Today the House of Representatives voted on the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act, a bill that declares Israel to be a “major strategic partner” of the United States, enables further US-Israel economic, scientific, and cultural exhange, and contains some perks for Israeli citizens regarding travel to the US. The bill is sufficiently substantive that it has the
The bill passed the House 410-1 (yes, you read that right) with 19 abstentions. The 19 abstentions seem to be a random mix of Republicans and Democrats who were simply out of town.
So, you may ask, which of the far-left whacked-out Democrats was the one "no" vote? Was it Barbara Lee of Oakland / Berkeley, who has flirted with Trutherism? Was it Keith Ellison, the only Muslim on Congress, who has in the past said some stupid things regarding Gaza? Was it Bill Pascrell of New Jersey, who defeated a Jewish opponent in a primary and who we were told was a secret anti-Zionist.
Actually, Lee, Elliison, and Pascrell all voted yes.
It turns out the sole "no" vote came from a Republican - Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
"But I thought that anti-Zionism had infected the Democratic party, while the Republican party is full of people who understand the moral and historical case for Israel."
Well, if you thought that, on this one you thought wrong. Massie is a Rand Paul devotee from the "libertarian" wing of the Republican party. ("libertarian" is in quotes because I'm sure, like all Republican-aligned "libertarians" he doesn't support true personal liberty like drug legalization or abortion rights). Massie even goes so far as to supposedly live "off the grid" in a log cabin, which is hilarious considering his district consists of the Northern Kentucky suburbs of Cincinnati, truly one of the most anonymously suburban wastelands in the world. The closest his constituents ever get to being "off the grid" is when the credit card reader breaks at Applebees and they have to go to TGI Fridays instead.
But I digress. The point here is that a Republican, and a conservative one at that, was the sole no vote on this important piece of pro-Israel legislation, because he is from the emerging Paulite wing of the Republican party that basically lives by the motto "F the world, including Israel". Does this represent an emerging trend in the Republican party? Does it mean that "Republicans have let antisemitic anti-Zionism in to their tent"? We shall see...
(livosh1)
ReplyDeleteUh oh, the moronic right-wingers who rant about the Democrats selling Israel down the river are not going to be happy with this . . .
Well yeah... I mean when Bachmann and Cruz come down on AIPAC for not being sufficiently pro-Israel, you gotta know that the Right is seriously embracing "teh crazy".
DeleteRepublicans and Conservatives have fully let anti-Semitism into their tent. The whole Paul faction is part and parcel of the Republican party and it's political machinery.
ReplyDeleteNow, one Republican congressman does not a party make but it is pretty obvious between lower party officials and dead end - end timers, they have an issue with Jews and every other minority out there. With those people the Republicans have let anti-Semitic anti-Zionism into their tent.
The Pascrell-Rothman primary was very ugly, and Congressman Pascrell is an associate of some of my immediate family members. There was a bunch of ugly stuff I heard third-hand and cannot substantiate, of course, and though I'm glad to see him on the right side here, let's just say that I don't doubt some nasty shit went on in Paterson below the radar of most folks. But that's neither here nor there.
ReplyDeleteFor now, let me just say that the way I see it is the Paulite fringe and their old antisemitic tendencies, while growing quickly, remains just that, a fringe, while the New Antisemitism of the BDS types seems to be a much more mainstream phenomenon amongst the left, even if it certainly does not appear in the Democratic Party yet.
Personally, I'm not interested in pointing fingers in a partisan manner, but I think if you pulled aside 100 self-proclaimed liberals and 100 self-proclaimed conservatives, you'd find more anti-Israel sentiment, in general, amongst the liberals.
I see this as a problem, as a liberal and as a Democrat myself, is why I like to focus on taking apart the silly arguments of anti-Zionist fanatics who are trying to infiltrate the left these days, unfortunately with some success.
I dunno, though. Just a thought, fizz...
Hey Jay,
DeleteIt is a good question, about if you really probed a collection of 100 self-defined liberals and conservatives where would you find the most anti-Israel nonsense. I have to say that a few weeks ago I would have agreed with you that it would be the liberals, but after spending some time reading some of these men's rights blogs, I'm not sure anymore. Some of those people who comment are conservatives, and clearly hold right wing and strong anti-Obama views, and the antisemitism with those people is off the charts! Like the worst of Daily Kos, without any pretension to dress it up any other way. I'm talking "Maybe Hitler was right after all" kinds of comments.
The difference, I will grant, is that Republicans have for the past few years been more diligent in keeping anti-Israel nonsense out of the mouths of their federal elected officials. But now with the serious rise of the Paulbots, I think that is clearly changing.
That all said, it is certainly fine for people on the left to concentrate their efforts on the left.