Barack Obama and Israel: More GOP Lies
Look, I've been around politics long enough to know that it's a contact sport. Words will be abused. Phrases will be taken out of context.
But the latest distortion from the GOP, frankly, shouldn't give us all pause -- it should spring us into action.
Here's the story, if you haven't heard - yesterday, Jeffrey Goldberg published a very interesting and engaging interview with Barack Obama, where they spoke at length about Barack's ties to the Jewish community in Chicago and his views on the Middle East peace process. When speaking about the decades old violence that has threatened our ally Israel, Barack said:
But what I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy. The lack of a resolution to this problem provides an excuse for anti-American militant jihadists to engage in inexcusable actions, and so we have a national-security interest in solving this, and I also believe that Israel has a security interest in solving this because I believe that the status quo is unsustainable.
Does anyone seriously dispute that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a constant, open wound in the Middle East -- exploited by those who would like to see Israel and the United States driven out of the region? Of course not.
It's simply undeniable that the conflict affects all of our Middle Eastern foreign policy. For decades, these have been bi-partisan views:
There remain enemies of this peace, extremists on both sides who feel threatened by the peace and will be tempted once again to kill it with violence. We can defeat that kind of threat by building a genuine Israeli-Palestinian partnership that will stand the test of time -- Bill Clinton
Only through the process of negotiation can all the nations of the Middle East achieve a secure peace. -- Ronald Reagan
Even George W. Bush has said:
For the sake of all humanity, things must change in the Middle East.
It is untenable for Israeli citizens to live in terror. It is untenable for Palestinians to live in squalor and occupation. [...]Permanent occupation threatens Israel's identity and democracy. A stable, peaceful Palestinian state is necessary to achieve the security that Israel longs for.
But of course, today, rather than seriously disputing that, or, even better, offering a vision of their own on how to find peace in the Middle East and security for Israel, Rep. John Boehner and Rep. Eric Cantor - senior leadership in the House GOP -- decided to ignore the actual meaning of English words and simply invent something Barack Obama didn't say. Here is what they said
Israel is a critical American ally and a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, not a 'constant sore' as Barack Obama claims. -- John BoehnerIt is truly disappointing that Senator Obama called Israel a 'constant wound,' 'constant sore,' and that it 'infect[s] all of our foreign policy.' These sorts of words and characterizations are the words of a politician with a deep misunderstanding of the Middle East and an innate distrust of Israel -- Eric Cantor
This is so mendacious that the objective journalist Jeffrey Goldberg himself felt compelled to reply. He writes:
I have no doubt that Mr. Boehner will issue a correction to his press release in which he states the obvious, which is that Obama expressed -- in twelve different ways -- his support for Israel to me.
If he doesn't, however, I would, sadly, have to agree with my colleague, the less-forgiving Andrew Sullivan, who called Boehner's statement a "flat-out lie." In fact, I would add to Andrew's post, by calling Boehner's statement mendacious, duplicitous, gross, and comically refutable. So Mr. Boehner, do the right thing, and correct the record. I'll be happy to post the correction right here.
These statements by Representatives Boehner and Cantor are so bad they rise to the level of a danger to our foreign policy. America's allegiance to Israel has always been bi-partisan and unshakeable. It still is, with either Sen. McCain, Sen. Obama or Sen. Clinton as President. But how can we actually have a debate on foreign policy, if the other side simply makes up statements on which to base phony, contrived outrage?
No, people need to hear the truth -- now.
Here's what Barack said about his personal feelings about Israel in the very same interview:
I think the idea of Israel and the reality of Israel is one that I find important to me personally. Because it speaks to my history of being uprooted, it speaks to the African-American story of exodus, it describes the history of overcoming great odds and a courage and a commitment to carving out a democracy and prosperity in the midst of hardscrabble land. One of the things I loved about Israel when I went there is that the land itself is a metaphor for rebirth, for what's been accomplished. What I also love about Israel is the fact that people argue about these issues, and that they're asking themselves moral questions.
In other words, he said exactly the opposite of what Boehner and Cantor scurrilously allege. The Washington Post gave both Boehner and Cantor multiple Pinocchios for their performance.
Barack Obama has spoken time and time again on the importance of our alliance with Israel, and on how important Israel is to him personally. He has spoken movingly about the inspiration he draws from Israel's historic struggle for independence and its current struggle for security, as well as his deep resolve to continue working to strengthen security for all of Israel's people. He has called America's commitment to Israel's security "unshakeable," a commitment built on the bedrock of the deep friendship between the two nations.
But the Republican Party insists on twisting his words so far they resort to actually lying about their meaning.
