Kudos to Senator Carper, for once.

Filed in Delaware, International, National by on March 3, 2015

Today a foreign leader will interfere in the political affairs of the United States, and Senator Tom Carper has decided that he will not be part of it, thank you very much.

Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware will join about 40 Democrats in boycotting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial speech to Congress on Tuesday. Carper called the timing of Netanyahu’s speech “wholly inappropriate,” given that the prime minister is up for re-election in two weeks. He and the other Democrats say House Speaker John Boehner broke protocol by inviting Netanyahu without consulting with the White House.

“I cannot imagine an occasion when a U.S. president would invite a foreign leader — even one from some of our closest allies like France, Germany or Canada — to address Congress on the eve of elections in his or her home country,” Carper said in a statement. “Furthermore, this visit came together by completely bypassing President Obama and his administration, which breaks our country’s protocol for visiting heads of state and stands to weaken U.S.-Israel relations.”

I was afraid the good Senator was just going to leave his list of reasons at that, and granted, they are good reasons. But the truest reason to be angry about that bastard Netanyahu’s speech has everything to do with the fact that he wants to scuttle any possible deal with Iran and he wants the United States to send more of our American children to die in an invasion of Iran. And to his credit, Carper says that such direct interference into the foreign policy of the United States is one of his reasons:

Carper said he fears Netanyahu’s visit is meant, in part, to undermine those [Iranian] negotiations.

“These negotiations are at a critical, yet delicate point and I believe that giving Mr. Netanyahu an audience in our Capitol at this time is not only a slap in the face of our president, but also a last-ditch effort to derail the progress his administration has made,” he said.

Careful Senator, you are starting to sound like a blogger with that slap comment! Bravo! Perhaps Carper is finally trying to win Jason330’s vote.

So what about his other Delaware Cs? Senator Coons and Congressman Carney say they are attending the speech but they are not happy about it.

“When it came down to it, [Senator Coons’] decision to attend was about respecting the strong relationship between the United States and Israel, and respecting the office of the prime minister of one of our country’s closest allies,” [Coons spokesman Ian] Koski wrote.

And how about that unmitigated bastard Netanyahu’s disrespect of that strong relationship between Israel and the United States? And how is Israel our closest ally anymore when they actively and transparently and in bad faith seek to wreck peace deals our country is trying to negotiate and actively and consistently seek to get our country into multiple wars on their behalf, all the while ignoring every single request our country makes of them, all the while our country does everything in the United Nations to protect Israel, all the while we pay them untold billions in aid to prop up their apartheid state. Senator Coons, you are making a mistake. Netanyahu will look upon you as a puppet, not a partner.

Carney?

Sheila Grant, Carney’s spokeswoman, said Carney believes he has an obligation to attend speeches to Congress by foreign heads of state, especially an important ally.

That is the answer I expected from Carper. I suppose Carney did not get his upgraded and updated download from Carperco.

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  1. Mitch Crane says:

    I agree with Congressman Carney’s spokeswoman’s statement that “Carney has an obligation to attend speeches to Congress by foreign heads of state…”. So, he should attend when Reuven Rivlin addresses a joint session of Congress. Israeli President Rivlin is the “Head of State”. The Prime Minister is the “Head of Government”.

    Congratulations to Senator Carper for his stand on this issue.

  2. puck says:

    Regardless of what you think of Netanyahu, the bastard is Boehner et al.Carper’s position is as welcome as it is unexpected, given that his BFF is Joe Lieberman. Coons and Carney are pathetic cowards once again.

  3. Yep, Netanyahu’s the reason we no longer even contribute to plant trees in Israel.

    AIPAC’s malevolent influence is a close #2.

    Netanyahu’s a typical demagogue, and he’s effective at it. He’s managed to even turn support for Israel into an ‘us vs. them’ proposition.

  4. Jason330 says:

    Nice catch Mitch. Team Carney is wrong and incompetent. A twofer.

