GOP candidates show more loyalty to a foreign country (Israel) than their own

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"It is disconcerting to see the foreign-policy traps that Republican presidential candidates set for themselves, especially when it comes to Israel and the Middle East.

They do a disservice to the United States by trying to bind a sitting American president to the policies of a foreign government, specifically to the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

What do you call it when GOP presidential hopefuls like Rick Perry and Mitt Romney publicly denounce a duly elected American president so they can walk in lock step with the Israeli leader, whose policies are often contrary to US interests?

Norman Olsen, a former US diplomat in Israel who served in Republican and Democratic administrations, warns: “It is destructive to our relations with every other country in the world for Republican presidential candidates to demand Obama bend to Israel’s policies.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Walter-Rodgers/2011/1004/GOP-candidates-show-more-loyalty-to-a-foreign-country-Israel-than-their-own

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[King_David]

2. Yes my neighbor told me

That " you people control Wall Street , The White House and Hollywood "

[ladjf]

5. Why not just say what you mean rather than hiding behind cute

sarcasm?

[Crunchy Frog]

6. Not the "Jewish" lobby, the Israel lobby.

A very big difference. And much of the Israel lobby consists of fanatical Christians who are expecting the state of Israel to play host to their Armageddon fantasies.

[King_David]

7. Yes code is better,tell him nt

[Ken Burch]

10. Nobody here does "code".

Stop with the smears already.

[Ken Burch]

9. Go away, antisemitic troll

Alerted.

[King_David]

11. Why is he antisemitic ?

He never said anything that half the forum doesn't say here, except without a "cloak".

[Ken Burch]

12. None of us think what this idiot thinks

Criticizing the unquestioning support the U.S. government usually gives to the Israeli government is not the same thing as talking in terms of a Jewish conspiracy. And, once again, supporting the end of the Occupation of the West Bank does not equate to hatred of the Jews.

This guy is out there in "Protocols" country. The people you keep doing the "code" smear about aren't.

[King_David]

16. I don't think he's said anything much different

Than most people here.

[Ken Burch]

18. That's because you don't listen

That guy hates Jews. I don't, and neither does any other regular I/P poster who supports Palestinian self-determination. And you damn well know it.

Dial the smears back.

[King_David]

21. Huh ?? nt

[Ken Burch]

27. You know what I mean

Stop it already.

You know nobody here is a closet antisemite.

[Violet_Crumble]

29. He may not if he's dropped his copy of the code book...

Imagine the confusion and sense of disconnection from reality losing the code book would cause. Having to read people saying things like 'I oppose the occupation' and not being able to look up the code-book translation of 'Not only are half the people in this forum homophobes, they also hate Jews!' would be a disaster. I mean, having to read what people say as actually meaning what they say? What is the world coming to? ;)

[Ken Burch]

30. True. And he must be having a lot of trouble FINDING that code back

Haven't heard back from the "King" in almost 12 hours now.

[holdencaufield]

34. Honestly...

... I prefer the upfront and candid form. It's refreshing

[Jefferson23]

3. There is nothing wrong with this.

:sarcasm:

[LeftishBrit]

4. No, they don't. They are using the Israelis as pawns.

And they could bring Israel down, for the sake of their Armageddon fantasies.

But at least this author is taking the 'more loyal to Israel' theme to its logical conclusion, and accusing ALL hawks of this, not, as is commoner, just those who happen to be Jews, oops, I mean Zionists.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

8. Only a tiny fraction of American zionists are Jewish. N.T.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

13. The GOP are passionately loyal to a fictional country.

Most Republicans are passionately loyal and patriotic - far more so than Democrats - but to a fictional, idealised version of America whose interests are at odds with those of the real USA.

[azurnoir]

14. The GOP plays to the past fiction of the WASP nation

and the hopes of some that it with all its illusions can be 'revived'

[King_David]

17. Thats not true

Democratic Party Supporters are passionately loyal and patriotic ,that is just the American way.
Far more patriotic than say British or Canadian or Australiansor South Africans for example.
This is obvious if you ever visit Washington for example and you have lived in other countries.

[Ken Burch]

20. He wasn't saying Democrats weren't patriotic

What he was saying was that Republicans were and are loyal to an America that was NEVER real.