We have a foreign policy mess in the Middle East. The Bush administration's Iraq debacle has weakened our diplomatic standing in the region and limited our options in working on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. No wonder all Representatives Boehner and Cantor can do is to create imaginary strawmen to knock down in self-righteous indignation.
I'm not alone in condemning this remark. Here's the statement from Rep. Robert Wexler:
In his dishonest and ridiculous distortion, John Boehner has shown us the new depths that a truly desperate Republican leadership will sink to in its attempt to smear Barack Obama's strong and unshakeable record of support for Israel. This absurd parsing would be laughable if it wasn't so sad to see the U.S.-Israel relationship used as a political wedge instead of a cause to unite all Americans around a common purpose.
And here's Rep. Rahm Emanuel:
On the eve of Israel's 60th anniversary, Congressman Boehner should remember that Israel enjoys bipartisan support and commitment to its security. Nothing could be worse for Israel at this time than for it to become a proxy for Congressman Boehner's political games. Senator Obama's record is clear when it comes to Israel's security and friendship with the United States.
The politics of character assassination from Republicans on the important issues needs to stop. Playing games to drive political wedges as part of some political strategy does great disservice to our country. We need to talk about how to chart a new course, not spread these kinds of distortions.
We deserve better in this country, but we won't get it from the GOP in this election. Already we've seen John McCain trying to describe Barack Obama as Hamas' candidate. That's beneath the John McCain I used to know. But -- sadly -- that is the only way these Republicans have to try and win an election
We deserve better. We need to have an honest and important conversation about how to reorient our foreign policy to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
What we don't need are lies, distortions, and rhetoric designed only to whip up fear. That's part of what got us into this mess, and it won't get us out.
Call Sen. McCain's office at 202-224-2235 and ask him to condemn these statements from his supporters.
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I called Sen McCain's number. His mailbox is full! Just call back and get a staffer.
So, Obama says he is pro-Israel and then has advisors McPeake, Power, Mulloy, Brezinzki adn Lake.
Isn't there a contradiction here?
I called Sen. McCain's office and was "greeted" with a disinterested, dismissive "staffer". I have no confidence that my message will be conveyed to McCain.
Kerry coming out to defend his buddy.
More is coming Mr. Kerry. You all are going to have alot of defending to do before this is all over.
You mean more lies and straw men from the Republicans? Bush and his cohorts have made Americans so depressed that the best that the GOP can offer now is an antidepressant - Effexor XR "The Change We Deserve".
It's people like you JLP48,THAT DOESN'T KNOW their A.. from a hole in the ground,that has
supported Bush with all HIS senseless LIES, AND SCARE TATICS that has gotten the U.S.
in this mess all because of vengence on behalf of his father.TRY AND DEFEND THAT.
IF YOU HAVE A THINK TANK-USE IT.
Our country has supported Israel since inception, but the excessive aggresive response to the two soldiers being captured more recently has set the stage for the collapse of a stable Lebanon. This was undoubtedly done with the approval of the Bush administration. It was a huge blunder and doesn't increase the security of Israel at all.
Huh? And so the failure to disarm Hezbollah as per the UN resolution had nothing to do with it even though it was these very weapons that were turned on the Lebanese people a week ago that enabled the coup there to succeed?
The "aggressive response" you refer to apparently wasn't aggressive enough. Perhaps next time Israel ought to take a cue from Russia and how they made their Chechin problem disappear or even the Arabs themselves and how they deal with terrorists.
Israel's biggest problem is they listen to much to the do gooders of the west who don't seem to recognize the other side will kill a thousand of their own without thinking about it if they manage to take a dozen of ours with them.
Its raining today so it must be Israel seeding the clouds.
Lebanon's problem is they allowed a gang of heavily armed thugs backed by Iran and Syria to create a state inside their very weak state. The Russians would know exactly what to do. Keep the press out and turn South Lebanon into Grozny - a lunar landscape.
Lance the boil and get rid of Hezbollah and Hamas and isolate Syria and let Iran draw its own conclusions. Militia gangs in the ME are like the Crips or Bloods. they are NOT resistance but gangs of thugs and need to be taken off the planet ... as in killed.
Yes, because the way the Russians have dealt with Chechnya has greatly increased their international standing and respect (Rolls eyes).
The problem is that no politician can say ANYTHING nuanced about the state of Israel in US politics because they'd be be thrown in the slippery slope of "antisemitism" and thus "just like Hitler". It is this sycophantic approach to Middle East politics that makes our foreign policy there so wrong-headed, one-sided and ultimately ineffective.
