Democrats Might Skip Benjamin Netanyahu Speech

[Purveyor]

Source: Politico

Joe Biden is among those not committed to attending the Israeli prime minister’s address to Congress.

By Edward-Isaac Dovere and Jake Sherman
2/3/15 8:09 PM EST

Vice President Joe Biden won’t commit to attending Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress next month.

He’s not the only one.

Dozens of House Democrats are privately threatening to skip the March 3 address, according to lawmakers and aides, in in what’s become the lowest point of a relationship between the Israeli prime minister and President Barack Obama that’s never been good.

Democrats have had to balance publicly supporting Israel with backing Obama, who’s trying to close a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear programs over vehement opposition from Netanyahu, who has expressed concerns that the U.S. president is being naive. Negotiations are facing a deadline at the end of March for a political framework.



Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/democrats-might-skip-benjamin-netanyahu-speech-114891.html

[williesgirl]

1. No one, Democrat or Republican, should attend. teach them both a lesson.

[elleng]

2. I sure as hell hope Dems don't attend.

and I HOPE Biden can see himself clear to avoid the 'show.'

[CTyankee]

39. You and me both! I was on a bit of a rant earlier at home. This is ridiculous.

Netanhayu has no business coming here without an invitation from the State Dept. ALL Dem congressional reps and Senators should boycott.

[ReRe]

3. Yeah, baby!

But they won't. A few might, if they receive no campaign funds from IAPAC or associated orgs. I won't know though, as I don't plan on watching it. This is the question: Will M$M, MSNBC, CNN air it?

[sibelian]

4. Sounds good to me.

Enough of this idiotic warmongering shit.

[Enthusiast]

5. Boycott Netanyahu!

No more war!

[NBachers]

6. Seems like a no-brainer to me. That means, the Dems who attend will be the minus-brained,

along with their republican cohorts.

[Ken Burch]

7. They should skip it. And the press should point out

that anyone sitting on the Democratic side of the chamber is a GOP staffer acting as a seat-filler.

[Douglas Carpenter]

8. great idea

[Sherman A1]

9. Excellent!

This is precisely what they should do.

I am sure that our busy Representatives have scheduling conflicts that will not allow them to attend.

[Jesus Malverde]

10. Unlikely...

America is Israels stalwart ally. Israel not so much.

[Hubert Flottz]

11. They should turn their backs on him...

Just another Reich wing pep rally.

[libodem]

23. That would be a powerful message

A taste of their own medicine. A spoonful of disrespect.

[madokie]

12. How can anyone

be in support of nuttyahoo. I mean the guy is nuts, a bully, a dickhead, a bad person, you pick. I pick all of them and then some

[Bette R. Daize]

13. Call your senators and congressperson ...

...and let them know in no uncertain terms their constituency does not want them to attend. If their phones are flooded with calls to not attend and they go anyway, at least there will no longer be any question who they work for.

[CanonRay]

14. Neither the Vice President or any member of his party

should attend this speech. Period.

[Control-Z]

16. This.

There should be no "might". Period.

[Control-Z]

17. This.

There should be no "might". Period.

[randome]

19. Absolutely. Let the Republicans twist in the wind on this.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]All things in moderation, including moderation.[/center][/font][hr]

[blackspade]

15. Might? How about "will?"

[George II]

18. I wonder what a quorum is in Congress? Maybe without any Democrats it won't be an official...

....session?

[samsingh]

20. they better

and i'm a very strong Israel supporter.

[jwirr]

21. Good and this must be especially hard for those who are Jewish. Hopefully it is seen as a protest

to Netanyahu's claims of power in DC. He needs to be taught a lesson.

[world wide wally]

22. Republicans have found a way to fuck up the world a little more without even having a role to play

in international relations. It must bring back warm memories of GW.

[oldandhappy]

24. I support a boycott.

I encourage all congress people to not go to the manipulated speech.
And I am going to be interest to see who in the professional media who did not carry the president's immigration speech will be on hand to cover the manipulated speech. Yea, it is true, I am a little grumpy!

[Journeyman]

25. I certainly have no interest in hearing what he or anyone in Congress say on this occasion . . .

and that's the only comment I'll make on it.

[calimary]

28. Agreed. This renders me NOT interested in ANYTHING he has to say, unless it's an apology

to President Obama. And maybe he replaces that asshole ambassador who cooked up this scheme with boner - EXPRESSLY to embarrass the President. Honest to Pete... WHAT did he seriously think he was gonna gain by doing this?

[love_me_some_pickles]

26. They should walk out at its start.

Make a show of it.

