(NewsNation) — Four far left leaning and four far right leaning can agree on at least one thing — their opposition to a new bill calling for President Joe Biden to seize assets from Russian oligarchs.
The measure that passed the House on Wednesday urges Biden to seize assets exceeding $3 million in value from Russian energy companies or oligarchs with wealth tied to the Kremlin, later using the proceeds to help Ukraine.
“I think this is so important well beyond this bill, because it shows that the far left and the far right have way more in common than they realize or admit,” NewsNation host Dan Abrams said Thursday. “They share a series of, in my view, poisonous values. They’re binded by a deep resentment of anything that might be seen as sensible, non-radical, compromise status quo. They all want drastic upheaval and despise any moderation.
“Yes, the reasons for their opposition to this particular piece of legislation are somewhat varied and we’ll break those down in a moment. But broadly speaking, the extreme share this idea that America is a failed state, they want us to be afraid, very afraid. For our kids for our future,” Abrams said. “They want us to believe that our democracy is on the verge of collapse, and that only their radical views can save us all.
“And so even on a largely symbolic bill, everyone else in both parties easily rubber stamped even on a bill which shows American unity towards Ukraine, a cause which has brought our country together in a way few others have in recent years. These eight extremists can’t find it in themselves to jump on board.”
On the left, lawmakers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush opposed the legislation, along with far right representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Madison Cawthorn, Thomas Massie and Chip Roy.
“There are way more of us in the middle than there are on the far left and far right. Many times the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez are speaking for a really small slice of the population more often than you’d know,” Abrams continued.
Of the opposing lawmakers, most brought up similar points about the legislation, claiming in summary that the bill gives a president too much power and may set a precedent.
