By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
Updated 3/2 @ 5:50 p.m.
The Hill published an updated roll call late Monday afternoon, Save Jerseyans, and the list of Democrat abstentions is up to 53.
New Jersey specific news:
- Definitely Attending: Donald Norcross (D, NJ-1), Cory Booker (D-Twitter) and Bob Menendez (D-Ecuador, Dominican Republic)
- Definitely Skipping: Bonnie Watson Coleman (D, NJ-12)
- On the Fence: Donald Payne (D, NJ-10)
Original Post
As of this writing we know of 34 congressional Democrats (30 House members and 4 senators) who are skipping Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Tuesday address on Capitol Hill. Their resistance coincides with the revelation of an explosive allegation: that President Obama threatened to shoot down Israeli warplanes en route to bomb Iranian targets.
Some of the protesting Democrats are just straight up, old school, unapologetic anti-Semites, Save Jerseyans; others are so hopelessly ideological that they can’t appreciate the hypocrisy of having supported successive, egregious, unilateral and unconstitutional Obama power grabs BUT deciding Congress isn’t allowed to play any meaningful role in America’s foreign policy. It’s a little of both in many cases, I suspect.
No New Jersey Democrats are on that list. For now.
There are a few potential candidates. In January 2010, Reps. Bill Pascrell (D, NJ-8) and Donald Payne (D, NJ-10) stood with 52 other House Democrats calling on President Obama to advocate for an end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza. Payne was recently joined by Bonnie Watson Coleman (D, NJ-12) asking Speaker Boehner to postpone PM Netanyahu’s speech.
We’d like to remind each and every New Jersey federal official, especially those on the Democrat side of the aisle, that this is a time for choosing. History will judge how you behave in the coming days. Are you going to side with Neville Obama and his Iranian “Rasputin” Valerie Jarrett and their failed policies aimed at appeasement? Or our only stable, democratic ally in the Middle East surrounded by enemies including ISIS, in case you’ve forgotten, which continues its rapid expansion in the region?
Think about it. And choose wisely.
Since Obama is such a fan of ancient history (i.e. crusades), lets go back a few more centuries when the Israelites occupied the land, until exiled by the Romans. I think that was a little before Gaza’s time.
But back on topic….since Obama’s candidacy, it has been known that he was not supportive of Israel. So nothing new here. Granted Congress did not abide by protocol, which is only tradition not a law. Considering they did not “check it out” with Obama, who seems to have difficulty in following the laws of this country, but gets testy over not being asked first…I support stepping outside of protocol. Israel has managed to keep its fairly safe from it enemies and we could learn much from them on how to protect ourselves. They know far more about the threats from Iran.
For me, another check mark on the negative for our elected NJ officials in D.C. One day (may I live to see it), NJ voters will smarten up in their selection of representatives.
Bibi was a cheerleader for the Iraq war lies and it looks like more of the same on Iran.
Of course they will…..socialists all
I emailed both Democratic NJ Senators urging them to attend the speech as well as my Republican Congessman. Corey Booker has not responded. HERE IS BOB MENENDEZ’S RESPONSE: Dear Friend,
Thank you for taking the time to contact me. Your comments are very important to me, and I wanted to confirm with you that I have received your message. All communications I receive are registered and sorted by my office, and I will try to respond to you as quickly as possible.
If you have contacted me about an individual issue that you are having with a federal or state agency that requires immediate assistance please contact my Newark, NJ office directly at 973-645-3030.
Sincerely,
Senator Bob Menendez HERE IS TOM MACARTHUR’S RESPONSE:
Dear Mrs. Billmeyer,
Thank you for contacting me regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress on March 3, 2015.
As you know, the Minority Leader and some Members of Congress have expressed concerns regarding a possible “breach of protocol” by House Speaker John Boehner, for not informing the President of the invitation.
There is a long-standing tradition of inviting world leaders to address Congress, and that falls under the purview of the Speaker of the House. In fact, foreign leaders from nearly fifty different countries have addressed joint sessions of Congress on more than one hundred different occasions. In particular, Prime Ministers of Israel have addressed Congress four times, with Prime Ministers Yitzak Rabin and Benjamin Netanyahu each having done so twice.
Israel is our most stable and reliable ally in the Middle East and the people of Israel deserve to know that America is committed to their security and democratic way of life. As such, I support Speaker Boehner’s decision to invite Prime Minister Netanyahu to speak before Congress. However, I understand and appreciate the opinion of those who disagree.
Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts on this issue. If you’d like to stay updated on my work in Congress, I’d encourage you to sign up for my newsletter by clicking here. You can also visit my website, Facebook page, and Twitter profile for more information. For any questions, concerns, or thoughts, please feel free to call my office at 202-225-4765. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Tom MacArthur
Member of Congress
Bibi is the courageous and zealous defender of the last outpost of civilization in a region immersed in Mohammedan savagery. You, on the other hand, are clueless and stupid.
I doubt it they get away with everything. Bunch of criminals robbing us blind