  5. Dave says:

    Yep, kudos to Carper. Bibi is disrespecting all of America with this visit. He is presuming to tell us how to conduct our affairs, what we know, and what we must do. Not only that, we pay him $3B dollars a year to do that. Think about how many American homeless could have a place to live, instead we spend the money so that Israel can build settlements for it’s own citizens (well the Jewish ones anyway) can live. If Bibi had his way, we would have been in a war with Iran a long time ago.

    There are those that say Israel is our ally. Usually such arrangements are somewhat of a two way street. What exactly are we gaining by this alliance? It’s like being the parents next door with a kid who throws rocks at your dog and your kids. The parents defend the jerk kid, blames your dog and your kids because their little boy never does anything wrong.

  6. MikeM2784 says:

    Kudos to Carper! The problem is, Israel is acting out of fear with Iran…they assume, even if Iran has nukes, that they would use them against Israel. Really? Would a sovereign nation earn the world’s scorn and retribution by committing such a major and blatant atrocity? I think not. Just because Iran’s previous president said that he wanted to wipe Israel from the map doesn’t mean that the real leadership there is so irrational as to try it. We would turn the whole place into a glowing parking lot if they did. Unfortunately, Republicans live under the same rock and operate with the same fears as the Likud Party.

  7. mouse says:

    Right wing conservatives everywhere in all nations and religions have the same same nasty disease

  8. Jason330 says:

    Iran happens to be our strongest ally against ISIS right now. Funny ol’ world.

  9. Delaware Dem says:

    The actions of Israel over the last 15 years, including the specific actions of the Neocon Netanyahu, have turned me from an active supporter of the government of Israel to an active …well, opponent is too strong a word, but here is what I want to do: end all American aid and assistance to the country. Everything. Financial and Military. If Israel feels that it is free to buck American direction while taking our money, then let’s end the flow of money and send Israel out on its own.

    If Israel wants a war with Iran, it can fight it themselves.

  10. Jason330 says:

    I agree. Tell Israel that they are all grown up now and its time to move out of the basement.

  11. Dorian Gray says:

    Like Jason mentioned above. Great timing. Just heard a piece on NPR this morning. In the ongoing battle for Tikrit the Iraqi security forces are backed on the ground by, you guessed it, Iran’s shia militia!

    Maybe if Bibi really thought we were playing in bad faith he could stop cashing those hefty cheques we keep sending.

    Israel has squandered a great deal of the world’s good will and it’s a real shame.

  12. fightingbluehen says:

    The Republicans gave Harry Reid a standing ovation.

  13. Delaware Dem says:

    As well they should. Even in the minority now, Reid owns the Republicans and rules the Senate.

  14. Tom Kline says:

    No deal with Obama or Iran.

    Time to Bomb.

  15. Tom Kline says:

    Carper isn’t a man. He’s a pussy.

  16. Geezer says:

    @Tom Kline: Why? Because you’re feeling unmanly?

  17. Dave says:

    Without comment

    “If you take out Saddam, Saddam’s regime, I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region.” ~ Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu urging the US to invade Iraq in 2002.

  18. Jason330 says:

    Being wrong about everything aint what it used to be.

  19. Geezer says:

    Watching those sheep leaping to their feet like rubes at a stump speech showed that our politicians don’t just dish out the grandiose bullshit, they also swallow it more eagerly than the rest of us.

  20. cassandra_m says:

    Jon Stewart gives this speech the review it needs:

    Whether or not Netanyahu achieved his goals of sabotaging a deal with Iran or mistakenly opened up a rift in U.S.-Israeli relations, one thing is certain,” Stewart observed. “The in-chamber response to this speech was by far the longest bl*wjob a Jewish man has ever received.”

  21. pandora says:

    Agreed! Jon Stewart is pitch perfect.

    I keep thinking how this whole Netanyahu thing would play out if Dems had pulled a stunt like this while an R was president. Oh, the wails and gnashing of teeth and cries of being anti-American – in other words, today’s GOP entire playbook.

  22. cassandra_m says:

    Daniel Larison weighs in:

    The audience this morning enthusiastically cheered on the sabotage of a major U.S. diplomatic initiative, the undermining of an important U.S. policy goal, and the blatant meddling of a foreign leader in our domestic politics. It is one of the more disgraceful things I’ve seen an assembly of American political leaders do, and that is really saying something.

