Oooof! Christie Insults Adelson; GOP In Full Panic [View all]

[kpete]

Christie Raises Eyebrows With 'Occupied Territories' Remark
Christie
Apologizes To Donor In Private Meeting

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Just when you thought Christie's disastrous week couldn't get any worse, it does. Christie lost the $100,000,000 dollar Sheldon Adelson primary today by insulting him and his guests in Las Vegas.

Adelson, a notorious Likudnik, hosted a number of 2016 hopefuls this afternoon. One after another, they groveled on their knees for Adelson's cash by shamelessly pandering on Middle East policy. But then it happened. Running his big mouth, Christie described the West Bank as.... wait for it... "the occupied territories". Yikes!

Now it doesn't sound like a big deal to a person living in a reality based community. It's merely a neutral descriptive term. But it causes wingnuts on Mid East issues to flip out. They prefer the Orwellian term "disputed territories".

Then making matters worse, one of Adelson's cronies attempted to correct Christie and Christie reflexively bullied him:

Mr. Christie warmly recalled a trip he took with his family to Israel, calling it an extraordinary personal experience. But he touched off disapproving whispers from the crowd when he described flying over the “occupied territories” where Palestinians live.

A prominent Jewish leader, Morton A. Klein, said he tried to correct Mr. Christie as he left the stage, urging him to use different language, like “disputed territory.” Mr. Christie, he said, “scowled” and did not say whether he would do so in the future. “I was shocked,” said Mr. Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/us/politics/at-republican-gathering-top-2016-contenders-bring-a-unified-message.html?hpw&rref=politics&_r=0

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more, delicious:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/29/1288340/-Oooof-Christie-Insults-Adelson-GOP-In-Full-Panic-Turning-to-Box-Office-Poison
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/30/christie-occupied-territo_n_5058356.html


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In response, there were some "audible murmurs" in the crowd, according to Time magazine's Zeke Miller, who was in the room.

The term "occupied territories" is a cause of dispute and controversy. Palestinians, along with the United Nations, consider the West Bank to be Palestinian, but under military occupation by Israel. Israel says that the land is "disputed," arguing the Palestinians do not have a legitimate claim to all of it.

Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, downplayed the concerns, telling CNN Christie "wasn't trying to set policy. He just misspoke in the moment."
http://www.abc17news.com/news/politics/GOP-2016-hopefuls-address-big-donors-in-Vegas/25231416

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/30/christie-occupied-territo_n_5058356.html