Chaos During Dems Platform Vote on adding language on Jerusalem.
Take it away Chuck Todd:
NBC News has learned that the Democratic Party will reinstate the language recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Republicans — including the Romney campaign — criticized President Obama and the Democrats after it was discovered this language had been omitted in the Democratic Party’s platform
This will all be changed on the floor today, NBC has learned, and it will probably mean just simply reinstating the 2008 language.
The Democratic Party was under increasing pressure to explain why they had removed language from the 2012 party platform that referred to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The 2008 language said:
Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.
UPDATE: Al Monitor‘s Laura Rozen reports that President Obama “personally intervened” to ensure that the Democratic platform language was changed. More from Rozen:
“President Obama personally intervened to strengthen the language,” a Democratic aide involved in the process told Al-Monitor Wednesday.
Obama campaign officials saw the issue as an unnecessary distraction, a source said, adding:. “They were and continue to be comfortable with the original language [in the DNC 2012 platform] that they feel is stridently pro-Israel. But they felt that the manufactured controversy over Jerusalem was an unnecessary distraction.”
“The platform is being amended to maintain consistency with the personal views expressed by the President and in the Democratic Party platform in 2008,” DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a statement Wednesday.
The pro-Israel lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), praised the decision.
“We welcome reinstatement to the Democratic platform of the language affirming Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,” the statement from AIPAC said. “Together, these party platforms reflect strong bipartisan support for the US – Israel relationship.”
The whole episode brings to mind this clip from the Simpsons. Antonio R. Villaraigosa says the nays have it:
So much for the Prague Spring.
Hold your horses.
link to ynetnews.com
Despite what the AIPAC crowd thinks, if Dershowitz is representative of them, the majority of the Democratic party is moving away from the AIPAC line.
Again, the delegates who were run over will remember this overt act by the lobby.
Obama only intervened because the heat was on, but Rozen indicates that he was comfortable with the original language.
This just shows the direction of the Democratic party.
At some point the base decides over the elites as the base elects the candidate. Sure, the MSM can smear a candidate but it’s not that easy, all the senators, house reps, people around them. All these things are changing.
The LA Times called the Republican Convention a staged show to put on minority faces. That’s probably true, but the same is true of Democrats.
Take Julian Castro, a nobody who doesn’t even manage his own city(his role is mostly ceremonial, the city manager makes far more than he does).
The real elite is mostly white liberals. And they are quickly turning European in the sense that less and less are religious(see the demise of the liberal church), most don’t care about Israel and hold foreign policy views more like that of a classic Rockefeller Republican.
Jewish liberals are going the same path, at least if you look at those under the age of 40. Asians are more resembling the white gentile liberals in their outlook on Israel. An annoyance we pretend to care about as a favour to our Jewish friends, neighbours and in some cases spouses.
Obama or no Obama, the partisan split over Israel continues.
“At some point the base decides over the elites as the base elects the candidate. ”
That is ridiculous.
Not really. Just look at the Tea party candidates which the Republican Establishment never wanted to back, like Texas’ Ted Cruz.
In the short term, the Establishment can win, but over the long run the grassroots win. Another example is the slow death of the Rockefeller Republicans, even if they held the most elite positions.
The base moved rightwards on a lot of social issues and the moderates got creamed as batch after batch of new senators/house reps were more conservative than the last on social issues. At the end the elite had no power base within the party, let alone among the grassroots.
Another example is the grassroot effort among the liberal base on issues like gay marriage which overwhelmed the spineless ‘moderates’ who kept trying to postpone.
You’re not thinking about this rightly.
Brilliant. In their moment of greatest strength, displaying all their national leaders and following an incredibly weak Republican convention, what do the Democrats do? They stay true to form and surrender in the face of mean words from the opposition.
Another case of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.
christ on a crutch. what a tightly bound load of crap. do those three sentences strung together in that order make sense to anyone?
Such a good point. Disconnect
christ on a crutch. what a tightly bound load of crap. do those three sentences strung together in that order make sense to anyone?
