Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle aired outrage Thursday after a POLITICO report that the Chinese embassy lobbied members of Congress on legislation that would force the sale of TikTok by its Beijing-based parent company.
Let me get this straight. Members of Congress are allegedly outraged because Chinese diplomats told them in private exactly the same things they've been saying in public for months? Do I have this right?
Quite likely the reason is that if they have contact with a foreign national, they have to fill out paperwork detailing the interaction so that they aren't accused of spying or being an agent of that country.
The two senators from California probably have a few million "foreign national" constituents (NY, Florida and Texas similar). You mean to suggest every time they "have contact" with one of these constituents they've got to fill out paperwork?
Sounds implausible. Or at least highly inefficient.
I hope our creeping xenophobia hasn't reached this level.
(I think what's more likely is that it violates protocol for embassy staff to engage in direct congressional lobbying. They're supposed to hire lobbyists for that.)
If you're serious, you're seriously confused, that's now how any of that works.
Is this the same paperwork that congresspeople, justices, White House advisors, etc are supposed to fill out detailing all their financial liabilities and conflicts of interest that some - like say George Santos (or whatever he’s calling himself today) - just blow off and usually (except in poor George’s case of course) no consequences ever happen?
Perhaps MOC might instead grow outraged that gun violence is the leading killer of children in the US right now.
Dog bites man. Happens all the time. Nobody cares. Except of course the hundred million actual parents out there. But if they really cared about it, they would donate millions to politicians to get gun control bills more traction. Or they would move to heavily gerrymandered red states and turn them blue. So Congress and their media lap dogs conclude they must not value their children’s lives that much. The political machinery running the country without a care for what actual people want will continue until it collapses. /sarcasm /apathy
Sounds like more pointless performance to me. I guess it's easier than, y'know, actually doing the job they're paid to do.
Is it because Chinese "sources" are cheap and don't pay Congress people enough?
They really haven't learned how to do it from the Russians yet.
This whole business about TikTok strikes me as having the important bits redacted because they are classified. This latest episode fits the pattern.
i'd guess the lobbying included some sort of veiled or direct threat of retaliation. which still shouldn't be much of an outrage but these meetings were likely more stick than carrot.