[calimary]

27. GOOD. But it'd be better if bibi himself did.

It's the only thing he can do to rectify this asshole smack at the President. Like him or not, bibi, Barack Obama IS - THE PRESIDENT. Whether you like it or not. And it matters NOTHING that you don't like it. Try to wrap your agenda-slanted brain around that, ANYWAY. HE is what you have to work with, ANYWAY. So DEAL WITH IT, ANYWAY. Be a man. Deal with the reality that's THERE, not the one you'd rather have, that might suit your own agenda more easily. You need him a BOATLOAD more than he needs you. So act accordingly! Suck it up. And show some damn respect!

[SunSeeker]

29. Good. Our representatives should not be attending a Bibi campaign speech. nt

[Hulk]

30. The whole thing is a "political stunt".

I hope they do boycott his appearance. It would be most fitting.

[lark]

31. Whoohoo, just say no

and please don't go. Well, either that or get up and walk out the second little murderer starts to talk. Actually I like walking out better, but that is rude. Oh hell, Bibi deserves nothing but rudeness, so still prefer for them to walk out. Not showing up is a decent 2nd option, however.

Come on Joe, show us what you are made of, and boycott the asshole's drivel.

[Teutonic Samuel]

32. That's Good

But I suspect that those who do will also issue mewling apologies to King Bibi.

[raven mad]

33. Skip it like you mean it, Dems!

[dembotoz]

34. he might sieze the unoccupied chairs and have them destroyed

[Thatmoderateguy]

35. But that's none of my business..

Y'all want to boycott the leader of the only nation from that region that doesn't lash people for trying to exercise free speech. 🐸☕️

[uppityperson]

36. What do you mean, "only nation from that region that doesn't lash people for trying to exercise free

speech"?

Welcome to DU and please explain what you mean. Thank you.

[Thatmoderateguy]

37. Thanks for the welcome!

I'm alluding to the recent "50 lashes a day" sentence levied by Saudi Arabia on that poor blogger. I'm trying to make a larger point that Israel is the most "advanced" nation in that region when it comes to basic rights voting, gender equality, free speech, religious tolerance, cruel and unusual punishments, etc. The list goes on.

[uppityperson]

38. Off the top of my head, Turkey, Lebanon, Greece are in that region and pretty well "advanced".

Or are you referring to only the Arabian peninsula? That is rather off to only 1 side of Israel.

[Thatmoderateguy]

40. With all due respect, I think you may be missing my point..

[uppityperson]

41. That seems to be true. I am happy to read if you want to clarify what you mean.

You wrote "the only nation", then 'the most "advanced" nation', and I gave other examples which seem to qualify so yes. I would be glad to read if you want to clarify what you meant.

[Thatmoderateguy]

45. Btw,

I should probably note that "the only" is of course hyperbolic and I used it to try to spark some healthy debate. Advanced is purely subjective and I mean how far along they are in terms of freedoms and rights.

[GP6971]

43. Respectively, I don't think he is

just pointing out that when people (in general) think of that area and the oppression, they look at the usual suspects....KSA, Iraq, Iran, Syria, etc. Possibly Egypt also as being extreme. Not to mention the Horn of Africa countries.

And Welcome to DU

[Thatmoderateguy]

44. What I'm trying to say is...

Israel tends to share many American values as far as freedoms go. Comparatively, most of the other countries from the area (Middle East) are *much farther behind the curve when it comes to equal protection under the law. So, why criticize Israel so much?

[GP6971]

46. I think it's because the

influence Israel holds over US Politics. That influence pisses off a lot of the Arab states therefore their animosity to any US initiatives to bring peace to the region. That is of course, prior to 2003.

Bibi addressing Congress flaunts the US / Israel relationship. Bibi represents the state of Israel....his acceptance is a slap in the face to everything the US does to support Israel. The criticism isn't against Israel per se, it's against Bibi who represents Israel.

[Thatmoderateguy]

47. But does Israel really have that much influence?

Besides the tinfoil guys screaming "DA JEWZ ORN EVRITHING HERP DERP!" Outside of middle eastern policies does Israel have that much influence? I would argue that the slap in the face of the friendship is turning your backs on him. Republican or democrat I think the common goal should be to respect the head of state of a close ally and listen to his ideas whatever they may be. Walking out and covering your ears doesn't help us understand each other very well.

[Thatmoderateguy]

48. Plus

I would be absolutely furious if the legislative body of a close ally walked out on POTUS. So I don't think we should do it to another head of state. It's just deeply disrespectful.

[marble falls]

49. Please. Bibi was invited by the same crowd thats booed the POTUS during the State ofthe Union.....

You might also be interested in his op/ed from the NYT on the state of Israel's 'democracy':

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/05/opinion/sunday/israels-fading-democracy.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

A long-overdue constitution could create a state that belongs to all her citizens and in which the government behaves with fairness and equality toward all persons without prejudice based on religion, race or gender. Those are the principles on which Israel was founded and the values that bound Israel and America together in the past. I believe that creating two neighboring states for two peoples that respect one another would be the best solution. However, if our shortsighted leaders miss this opportunity, the same fair and equal principles should be applied to one state for both peoples.