I’ve always suspected that much of the original sense must have been lost when it was translated from Hebrew to English and that subsequent administrations were afraid they’d look stupid if they asked for a clarification;-)
Don’t say the Democrats aren’t reliable.
The American government (controlled by lobbies, specifically AIPAC) and the apartheid Zionist regime once again both display they are rogue forces; who are yet again openly flaunting and violating CLEAR international law! United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 link to en.wikipedia.org
Also see: link to david-morrison.org.uk
Yes, you are completely right about all of that, but in my opinion there is a much bigger problem, they are flaunting God’s laws, placing nations above God, ignoring basic human rights and humanity of all peoples, they are embracing Idolatry, spitting in God’s face essentially. And these actions will lead to each nation’s destruction and fall. Will I live to see it?
Obama is known by all as “the great capitulator.”
Bent over again. Pathetic. When will he start listening. So incredible to hear the nays as loud as the yay. But Obama rolled over again. So pathetic.
Somebody filmed that segment of the convention from his TV and bit his tongue till the end, when he blurted out his feelings about the defeated terrorists who have infiltrated the Dem Convention:
link to youtube.com
that’s hysterical subconscious.
“yes thank you, go to hell terrorists go to hell, the motion is approved, go to hell terrorists”.
@Annie The camera was on two Arab-Americans (per their sign) as he said that.
So much wrong on every level. (Principally, why was the camera on two Arab-Americans during this debacle? We all know the strategic answer to that.)
Fanaticism has its inadvertently-humorous side.
I will take a Republican over a Democrat any day for one reason alone: Republicans have a spine. Sure they run on a racist platform that caters to rich, white men solely, but at least you know where they stand on issues.
Democrats are spineless cowards, pretending to support the “working man/woman,” while in reality catering to the same rich, white man.
And you two-staters still think Israel is going to give up Jerusalem….welcome to Fantasy Island.
Dexter: “And you two-staters still think Israel is going to give up Jerusalem….welcome to Fantasy Island.”
That’s right. Hang tough. I’m with you all the way.
I hope that future US party conventions have the same digital, direct-democracy vote-tallying system that the PCUSA used. I’ll take the good with the bad as long as it’s all quantitatively representative of the popular will.
This was a classic anti-democratic sham. It’s gonna hurt and/or resonate in that broader democratic/alienation sense. It’s probably not coincidental that (as so many people here have pointed out is coming) that the moment came on the back of a “suck up to Israel” vote.
Such moments of clarity are rare. I’m guessing that they are never recorded at the national level.
—
Sorry Dexter, I meant to post this at the end of the thread.
“Democrats are spineless cowards, pretending to support the “working man/woman,” while in reality catering to the same rich, white man.”
Well, I don’t think that’s entirely accurate as they currently have their dream candidate. Is he white? A question for you, what founder of the democrat party said long ago, “You can always hire some of the poor to murder the rest”? If you keep coming back to them, they will continue to spank you. Change or get used to being spanked.
Oh Well, you had your chance! Tell me now, Ron Paul isn’t a better Candidate than either of these primitive anachronisms. At least with the Libertarians(not the Tea Party) we only have to fight over the general welfare clause of the Constitution, as opposed to foreign domination by a gangster city/state.
Ralph Nader seems to think he can make the necessary accommodations with Ron Paul on this one issue, but not you? If we’re past the tipping point, it doesn’t matter. Better get your act together?
Hej! Tumta
P.S. Losing on principle isn’t so bad if you survive it. The trick is not to get too angry in the short term and never forgive and never forget.
Maybe one day the Dem party will finally decide what it wants to be when it grows up…
.
“Spineless” and “cowards” are the wrong words. They presuppose that the Democratic party leadership actually wants to support the “working man/woman” but is too weak and cowardly to do so. That’s false. They have no desire to help the working man–but they must appear that way to get votes. “Clever rascals” would be a better description, imo.
Dexter, your 2012 republican almost vomits at the suggestion of utilizing time and resources on things like equality and basic human rights. The Dems, however cowardly, however often they submit to pressure do not.