They're actually just loyal to LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, OZZIE AND HARRIET, and FATHER KNOWS BEST.

(well, also to AMOS 'N ANDY, but they can't quite come out and say that, yet.)

[King_David]

23. Donald speaks for himself, you have a bad habit

Of speaking for everyone from MLK to Luncoln to Pelsar, myself and now Donald,

Give it a rest already !!!

[Ken Burch]

26. I wasn't speaking for him, I was correcting your misinterpretation.

Obviously, the guy wasn't saying what YOU thought he said. That's all I meant.

[holdencaufield]

35. At the risk of being publically executed...

... you should take another look at "Amos and Andy" the TV series. The only two foolish characters on the show were Andy and Kingfish. Amos was a the foil to their idiocy. In 1951, the show features black doctors, black lawyers and black businessmen, all played remarkably straight -- something that wouldn't be seen on US television for another 20 years.

It's a pity the show is never examined for its more positive qualities.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

22. I certainly agree that Democrats are, on average, more patriotic than the British.

I can't comment on the other nations you list.

But I maintain that they're nowhere near as fanatically "America first" as Republicans.

[King_David]

24. Agree

And btw Happpy New year and fast well ( if you do :) )

[Donald Ian Rankin]

25. The only Jewish festival I keep is passover, and that rather laxly.

But happy new year to you.

[Ken Burch]

19. The GOP is passionately loyal to the America that ONLY existed

in 1950's sitcoms.

[oberliner]

15. Good to know there is so much support for this RW nutcase

Perhaps you'd also enjoy his other recent article:

Illegal Hispanic immigration is undermining American values

[azurnoir]

28. Quite intersting

seems I have been lambasted by a certain poster for bringing up a victim of the I/P conflict because victim was from the 'other side' as off topic and distracting yet here on this thread we seem to see an article thrown in by the author of OP that has nothing what so ever to do with the I/P situation along with what would seem a claim that "so many" here are fans of a right winger strikes me a 'strange'

[shira]

31. Rightwing nutcase theory about loyalty to Israel over America is popular here. n/t

[Scurrilous]

32. Romney vows in debate that first foreign trip will be to Israel

<snip>

"Mitt Romney pledged that his first foreign trip would be to Israel if elected president, saying that the right course for Israel would be for the United States to demonstrate its commitment to Israel's security and well-being.

"We have a president who pursued an agenda of saying we're going to be friendly to our foes and we're going to be disrespectful to our friends," Romney said in a CNN debate on national security.

All of the Republican candidates, except for Ron Paul, have made vocal support for Israel a prominent feature of their foreign policy. But Romney has been especially critical of President Obama's attitude toward Israel, accusing him of putting American security as risk."

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-presidential-primary/195239-romney-vows-first-foreign-trip-will-be-to-israel-during-gop-debate

[LeftishBrit]

33. They're not loyal to Israel in the least; they just want to hasten Armageddon

And want to use Israelis as their pawns.

[shira]

36. They (christian supporters of Israel) just want to hasten Armageddon...

...is an ugly smear against Christians, don't you think? Imagine saying that about Muslims or Jews.

Isn't it possible the more religious Christians see Jews in Israel as a positive thing they identify with biblically and are not just cynically looking forward to Armageddon?

[LeftishBrit]

37. Not all Christian supporters of Israel. Just the right-wing Republicans.

And only a certain section of these. The more traditional sort just value Israel (and the UK) as strategic allies in their endless wars.

But there is a certain section of the Christian Right who do want Armageddon; and an additional section who may not want it, but expect it, and therefore would not seek to avoid it.

'imagine saying that about Muslims or Jews'

I do say equivalent things about theocratic Islamists and about far-right-wing settlers. The OP was about Christian-Right Republicans, not about Christians in general. This sort of ultra-hawkish, 'end-times' attitude is in fact very uncommon among the Christians whom I know in Britain. I can't estimate its frequency in America, but it does seem to affect the 'Palinite' types.

I have nothing against any religion; but I HATE the right-wing in all its forms (whether pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian or neither; whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish or atheist); and there is no doubt that some groups misuse various religions in various ways to advance the right wing.