyite tactics to attack a journalist questioning his bill, while Republican Michelle Steel unveiled an almost satirically racist ad against opponent Jay Chen.

And of course the big one: the absurdly pathetic Progressive Caucus and their Ukraine letter.

For those who have blocked out the memory, House progressives sent a letter to President Biden saying “maybe you should kinda possibly consider the idea of perhaps allowing the chance of negotiations to end the Ukraine proxy war. Or not. It’s totally cool either way, Joe.” That’s a direct quote from the letter we think.

But the moment they came under fire for the already-weak letter, their immediate response was to fold, retract the letter, blame it on staffers, and announce how many more weapons they would love to send for war.

This week on Thursday Throwdown, we’re looking at which signers folded the hardest, the one who showed the slightest semblance of a backbone, and the intense debate between Briahna Joy Gray and Joe Cirincione that led to a slew of Twitter blocks.

This may not be the Absurd Arena, but it’s got more than enough absurdity.

It’s our Thursday mini-episode. Let us know in the comments what corporate media monologues, midterm debates, or interviews you want to see on the next Thursday Throwdown.

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