I do not vote for Dems OR Repubs. I’m not dumb enough to fall into that silly little trap.
And you one-staters still think Israel will give up Zionism in Jersualem AND ALL OF ISRAEL as well? Welcome to Fantasy Universe
Yes, Sibiriak, let us, the civilized world, allow them to keep Zionism — the most racist ideology since Nazism. If this was 1940, would you have also said that Germans would never give up Nazism???
Nazi Germany had to be defeated militarily and occupied.
Apparently, that’s your prescription for ending Zionism in Israel. Sounds utterly unrealistic to me.
How and when do you see such a military scenario unfolding?
Unrealistic things happen all the time…..zionism was unrealistic from the beginning.
It is more unrealistic to expect Israel to continue forever as it is.
Israel to “continue forever as it is”. That’s a truism. Nothing lasts forever!
The point is: forcing Israel to abandon a portion of the zionist dream via a two-state settlement is far, far more realistic than trying to force Israel to abandon the entirety of the zionist dream via a 1SS.
You have given no argument to the contrary. Asserting a trivial truism is not an argument.
Zionism should be eradicated. It is the scourge of the 21st century.
The death of Zionism will happen one way or another; it is absolutely inevitable. You cannot continue to maintain a racist, supremacist system that subjects exactly half the population.
This fantasy that historic Palestine can be partitioned at this point, considering the realities on the ground, is sheer fantasy…it borders on delusional.
Siberiak says: “Nazi Germany had to be defeated militarily and occupied.
Apparently, that’s your prescription for ending Zionism in Israel. Sounds utterly unrealistic to me.
How and when do you see such a military scenario unfolding?”
The equation here is false. One can see Israel as comparable to Nazi Germany without implying that military force will be necessary to roll it up.
Israel — unlike Nazi Germany — is extremely small and both economically and psychologically utterly dependent on the goodwill of others. I seriously don’t see how it could last five years if the rest of the world resolved to pull the plug.
That in turn turns this into purely a matter of building consensus. There’s no reason to expect military action to ever be necessary.
Colin:
Agreed.
Indeed, and there is a realistic possibility of building a truly effective international consensus (including the U.S., Europe, Japan, Russia et al., ) around the idea of forcing the creation of a Palestinian state next to Israel.
On the other hand, there is no realistic possibility in the foreseeable future of such a consensus being build around the idea of “pulling the plug” on Israel, i.e. forcing political changes in Israel (even if it could be done) that would cause Jewish Israelis to depart en masse and cause Israel to be replaced entirely by a Palestinian state (your desired outcome).
In the words of the E*Trade baby: “I want to show you something: It’s my shocked face.”
LOL.
I love that E*Trade baby! If I knew where it lived I would almost be tempted to snatch it like Goldie Hawn did to Baby Langston in The Sugarland Express” (1974). That did not end up so well, but I’m not quite as ditsy as was Lou Jean (the Goldie Hawn character). And of course, Clovis (Lou Jean’s hubby and co-kidnapper) wasn’t much more levelheaded than Lou Jean.
From the Guardian:
Democrats backtrack on status of Jerusalem
Party changes platform to state that ‘Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel’
link to guardiannews.com
Pathetic. The entire Democratic convention amounts to a series of speeches extolling how diverse and accepting the party is of minorities, gays, and women.
It’s a fraud. A party cannot have its leader intervene at the last minute to change its platform to recognize the illegal capital of a racial supremacist state and still claim to be progressive.
No matter how diverse the rainbow coalition of Obama’s Democratic party is, in the end it is made up of spokesmen and stooges for the Lobby. Which is why, for me, all the Democratic rhetoric about Republican racists rings a bit hollow. Both parties are united in declaring that the Palestinians are less than human.
The truly sad part is that they didn’t capitulate at the delegate level. The voice vote was clearly a NO vote. Yet the PTB simply declared it a YES vote.
This video should be required viewing for everyone interested in, or interested in participating in, US politics. Early and often. From a very young age. This is what we’re up against.
What a profoundly disturbing event. Public event, no less.