  23. doc says:

    Obviously there are those who live only in the present moment. For those who did not attend it sent a clear message to Iran, the barbarians, our allies and the American people that we are a nation divided and do not have a strategy or the resolve to win. Those who perhaps had wax in their hears did not hear the message that it was not about political posturing for the Prime Minister but indeed an alarm to the American people that the deal being brokered (zero transparency) is a bad deal for Israel and for the United States. Too bad our own admin has not the courage to present Americas strategy on prime network or are we just too dumb to understand?
    To think on September 11, 2001 a country came together as one.
    If one does not learn from history then one is most certainly doomed to repeat it.
    To witness just how far this country has drifted apart should sadden every American.
    A holocaust is occurring before ones eyes and no one has the “courage” to call it for what it is.

    So here are opposing views …. begin your attack.

  24. liberalgeek says:

    I saddens me that this Congress cannot support a single thing that the President has done, and goes out of their way to cheer everything that the leader of another country has to say. Bibi has a long history of inaccuracies (see above), yet this time, when he is interfering in US diplomatic policy, he’s right? It would be laughable if he wasn’t talking about dead Americans paying for his inaccuracies.

    I wonder how Fox News would have covered it this morning if a Democrat shouted out “You lie!” during Bibi’s speech.

  25. cassandra_m says:

    And here is the heart of the lie:
    the deal being brokered (zero transparency)

    Seriously, the Iranians are signatories to the NNPP, which gives the UN some rights for inspection and auditing. Which they do, which is how we find out about certain issues. Israel, India and Pakistan are NOT signatories, meaning that THERE is where the lack of transparency is. But doc here demonstrates exactly what Bibi was after — reaching the small portion of American belligerents who think that aggressiveness is the only answer to every problem. This is the SAME bibi who told us back in the early 90’s that Iran was 5 years away from a nuclear bomb. This is the SAME Bibi who told the world that if the US would bring down Saddam Hussein that the Middle East would greatly improve for the better. The man has been completely wrong on all of the Big Stuff (just like ya boy GWB) and yet here you are all credulous belligerence.

    One more thing. This deal with the Iranians *still* doesn’t have better than a 50/50 chance of coming to any fruition. It is easier to wait for the whole process to fail than just spin up Iraq War-like lies and rhetoric to try to spin up opposition.

  26. Dave says:

    @doc who said “Obviously there are those who live only in the present moment.”

    Again I will offer this time with comment.

    “If you take out Saddam, Saddam’s regime, I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region.” ~ Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu urging the US to invade Iraq in 2002.

    You see doc, if someone with some credibility was making the case, it might not fall on deaf ears. Unfortunately, Bibi is an Israeli cowboy. All hat. No cattle. We’ve had our share of cowboys. Iran is no more a threat with nukes than Pakistan, Israel, or any other nation. To propose that Iran should have no nukes, while Israel maintains their stockpile, is really the height of chutzpah.

    Further, Bibi stating that “In the next four years, we will begin the long-term process of gradually reducing the level of your generous economic assistance to Israel” is a poor attempt at a concession to us if we would just expend American lives and go to war with Iran. We give Israel $3B dollars per year. When will this welfare baby be able to attain a level of personal responsibility? Well, as he said it will be “long term” and “gradual” aka “never.”

    If Israel doesn’t like the deal we make, let them go to war against Iran. I am tired of this ungrateful snot who bites the hand that feeds it and keeps it free.

  27. Geezer says:

    My favorite bit of idiocy is the “send a message to Iran” crap, as if Iran didn’t have its own intelligence agencies and would take at face value anything that’s said in public.

    Democracy only works with an intelligent electorate. That, ultimately, is why democracy failed in the US.

  28. cassandra_m says:

    Someone on Twitter yesterday found the essential contradiction in Bibi’s logic here — he claims that Iran is a suicidal apocalyptic islamic regime and that this regime will come to heel with more economic pressure.