A trio of House Democrats plan to send a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), pressing him to postpone an upcoming speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Boehner invited to speak on Iran without consulting the White House.
“We write to urge you to postpone your invitation to Prime Minister Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress in March,” the draft letter said.
Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Maxine Waters (D-CA) are circulating the letter, as Politico first reported.
“The timing of this invitation and lack of coordination with the White House indicate that this is not an ordinary diplomatic visit,” they wrote. “Rather this appears to be an attempt to promote new sanctions legislation against Iran that could undermine critical negotiations.”
The Democrats noted that President Barack Obama had already pledged to veto new sanctions against Iran, warning it could undermine negotiations, while Netanyahu and congressional Republicans have been frequent critics of the international talks over the country’s nuclear program.
“As members of Congress who support Israel, we share concerns that it appears that you are using a foreign leader as a political tool against the president,” they continued. “We should not turn our diplomatic friendship into a partisan issue. Beyond threatening our diplomatic priorities, the timing of this invitation offers the Congressional platform to elevate a candidate in a foreign election.”
The White House has already said that Obama will not meet with Netanyahu when he comes to speak to Congress on March 3, citing the Israeli elections two weeks later. Some Senate Democrats who had previously backed new sanction legislation have also softened their position since the Boehner invitation.
“As members of Congress who support Israel*…” And then Americans wonder why the phrase “honest broker” is met with gales of laughter. And Republicans are certain to trot out the “throw Israel under the bus” charge as a counter. If only actual American states could be the object of such adoration and pledges.
*Sorry lefties, I couldn’t use your preferred label of “the Zionist Entity” with this one.
I keep saying that the Dems in both Houses should boycott this ‘address’… then it will be patently clear what the real Republican agenda… I’ve written to my Rep, Swalwell, as well as Senators Feinstein and Boxer…
disappointingly… the only response that was returned was a form response from Boxer’s office…
Remember the bad old days when right wing extremists were more open about their anti-semitism, and claimed that communism, socialism, and left-wing politics were a Jewish conspiracy?
How the Jews bankrolled the Bolsheviks?
How the Jewish international bankers were pushing big-government tax-and-spend policies to enrich themselves, bankrupt the nation, subvert national sovereignty, and usher in a godless New World Order?
How the Jews were using the Civil Rights movement to divide blacks and whites?
Now these righties claim to uphold Judeo-Christian tradition, but only see Israelis and the State of Isrel as a stage-prop for their End Times fantasy of Jews being forced to convert to Christianity or die amid a final war between good and evil when Jesus finally returns to lead an army against the unbelievers?
it’s been fascinating watching this blow up in boehner/netanyahu’s faces… they were so certain of their ‘bold’ move they never anticipated that the typically compliant press corpse would not be supportive. but once they began hearing from former israeli diplomats and mossad, quickly changed their tone.
however does the orange one get out of this mess…
pretty soon it’s going to be scaled back to sandwiches ordered from the local deli and eaten at boehner’s desk… lol
John Boehner and the Israeli Ambassador Ronald Dermer are behind these shennanigans to bypass the administration and to subvert US national security and strategic interests. Can the administration not declare the ambassador persona non grata or deny the ambassador his visa? They have done that in the past to ambassadors who have compromised national security and strategic interests.