The woman that came to the dais said, “You gotta let them do what they’re gonna do.” Who is she and what did that mean, exactly? It didn’t matter what the vote was? I think so.
The Bots can’t have a proper vote. A voice vote where 2/3 must approve is a joke but it is the only way to push the motion through. And the guy who called it is a Latino. How does Likud nihilism benefit the Latino community?
In a razor-thin election the Democrats once again prove they are their own worst enemy by turning off everyone liberal, independent or libertarian who are sick to death of Israel, the constant whining and ranting on the part of Israelis and Israel’s meddling in U.S. politics and elections.
Here’s what the Democrats deserve: the October surprise that Netanyahu has up his sleeve to bring down Obama and help the Republicans win the election. And believe me, Netanyahu is cooking up something real good!
Only Ron Paul and his supporters understand the nuisance, liability and ball and chain that Israel is…oh, but then when it was time to give Paul a boost around here…forget it. Guess why I stayed away??? None of this concern is authentic, because what I witnessed then, is when push comes to shove, the tribe comes first.
The Zionist empire wins again.
Ron Paul said he would support moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem – link to articles.businessinsider.com
“The real issue here is not what America wants, but what does Israel want,” Paul told evangelical leaders, according to a transcript of the meeting obtained by Business Insider. “If Israel wants their capital to be Jerusalem, then the United States should honor that.”
“How would we like it if some other nation said ‘We decided to recognize New York City as your capital instead, so we will build our embassy there?’” he added.
Kind of secondary.
Ron Paul would have ceased supporting Israel.
Let her do what she wants — but without our backing.
That’ll do it for me. It should take care of Israel as well.
You actually want to pass that off as a credible argument with me? Who cares what he “said”; he’s a non-interventionist. If the U.S. quit meddling in the Israeli/Palestine conflict as a Ron Paul administration would; it would only benefit the Palestinians, since the U.S. has done absolutely nothing anyway under either Dem/Republican administrations to benefit the Palestinians. The Palestinians have been much maligned and harmed under both. The point is that Ron Paul would stop funding Israel, leave it to its own devices to sink or swim, more likely sink the way it’s going. He’d treat Israel like everyone else and diminish the power of Zionist influence on U.S. foreign policy, AND Ron Paul would not; I repeat NOT meddle in either Syria or launch an attack on Iran to bail Israel out of a jam if Israel attacks Iran. That’s more than any administration has ever or could ever accomplish. And all that carries way more weight than your argument against him. But then I have to question: Why use such a flimsy argument against him, anyway? Uh, never mind, I think I know why. Ron Paul is an American; definitely not a Zionist sympathizer.
Palestinians in “concentration camps”? Yikes!
Hamas sympathizer?
Siberiak says: “Hamas sympathizer?”
It’s a pleasant thought — but probably not.
kalithea,
kali spera, if you have anything to do with Greece.
Never believe a politician, they lie and cheat to get into the congress and to stay a maximum time. It is a goldmine, an easy way to become a millionair.
Ron Paul is in Washington about 26 years now and anyone who could stay that long must be good at telling fairy tales to his/her constituents.
Regardless what Paul says, when in power he would toe the line just as Obama did. Do you remember his promises and speeches? Apply them to Paul and see what becomes of those good intentions.
It is a disgrace how 99% of the population, (I count those jews here who are americans first), allows that a tiny minority dictates the rules and regulations for the whole nation!
There are a lot more italian, german, polish, decendents, what would happen if they demand a special treatment for those nations?
Or if we talk about a religion, a lot more catholics, do they demand a special financial support for the pope? I could continue, however I am sure I made the point. When will this explode in the face of the zionists and Israel firsters?
kalithea,
Not sure if they win. Mixing Israeli politics and Zionist agendas with US politics at a political convention is NOT good for Israel and surely damaging in the longer run for Zionism.
That video was not pretty, in fact it revealed UGLY politics where the voice of the people were ignored for the agenda of a few. Where whoever-he-was simply ignored the delegates and the woman behind him, who warned him, “You gotta let them do what they’re gonna do.”