I've known holocaust survivors and have seen the visceral reaction to anything that seems to threaten their existence. How can anyone not wholeheartedly sympathize with that? But we can exaggerate that reaction and Israel then begins to be seen not as a "state" by the establishment but as a "ism" and THAT is dangerous. The height of that blind American sycophancy was evident when Israel was bombing Lebanon and Bush wholeheartedly supported it... This, while US citizens were STILL THERE and unable to evacuate!
The problem with that non-falsifiable mentality ("Israel can do no wrong") in the US is that it begins to lose the support of rational and fair-minded constituents. It in the end, when you polarize anything, it comes back to haunt you. Take it from me.
Apparantly Rep. Boner thinks Jews are stupid enough to not read the whole text. He is used to dealing with us here in Ohio where it works for about 51% of our populace... actually it was more like 49% but with the vote fraud it made the numbers look more like 51%.
Two points:
(A) It is farcically disingenuous to suggest Republicans are the only character assassins in D.C.
(B) Any polemic on the Middle East not planted in the context of faith is doomed to produce nothing more than superficial fixes, much like an attempt to perform by-pass surgery without an incision.
Where does Kerry assert that only the GOP engages in character assassination? I did not see any such claim. Where is that?
Are you defending what Boehner said? If so, please stfu and go away.
Whatever happened to "Thou shalt not bear false witness"??
Actually, the Israel situation is very similar to ours. The media inside Israel keeps the Israeli public oblivious to outside influence. This information comes from the Israeli Military Soldiers.
The People of Israel are also fed up with the lies the media produces to bolster excuses to use violence against their neighbors.
Many Israeli Soldiers are ashamed at what they are forced to do and lie about.
There is also a Pro-Obama force inside Israel, which is kept from the American public. Israel wants Obama.
If you don't believe me, take it from the Horses mouth!
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1200308099552
Here is also a clip of the Israeli soldiers who hate the current Israeli Government! They say thousands of IDF troops are getting fed up with orders to inflict pain on innocent families..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37MFa7ZKQWo
This is the news which never makes it to American Press.
Bravo! I'm glad somebody has printed the truth - - - this goes out to you, "Spooled" - - -
Troops in the Israeli military have been getting fed up with the "Israeli" politics of treating the Palestinians like dogs for years now. The US media doesn't want us to see it.
But then again, sorry Kerry, but Barack DID say to GOldberg's Q ...."Do you think that Israel is a drag on America’s reputation overseas?"
"No,No.No. What I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy. The lack of a resolution to this problem provides an excuse for anti-American militant jihadists .." THE WORDS ARE THERE
So why can't you understand them!
"The lack of a resolution to THIS PROBLEM" --- cannot be read as anything but refering to the arab / israeli dispute!
Anyone with a functioning brain knows where Barach's comment were going and the message they embodied. Your a classic 'buy in' to the spin machine, NetProphet.
......but that does not exlude me from AGREEING with Obama. He just put it a little tooooo succinctly - at least for now.
GOOD TO KNOW! ON THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN QUESTION
Israel is a friend of the US and the US is a friend of Israel. That is as it should be--and that is what Obama stands for. But he is also looking for a way to quicken the achievement of a permanent peace in Israel and Palestine, indeed the whole Middle East. Obama’s approach is based on a broader vision than what the Republican Party under Bush has so far achieved. Sadly, McCain is going to follow Bush all the way no matter what--with no possibility of bring peace to the Middle East in the foreseeable future. Who doesn't already know that President Bush has saddled the country with the dare consequences of the greatest failure in foreign policy in this and the last centuries. Will any sane person then look up to Bush-McCain for expertise and wisdom on the Israeli-Palestinian question?
"Israel is a friend of the US and the US is a friend of Israel." Do you ever think they'll get around to being friends with the people they represent? Neither is worth my friendship.
"Many Israeli soldiers?" You mean like 20 ? 30?
At least be honest Spooled ... its not many at all. Its some as it is in any war especially there in Israel where their kids just want to get on with their lives without having to endlessly fight fanatical zealots who have been brainwashed from the time they were toddlers the believe the Jews are pigs or monkeys.
Google "Farfur" or the new TV cartoon character the Palestinian Arabs have invented that eats Jews. This is what the toddlers get to watch on TV like our kids watched Barney the pink dinosaur only their characters kill Jews.
Its sad to see so much of the myth the Arabs have created get swallowed by the Left.
And don't take my word for it.
Go to http://memritv.org/ and have a look at what the Arabs watch for their TV viewing pleasure. There's a reason why Protocoals and Mein Kampf are two top selling books in the Arab world. They believe that stuff ... and still do
Thank you Senator Kerry!
