Comments on: Senators Schumer, Boxer Clear Path For Hagel’s Confirmation

By: july860

july860 — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 01:51:00 +0000

That will never happen….

By: awakenaustin

awakenaustin — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:25:00 +0000

Of course it wasn’t a coincidence. No one said it was. I believe both of those Senators had previously indicated concerns about his possible too soft on Iran and not pro-Israel enough stance. (Practically speaking he did not need to visit all the pro-Israel Republicans because just winning over these two Dems probably seals the deal for him.) He met with them to calm their fears or persuade them he had an open mind and they should have an open mind. I don’t know, maybe he genuflected and kissed their rings or some part of their anatomy. This however, is absolutely no different than the kissing and wooing US Supreme Court appointees, other Cabinet appointees, and other high level appointees do when they anticipate push back from various Senators for various reasons. President Obama’s previous possible candidate for Secretary of State, Susan Rice, did this very thing and it did not work out for her, as I am sure you recall. The fact that Mr. Hagel made this visit is not, however, evidence of some secret “Jewish” conspiracy or of the great power and influence some “Jewish” lobby has over American policy makers. It is evidence of the politics of Capitol Hill. There is no question that AIPAC and a variety of Jewish persons and organizations try to influence American policy towards Israel and no question that they have some success in that area. There isn’t anything particularly nefarious about this. It follows the blue print set out by lobbies in general. If you don’t like that influence organize a counter lobby, write your congressional representatives about that influence and what they should do differently, donate money, vote, blog about what should be the correct or best policy towards Israel. Don’t sit around complaining about how it is wrong for some citizens to try to influence the policies of their government because of their religious faith or identity. Because that is what this looks like when people complain about the “Jewish” lobby!

By: CPANewYork

CPANewYork — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:08:00 +0000

Actually, the ancient Israelites didn’t make good neighbors. The battle of Jericho was simply genocide to rid Palestine of the Canaanites. Aside from Rahab, who betrayed her own people, Joshua slaughtered the entire city: men, women and children.

The Israelites also made war against the Ammonites, the Moabites and the Edomites to get their copper.

By: CPANewYork

CPANewYork — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:04:00 +0000

Maybe carsrus is a dual citizen of Israel and the United States. I don’t like dual citizenship. I think that it’s phony, because one can be loyal to only one country.

By: CPANewYork

CPANewYork — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 15:59:00 +0000

Keep your last sentence in mind. We should be concerned only with what is good for America.

By: CPANewYork

CPANewYork — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 15:57:00 +0000

I think that Rumsfeld was a pilot in the Air Force.

By: CPANewYork

CPANewYork — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 15:53:00 +0000

So, is it just a coincidence that Hagel had to meet with Senators Schumer and Boxer to explain himself and to satisfy their concerns about his commitment to Israel and they just happen to be Jewish?

I don’t think that your argument holds water.

By: roberte

roberte — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 06:41:00 +0000

I don’t think the Republicans ever really thought they could stop his appointment…Just another lonely cry for attention from a party that is quickly becoming as irrelevant as a buggy whip!

By: awakenaustin

awakenaustin — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 22:16:00 +0000

You missed at least one point. Jewish does not equal Israeli. These groups may overlap but they are not identical. Jewish lobby is a poor choice of words. It equals all Jews with Israel. It suggests all Jewish interests are identical to Israeli interests. It suggests that Jews in this country are a distinct non-American pro-Israeli group. “An indigestible minority.”
What secrecy? If you are talking the closed door meeting, they go on all the time, everywhere in this country and at every level of government. Senators, Reps and Presidents and state and local lawmakers meet all the time behind closed doors with lobbies and a variety of ‘influential’ people. Every lobby in this nation seeks private meetings with “decision” makers. They meet at parties, for meals and in broom closets. They phone and text and e-mail each other. Virtually none of that goes on in a public forum. People seeking “ advise and consent” approval frequently meet in private with Senators to reassure them, to further explain their thinking and changes of heart and to beg forgiveness for past “sins”. AIPAC is no more secretive than any other lobby and no less subject to the law (it is a registered domestic lobby and it is not a PAC). If you think AIPAC has too much influence on American foreign policy then say that and leave “Jewish” out of it. Folks may have obvious sensitivities to the idea of blame being laid at the doorstep of the Jews.

Lobbies are lobbies and they do what lobbies do.

I guess it might be viewed as knuckling under, but it might be that he recognized he made a mistake. Maybe he didn’t care for Gays fifteen years ago and maybe today or even maybe last year he realized he was wrong. Maybe he thinks differently today. Maybe you and I think exactly as we did 20 years ago, but I hear some folks change their minds. Maybe he did or maybe he knuckled under.

AIPAC isn’t based on religion. It certainly is committed to promoting Israel’s security and arguing that American interests in the Middle East are consistent with Israel’s interests. 1.7 % of the voting population in the U.S. identify themselves as Jews. According to the Pew Forum only roughly 7% of that 1.7% put concern for Israel at the top of their political concerns. So AIPAC might promote the interests of Israel, but it doesn’t represent the interests of American Jews. Actually, as I think about it, Israeli Lobby is a poor choice of words. It would more accurately be viewed as a pro-Israel lobby.

You are just wrong about the PAC business and the IRS. Donations to AIPAC are not tax deductible. Donations to its American Israel Education Foundation are tax deductible. Different animals. (It is a neat little thing a lot of groups do. Separate your lobby functions from your educational functions and voila.)

By: CPANewYork

CPANewYork — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:35:00 +0000

If you equate the Israel Lobby with other American lobbies, you must see no essential difference between them insofar as their basic function is concerned. Senators schumer and Boxer may disagree with you, because they pressured Hagel into saying that the use of the term was a poor choice of words.

If the Jewish or Israel Lobby is no different from the many other lobbies, then why the desire for secrecy? Why is it a poor choice of words? Why the sensitivity? Why did Hagel have to knuckle under to Schumer and Boxer and say that the term “Jewish Lobby” was a poor choice of words?

It isn’t a poor choice of words. It’s an accurate description of a pressure group, just like all the other lobbies. The difference is that this one is based on religion and devotion to a foreign country. Religion is a sensitive subject. Many people feel uncomfortable discussing it, but it’s there and if a religious group forms to exert pressure on our country’s leaders, then it’s fair game for disclosure. If they’re not doing anything wrong, then there’s no justification for trying to keep its activities secret.

You’tre right in calling AIPAC a lobby. It’s a PAC, but it’s not registered as a PAC, which means that anyone who contributes to it may deduct the contribution for federal income tax purposes. The Internal Revenue Service doesn’t contest this, but it should.