Democracy was trashed for a Zionist agenda at a US political convention. It is there for the world to see.
The Dems do have a way of shooting themselves.
RE: “Dems buckle, will add language to party platform referring to Jerusalem as Israel’s capital”
MY COMMENT: No more battered
spousevoter syndrome for me! After all, like the Lost Prophets say: “If You Don’t Stand For Something, You’ll Fall For Anything.”• Lost Prophets: If You Don’t Stand For Something, You’ll Fall For Anything (Garage Sessions) [VIDEO, 04:39] – link to youtube.com
SPEAKING OF “STANDING FOR SOMETHING”:
• Jill Stein for President (Stein/Honkala 2012) - link to jillstein.org
[Contributions of up to a total of $250 from an individual qualify for federal matching funds.]
“‘Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.’ do those three sentences strung together in that order make sense to anyone?”
Use your decoder ring. For example “Israel will not be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East. Israel supports a Middle East free of all weapons of mass destruction following the attainment of peace.”
That statement of policy in practice means:
“Israel will build and deploy as many nuclear weapons as it wishes, by any means necessary, but will not officially confirm their existence or ever dismantle them.”
So the statement on Jerusalem means the United States must recognize the whole city is Israel’s undivided capital. Full stop. The voice vote, on the other hand, will be a viral video example educating millions about how the Israel lobby really works. It really says it all. I bet there’ll be a more successfull attempt at publically legitimating before the convention closes.
Stay tuned.
This story has been front and center over at Huff Po for quite a few hours. Close to 12,ooo comments and going up. You might be interested in dropping links to your incredibly well researched and informative site over there. Unable to link from the computer that I am on
Sadly the overwhelming majority of the comments are “dems suck” “no republicans suck” with a small number talking about the reinsertion of God but after scrolling through tens of pages I didn’t find a SINGLE one talking about the denial of international law demonstrated by proclaiming Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Its just “my team rarara”. There is more analysis when people pick their favorites in the super bowl.
the public reaction of the crowd was a huge shift. Huge. Obama is not paying attention to the shift
This shift has been happening out here in the hinterland for over a year, as I have reported (here), but it’s silent because no one wants to offend someone nearby who might be Jewish. It’s all knowing looks and exasperation. It’s the current Republican Congress’ fault for not putting their attention on the financial mess they created during their majority stewardship from 1995 -2007, and for thinking that spending their time trying to bury Obama (a la Mitch McConnell) was going to go unnoticed by the electorate. I hear things on the radio like ‘I would never vote for Obama, but I’m mad that the Republicans aren’t doing more to fix the economy’. Iterations of that.
Obama will risk losing the election caving and bowing before Zionism. by ignoring a great number of Democrats and Independents who are fed up with Israel, Zionism and Zionist-driven foreign policy.
Kalithea says: “Obama will risk losing the election caving and bowing before Zionism. by ignoring a great number of Democrats and Independents who are fed up with Israel, Zionism and Zionist-driven foreign policy.”
Well, it could all be a good thing. First off, I don’t think it’ll cost him votes, and secondly, I don’t think it actually matters much if the Democratic Party platform includes a plank calling for the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
On the other hand, we did get an impressive display of just how widespread at least a degree of anti-Israel sentiment is among the delegates — and hopefully, seeing their voice trampled on like this will energize them.
This could be a very, very phyrric victory for the Zionists. They didn’t make a bunch of new friends today.
Major shifts are slow, creeping, painful, but titanic in the end. It is only in the end that a politician will respond to save his/her place.
“It is only in the end that a politician will respond to save his/her place.”
By then it will be too late.
It’s going to crack in Israel before it does it in the US. Israeli success is built on several stools- Israeli discipline, US corruption, Palestinian weakness and Arab compliance. None of these are guaranteed any longer.
Israeli Jews actually have to live in Bibiland. It’s their kids who are going to live in the wreckage. For certain Americans “Isreal” may be a passion but they can always switch over to the football or the Kardashians when it gets messy. Israeli Jews especially the poor don’t have that luxury.