When a true Israeli democracy is established, our prime minister will go to Capitol Hill and win applause from both sides of the aisle. Every time the prime minister says “peace” the world will actually believe him, and when he talks about justice and equality people will feel that these are synonyms for Judaism and Israelis.

And for all the cynics who are smiling sarcastically as they read these lines, I can only say to Americans, “Yes, we still can,” and to Israelis, “If you will it, it is no dream.”

Avraham Burg, a former speaker of the Knesset, is the author of “The Holocaust Is Over: We Must Rise From Its Ashes” and the chairman of Molad, the Center for Renewal of Democracy.
A version of this op-ed appeared in print on August 5, 2012, on page SR5 of the New York edition with the headline: Israel’s Fading Democracy.

[Thatmoderateguy]

51. That is a pretty neat opinion piece.

Albeit it doesn't have much in the way of numbers, but interesting nonetheless. Oh, don't worry, repubs booing the pres rubs me the wrong way. Just like boycotting a speech, it's disrespectful. I just don't think playing petty political games at the expense of a world leader does anything productive. Thanks for the civil responses guys. I'm cutting out before someone flips out haha

[GP6971]

53. Many of us think / know

that Boner's invitation to Bibi was an unprecedented breach of long established protocol. It was an attempt to embarrass PBO. Every congressional democrat should boycott Bibi's address to demonstrate their disapproval of the republican's total lack of respect for PBO.

[herding cats]

58. Disrespectful is placing American politicians into a partisan fight over support of Israel

As is using the Israeli Ambassador to the US to negotiate the plan in an attempt to circumvent the US president's nuclear talks with Iran. It may work out for him in the short run, but something like this, if left to fester, could produce backlash against Israel if it eventually leads to war with Iran and more political upheaval in the US.

Netanyahu made a mess of this whole situation by showing no respect for US protocol or our political system. He's fortunate all he's going to get in return is a small amount of disrespect from some Democrats, if that.

He potentially damaged relations with an entire political party in one of Israels largest supporting nations. It was one of the most arrogant moves I've seen by a political figure of his stature. He needs to make some concessions and eat a bit of crow now.

In a nutshell, it was a bonehead political move to play divide and conquer with a trusted ally.

Welcome to DU!

[GP6971]

50. You can bet the ranch they do

Just look at AIPAC. How many members of the legislative receive campaign contributions from them? Probably most. They walk out on Bibi and all of a sudden those contributions dry up.

We once had a senator from NY that was considered the senator from Israel.....Jacob Javits. Whatever Israel wanted, he voted for it. Same with Joe Lieberman from Connecticut......Israel needs got his vote.

Don't be fooled by the rhetoric of Jews owning banks etc. That's all hype and smokescreen in my opinion. As the say, follow the money.

[Jim Lane]

55. You respond to what you see as criticizing Israel, but it's really criticizing Netanyahu.

Don't conflate the State of Israel with a politician who happened to win the last election and wants to use the United States Congress as a photo op to help him in the next one.

You do have a valid point about being open to hearing Netanyahu's ideas. In this instance, however, there's a serious issue concerning the norms of international diplomacy. Netanyahu went behind the elected President's back to cut a mutually advantageous deal with the elected President's partisan opponents.

If I were a Democrat, I'd skip the speech to signal my displeasure. To avert any misunderstanding, I'd issue a press release reaffirming my support for the right of the State of Israel to exist. As for being open to Netanyahu's ideas, I'd read a transcript the next day. Problem solved.

[GP6971]

56. Well said. n/t

[Thatmoderateguy]

57. Solid point.

I just see a bunch of politicians putting up a hissy fit on both sides. Should the speaker have followed tradition? Absolutely. But I can't fault Netanyahu for accepting an invitation. If half the Knesset refused to listen to Obama I would take it as a show of disrespect. I can only expect many Israelis to take the same offense.
And I'm not confusing a state with an individual but as the representative of the state (like him or not) we should assume any disrespect to him is tantamount to disrespect of the state.
If we can try to talk to a rogue state surely we can unite and listen to an ally.

[tavernier]

60. A true family friend would never try to

step in to divide that family, especially as he continues to accept charity and support.

And Bibi is confused as to which country has elected him leader. He needs a little ego deflation and perhaps a cold shoulder in DC will knock him down a peg.

[6000eliot]

42. Democrats SHOULD boycott this treasonous action.

[libodem]

52. .

[lovemydog]

54. Question for anyone. What is Netanyahu's objection

to the President trying to close a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear programs?

[Major Hogwash]

59. Suppose They Gave A Speech and No One Came.

At least give Netanyahu some chairs to talk to!