Posts Tagged eric cantor

The Tea Party and Israel?

Posted by Joel in Religion and Politics on November 27, 2010

: Image via Wikipedia

If we are going to cut social welfare programs, then we need to cut foreign aid programs first. Even foreign aid to Israel. The problem, however, is that many on the Right (and the Left in many cases) have their own pet projects. For those on the Right, it is Israel. And for the life of me, why is it that Rand Paul is actually sticking to his guns on this and earning my respect on this single issue?

But while Mr. Cantor and other newly empowered Republicans are eager to promote themselves as Israel’s staunchest defenders in Washington, the reconfigured American political landscape is a more complex and unpredictable backdrop for Middle East peacemaking.

Scores of Tea Party-backed candidates are entering Congress, many of whom favor isolationist policies and are determined to cut American foreign aid, regardless of its destination.

Rand Paul, the newly elected Tea Party-backed senator from Kentucky, bluntly told the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, an influential pro-Israel lobbying group, that they were going to disagree about the need for foreign aid and suggested that they move on to other topics, according to a person briefed on the meeting.

….

Representative John A. Boehner, the Ohio Republican who is the House speaker-designate, sent out fund-raising literature aimed at Jewish voters, criticizing the administration for its pressuring of Israel on issues like settlements.

“That was the first time I had seen Israel used in a partisan political way,” said Representative Gary L. Ackerman, a New York Democrat and outgoing chairman of the House foreign affairs subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia.

NYT: Is Tea Party a blessing or curse for Israel? – Politics – The New York Times – msnbc.com.

So, what do you think? Do you think that while we cut social programs and foreign aid to other nations, that Israel alone must continue to collect American tax-dollars?

Israel Must Fear Tea Partiers, Or Something Like That (legalinsurrection.blogspot.com)
The Fun’s Just Beginning (slog.thestranger.com)
“GOP and Tea Party Gains Are Mixed Blessing for Israel” and related posts (docstalk.blogspot.com)
GOP to cut Foreign Aid to Israel? (thechurchofjesuschrist.us)
Daoud Kuttab: America’s Latest $3 Billion Bribe to Israel (huffingtonpost.com)

American Israel Public Affairs Committee, eric cantor, israel, John Boehner, Rand Paul, Tea Party

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GOP to cut Foreign Aid to Israel?

Posted by Joel in Religion and Politics on October 25, 2010

A Republican Congress would seek to remove funding for Israel from the foreign operations budget, a GOP leader said.

U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, the Republican whip and the only Jewish Republican in the House of Representatives, told JTA that a GOP-led House would seek to defund nations that do not share U.S. interests, even if it meant rejecting the president’s foreign operations budget.

Cantor, of Virginia, said he wants to protect funding for Israel should that situation arise.

“Part of the dilemma is that Israel has been put in the overall foreign aid looping,” he said when asked about the increasing tendency of Republicans in recent years to vote against foreign operations appropriations. “I’m hoping we can see some kind of separation in terms of tax dollars going to Israel.”

Cantor’s statement was a sign that the Republican leadership was ready to defer to the party’s right wing on this matter. Some on the GOP right have suggested including Israel aid in the defense budget, and a number of Tea Party-backed candidates have said they would vote against what is known in Congress as “foreign ops.” (here)

Several things – okay. Cool. Let’s cut some foreign aid and use that money in the U.S. where we might actually need it. If we have to go the austerity route, so be it, but let’s do it in the pockets of the Republicans too.

Second, why is it that we can cut off all foreign aid to every other country but Israel? Surely Cantor has read Patraeus‘s report suggesting that Israel, if anything, stands against American foreign interests. And yet…

And why is it that a party built on limiting Government spending is okay with such large sums to foreign governments?