Zionism is into the existential phase.
think you are right But how to muffle or tie up half the crowd. Going to be difficult
oh PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!! the majority clearly voted no, it’s very audible in the video. that obama intervened to ensure it went through is only going to further enrage the entire ME, probably incite more terrorist attacks against us. zionism is an existential threat to peace, to this whole planet.
As a matter of fact, the original discourse could have been written by a software, programmed to tell the daily diplomatic rubbish in favour of Israel. In any case, it had been assembled as a lot less than necessary to pretend to follow a path of justice without pandering the Israel Lobby’s desires.
The usual Obama.
But the champion now, is the fraudulent “add on” about Jerusalem. Luckily, you can read it from left to right and viceversa, it is the same, it makes no sense at all.
….. and what status has a Party Platform after all????
A POTUS is not bound by it during his presidential term –
not to speak his second term!
….. and what status has a Party Platform after all????
This stuff has been a regular feature of party platforms all along:
Similar protests by the governments of Syria, Egypt, et al are registered on the following pages.
– See the 1944 FRUS link to digicoll.library.wisc.edu
In contrast, an official statement of US government policy on de facto recognition of the State of Israel issued in 1948 contained a footnote citing the text of the party platforms on Israel, which stated that it was a given that both would be essentially identical:
– See the 1948 FRUS link to digicoll.library.wisc.edu
I love it. Chuck and Debbie can be counted on in the lurch.
“We continue to support, within the framework of the United Nations, the internationalization of Jerusalem and the protection of the holy places in Palestine,” declared Truman on October 24, 1948.
In his last visit to Jerusalem as a guest of Israel, Truman spoke of the vision of Jerusalem as a united and universal city.
That idea is an anathema to Zionism. And apparently to the Democratic party of today as well.
When Israel wanted to move of its Foreign Ministry to Jerusalem, the Eisenhower administration spared no words stating in a July 9th, 1952, aide-memoir that “the Government of the United States has adhered and continues to adhere to the policy that there should be a special international regime for Jerusalem which will not only provide protection for the holy places but which will be acceptable to Israel and Jordan as well as the world community.”
No wonder the US has no credibility in that part of the world. Whatever…..
I am amazed at how long this story has held the front and center spot at Huff Po. Change is in the air on the convention floor and Obama just seems to not be paying attention. Pathetic
Are there voice-o-meters..vote-meter experts to actually somehow measure the response. The L.A. Mayor said that it was a 2/3 yes vote. Not even close.
This has been reported in both the Guardian and the Telegraph…both papers said the voice vote was NAY. I can ‘t find any source that isn’t reporting the Nays carried it but were overruled. Bloggers who were on the floor when it took place also agree the Nays had it.
The vote sounded even to me. Certainly the ayes didn’t have a 2/3′s majority. It reminds me of the days when Mayor Daly dictated what happened at the Democratic convention. I am sure someone at home has a decibel meter. I’d love to hear how it reads on the two votes.
Would love to know who the Mayor looked at for support or direction and what they said. If only the camera would have spanned the crowd more say to members of congress who are owned by the I lobby…oh that would be almost all of them.
Pathetic, but totally predictable. I was driving and heard on the radio that the platform was being changed and I knew what it was before they announced it. On a practical level I’m not sure it matters since Israel will just do whatever it wants, as usual. A part of me wants to just not vote this election.
RE: “Dems buckle, will add language to party platform referring to Jerusalem as Israel’s capital”
MY COMMENT: According to the PBS News Hour it required three voice votes before the chairman felt safe in saying it had passed (and he still seemed very defensive).
At the very least, it was extremely close.
In the process, AIPAC, Dershowitz and the rest of the lobby have made more than a few enemies with this.