I voted for you in 2004 and am so pleased to see you out fighting for Barack!
Not this time. Yes We Can!
The embarrassment that is the Bush Administration’s 8-year history of lies and half-truths has led many of us in the Republican Party to take a closer look at other candidates this election. I was fortunate because early on I became a Kool-aid drinker and selected Barack Obama, an imperfect man, running an imperfect campaign, in an imperfect world for a populous that generally frowns on imperfection unless it’s staring back at them in the morning mirror.
This year Willie Horton will undoubtedly rear his ugly head. This year the Swift Boat Clowns for Half-Truth and Innuendo will be out paddling around in their cesspool of half-baked facts. This year we’ll undoubtedly be buried with nonsense and distraction. In short, the Republican playbook.
This year, however, we’re not listening. We’ve seen the results that come from fear. We’ve seen the results that come from listening to false prophets. We’ve seen the results that come from watching the Chicken Littles running around screaming “the sky is falling.” This year we’re listening to “Yes We Can!” This year we’re voting for Hope, Promise and a Better Future.
So, for those in my former party, you better get it and get it quick because if you do not, you may find this year to be something truly remarkable for the party formerly known as the Republican Party.
More reason to start your campaigning in another direction - - GET MC CAIN...not Clinton!
Self proclaimed, morally superior Christians should know better. "Thou shalt not bear false witness" is part of the ten commandments, is it not? I guess it's merely decoration for certain courthouses but really doesn't mean anything??
Sen. Kerry, I don't believe that there is any interest in bringing peace between Israel and the Palestinians. It seems to me that there could have been peace a long time ago had the ruling elites had wanted peace. The big power brokers want continuous war because it serves their interests in making more money. So, any threat to Israel is simply more excuse to kill.
Why would 22 Arab and other Muslim countries offer peace to Israel if it withdrew from the West Bank and the Golan Heights, if the idea was not to achieve peace?
This is complete BS! Why should Israel withdraw from lands used by Arabs in the past from which to attack them? Why give people sworn to wipe out Israel a mulligan-or do-over?? The Arabs do NOT want peace-they want to wipe out all Jews AND Christians(Infidels) from these lands! Why is this so hard for leftist Americans to believe/understand???
Mostly because they didn't Garvagh. They offered Israel peace if Israel agreed to commit national suicide.
They said first withdraw to the 1967 borders and second
allow the Arabs the "right of return" and that would mean 4.5 million Arabs allowed to return making Israel the 23 Arab state.
Mr. Kerry
Please tell me you honest do not beleive that two comments reflect the enitre party. I would think as well educated as you are you would know that but your writings state otherwise.
Senator Kerry was not suggesting all Republicans are liars, because he quotes George W. Bush as saying the situation for the Palestinians is not acceptable.
Boehner and Cantor are senior leaders of the House GOP. You can't blame people if they think their views reflect those of the Party. As leaders, they should have been more circumspect in their public statements, mindful that whatever they say can reflect on the GOP in general. Unfortunately for the intelligent Republicans like you, the two have acted irresponsibly.
An open letter to House Minority Leader, John Boehner,
To purposely misconstrue Senator Obama's words and claim that he was referring to Israel as an "open wound" and "open sore" when, in fact, you know he was not is unconscionable. This is low for even you sir, and I will do all I can to expose you for your this outlandish and dishonest behavior.
You have besmirched all house Republicans by refusing to show some level of integrity and honesty on behalf of an institution that we, as Americans, still hold in regard. You ought to take a sober look at your role as House Republican Leader and begin to live up to the high calling of the office. Or sir, you can continue to retreat in cowardice to a place of dishonesty, marked by unethical and untrue smears for shabby political gain.
The choice is yours as it is ours come elections. I demand you apologize to Senator Obama for perverting his statement regarding Israel. If not, starting with my church, I will begin a letter writing campaign that will shed light on your tactics. I will not let this rest.
Shaft-
This is certainly not the first time Congressmen Boehner has lied and completely distorted the truth. He does not deserve to be a congressmen any longer and we need to specifically oust him in November and let him work on his tan 24/7 year round. No more of their lies!!!
duckfan00-
Oh, I know. I'm aware of John Cryin' Boner and all his antics. That was just a formal email that I sent to him via his site. I was trying to show some decorum to a man who clearly doesn't deserve it. You know, one of those High Road things.
Sounds like even the NRCC is now getting ready to oust his sorry behind. Aww.
Boehner will be gone from his failed leader role within a couple of weeks after the GE anyway, just like Newt. The trouble is, these boys become vicious when marginalized.
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