RE: “In the process, AIPAC, Dershowitz and the rest of the lobby have made more than a few enemies with this [making a big deal about the Jerusalem plank].” – me (above)
FROM WIKIPEDIA [Narcissism]:
SOURCE – link to en.wikipedia.org
P.S. ALSO RE: “In the process, AIPAC, Dershowitz and the rest of the lobby have made more than a few enemies with this [making a big deal about the Jerusalem plank].” – me (above)
FROM GLENN GREENWALD, 9/05/12:
SOURCE – link to commondreams.org
RE: “According to the PBS News Hour it required three voice votes before the chairman felt safe in saying it had passed (and he still seemed very defensive).” – me (above)
ALSO SEE: “Discord over Democrats’ language on Jerusalem”, by Al Jazeera, 9/06/12
Convention leaders forced to call voice vote three times to declare the city to be Israel’s capital in party platform.
LINK – link to aljazeera.com
P.S. FROM Jason Ditz, Antiwar.com, 9/05/12: [EXCERPT] “. . . And while the Republicans were chastising Democrats for not having that language in their platform in the first place, it was eventually discovered, because apparently they didn’t check first, that the Republican platform did the same thing, removing a 2008 promise to endorse Jerusalem as the “undivided capital” as well as removing a promise to move the embassy. . . “
SOURCE – link to news.antiwar.com
HuffPo’s headline:
“Democrats’ Efforts To Reinsert ‘God’ And ‘Jerusalem’ Into Platform Met With Loud Opposition.”
Another HuffPo headline:
“Anderson Cooper On Debbie Wasserman Schultz: ‘Alternate Reality’ (VIDEO)”
link to huffingtonpost.com
The Ha’aretz spin is very interesting. They mention boos but not the stitch up
link to haaretz.com
“CHARLOTTE – Democrats voted to change their convention platform to add a mention of God and declare that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
The move came after criticism from Republicans, the pro-Israel lobby, and several prominent democrats.
Many in the audience booed after the convention chairman, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, ruled that the amendments was approved despite the fact that many delegates objected.”
and the video just shows the last vote
link to youtube.com
the right wing zionist lobby…
destroying american democracy one vote at a time.
also ensuring peace is not remotely possible, one vote at a time.
(often the votes are bought and bullied, but this time, the votes weren’t even bothered with, only the use of a lackey to blatantly disregard reality)
however, i actually LOVE events like this. the only way the lobby will collapse is through overreach. this is another nail in the coffin, as people stand up and say “WTF was that about?????”
“‘the only way the lobby will collapse is through overreach. this is another nail in the coffin, as people stand up and say “WTF was that about?????”
..mous
I agree mous…but when that happens I am afraid the US will have the proverbial ‘nothing left to lose’.
That video looks like the death knell for Israel.
What happens when people start saying the emperor has no clothes?
That this “Jerusalem is the Capital of Israel” directive came from Obama should clear up any questions about Obama’s plans for I/P during his his next term (if he wins).
the democrats collapsed rather than engage the enemy in a struggle that they could have won.
sensing they’ve drawn blood the republicans are going to push obama even harder by demanding that he issue iran an ultimatum such as “you either open up your nuclear facilities to inspections or it’s going to be bombs away.”
is there any doubt as to whether obama will comply with their demand?
the public will have no difficulty spotting such an obvious weakling, and there will go obama’s chances for a second term. what’s more he’ll lose by a landslide and republicans will grab both the house of representatives and the senate.
if only he had even one ball
which reminds me of a ww ii limerick -
hitler has only got one ball
goering has two but they’re too small
himmler is slightly similar
but goebbels has no balls at all
Ugh. I was going to vote Jill Stein because I’m in a solidly blue state so I could afford to vote in principle, but I was going to give a bit of money to the democrats so they can compete in tighter races. Now I won’t. If Romney and Ryan come into office, well I’m fucked anyway, whats another four years of going from one dead end job to another?
No way was that a 2/3 majority.
I noticed after the first “vote” he started “in the opinion of” then cut himself off and said let me do that again. He was going to announce the no’s have it and was obviously stopped from doing so!
So, both parties have a plank in their platform that recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. I seem to recall that idea as having been there for a while, no?
If the two of them have had that plank, and yet neither of them have ever given recognition to that plank when in power, then what is the point of their ‘platform’?
Is it the nice fluffy thing that’s said in order to be ignored? Or the mean and nasty thing that is also said in order to be ignored.
The Democratic Party blog TPM has this story: link to 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com
What I found interesting is that the over whelming number of commentators are attacking TPM for bringing up this story. They are saying ignore the platform, focus on party unity or whatever. These guys know at some level that Israel is the mad aunt hidden in the attic and it is impolite to bring it into the public.
There are a lot of I-firsters that pose as dems and progressives..and I do mean pose…and they inhabit a lot of liberal sites.
There are also a lot of dumb people who don’t understand that if the US doesn’t get it’s foreign policy right there isn’t going to be anything ‘domestic’ left to fight over.
There are a lot of I-firsters that pose as dems and progressives..and I do mean pose…and they inhabit a lot of liberal sites.
Tell me about it. That’s why I rarely bother looking at those sites anymore.
DNC votes just as scripted as RNC’s: Delegates voices are equally ignored
link to youtube.com
Above Link has been changed by uploader: link to youtube.com
Petition: AIPAC MUST REGISTER AS FOREIGN AGENT!
link to thepetitionsite.com
link to tinyurl.com
On the bright side, at least Obama has not yet officially conceded Wash. D.C. as the other indivisible and eternal capital of the Likud.
Adam, the real issue is that there was no 2/3 Yes for this move. Three times.
The earth moved under our feet. The fact that this was not all ready in the language that the vote was even close or the strong possibility that the nays actually won. We need a sound o meter. That clip is going to be played over and over again. Such a tough moment for the Mayor. But he eventually bowed. Wonder who yelled at him 2/3rds. Someone had to tell him to say that. He was so stuck and dazed.
Oh cool, one state from the Mediterranean to the Jordan with Jerusalem as its capitol. May the Holy Land and all the people living in it now be integrated. And may all the Palestinian refugees and Jewish exiles have the right of return. It can all work out. In my dreams.
By the way, I heard something very similar happened to Ron Paul at the RNC this year. He was scheduled to speak at it because he had enough delegates, but wasn’t allowed to: at the convention the leadership changed the rules. However, the change in the rules didn’t have enough support to change it, but the leadership changed it anyway. One of the leaders was going to object, but his bus was prevented from coming to the convention, and circled the convention 3 times without being let in.
More Hasbarology.This time from hasbara HQ in Tennessee.
Sample of the standard twisting of facts or rather changing of Facts to fiction.
“It was Arab nations that rejected the U.N. partition of Palestine into an Arab and Jewish state in 1947 and instead launched a war to drive Jews from the Middle East.
Tennessee Voices: Writer ‘off-base’ on Israel policy
the Author Mark Freedman dishes up the usual rehashed tripe.
link to tennessean.com
On the cover of the Onion (do they ever make fun of the situation?)
Voted for on the floor of the Dem Convention. D.C. being moved to Tel Aviv. Plenty of nays in the crowd but ignored. Israel and the I lobby demand it
A joke. A suggestion for the Onion. Do they ever touch this issue? Who controls their strings?
Obama is a one term one trick pony -saw that in bill clintons eyes-now that could be something A hilary clinton for president nomination here it comes you just watch said jonny
Some background on Villaraigosa and Israel from 2009:
“Villaraigosa Backs Israeli Military Operations in Gaza”
link to nbclosangeles.com
It appears to me that “special interests” are trying to force Obama’s hand. “A Jewish official speaking on background said that at least three American Israel Public Affairs Committee officials were present during the entire period when the platform was drafted last month in Minneapolis. Other Democratic and Jewish officials confirmed AIPAC’s participation in the process.” -JTA 9/5/2012
MJ Rosenberg doesn’t put the blame on Obama.
“Ignore the cover story that Obama requested the AIPAC language. That is a lie and spin. Even if he did “request” it, it is because returned money man Rahm Emanuel told him he had too.”
link to mjayrosenberg.com
Could be the 2 arabs the camera panned too are “special interest” or is that coincidental