Will Warren and Sanders undermine President Obama and attend Netanyahu's address to Congress?

[Cali_Democrat]

This will be a big test for them IMO, especially if they have ambitions of a 2016 Presidential run.

Both Senators consistently vote to fund Israel. Many voters within the Democratic party oppose this kind of blind support for Israel. Last year, Warren and Sanders caught hell in town halls for this support.

Both were also big supporters of Israel's recent invasion of Gaza.

Will these two finally stand up to the GOP and Netanyahu? Or will they continue to grovel before Israel and slap Obama in the face?

This is a test.

So Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren are all in agreement when it comes to Israel

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025310002

[Rex]

1. How does that help them in 2016? Obama can't run again.

I don't see how undermining the POTUS helps them in any way, shape or form. Seems like it would be a stupid move, to me, politically.

[1StrongBlackMan]

12. I'm suppose ...

many (Democrats) think they can't win the Democratic nomination (General Election) without the support of the Jewish American vote. Attending the speech, while problematic for me, is not so much of a slap in President Obama's face; but rather, a show of support for Israel (in the form of Netanyahu).

This is probably true; but, the question remains ... how much of the Jewish-American electorate supports Netanyahu presentation of Israeli interests, over President Obama's presentation of US interests.

[Rex]

13. Good question.

No doubt some think tank has that answer already. Still, going against Obama just to score cheap political points seems beneath people like Warren and Sanders (imo). Or maybe I am just hoping that is true.

[Scuba]

23. Well, there's this ...

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2014/1106/Going-against-Netanyahu-84-percent-of-US-Jews-favor-Iran-nuclear-deal

The survey found that 84 percent of American Jews would favor either strongly or somewhat a deal with Iran that would alleviate tough sanctions on the Iranian economy in exchange for Iran’s agreement to limit its nuclear program to civilian purposes and accept inspectors at its nuclear facilities.

[1StrongBlackMan]

25. That is encouraging, but unfortunately doesn't speak to the question ...

remember 2014? Americans voted to increase minimum wages AND voted in Governors that opposed raising the minimum wage, and in one case, a Governor that is on record opposing ANY minimum wage.

[Scuba]

27. It strongly suggests that Jewish-Americans won't shun candidates who stand up to Bibi.

[1StrongBlackMan]

29. I repeat ...

remember 2014? Americans voted to increase minimum wages AND voted in Governors that opposed raising the minimum wage, and in one case, a Governor that is on record opposing ANY minimum wage.

[Scuba]

30. Comparing apples to automobiles.

[1StrongBlackMan]

32. I don't see how ...

please explain how these are dissimilar.

[msongs]

2. attending the event does not undermine obama. it's not their argument nt

[Cali_Democrat]

3. It does indeed undermine Obama and the Iran nuclear negotiations. nt

[karynnj]

7. Yes and no - imagine they go, do not applaud his Iran comments and then put

out statements on why they disagree with Netanyahu and hope that the world can find a diplomatic agreement - rather than end up with the war Netanyahu wants for us to undertake.

[Cali_Democrat]

5. This...

Apparently you've been living under a rock

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014994075

[HappyMe]

6. Good grief!

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

8. I certainly am less than thrilled by either Senator's stance on Israel

but it's certainly in line with the stance of pretty much every member of Congress. I think there is what, maybe one Rep who criticizes Israel when they kill a few thousand Palestinians?

It certainly would be nice if these two would be willing to break with the party stance of constant sucking up to Israel.

[1StrongBlackMan]

14. I, admittedly, don't follow US/Israeli politics ...

much less Jewish-American/US/Israeli politics; but from what I read, here and elsewhere, Netanyahu's position seems to be:

"I will protect Israel at all costs ... even if I have to blow up the entire world, including Israel, to do so ... so long as we get our enemies first."

If that is the case, that is not a leader we should be supporting.

[davidn3600]

19. But Israel has a right to defend itself

If Russia launched nuclear weapons at us....we are launching nukes at them, even if it destroys the rest of the world in the process.

If Iran does develop nuclear weapons and uses them against Israel, Israel would have every right to attack.

Israel isn't going to attack Iran first, because then they know they won't have America's support anymore....which they need in the UN.

[1StrongBlackMan]

21. True, every nation has the 1st right to self-defense ...

that is unquestioned.

Israel isn't going to attack Iran first, because then they know they won't have America's support anymore....which they need in the UN.

I suspect that is why he's scheduled to speak before Congress, to build/present the case for the US to attack/allow Israel to attack Iran.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

9. i think you people want these people to commit career suicide

by wishing they would take a no-win situation. They would lose both the left and the right on the one foreign stand most Americans agree with, which is Israel is unimpeachable and cannot under any circumstances be criticized or insulted.

so no, they won't make career ending moves.

[Capt. Obvious]

24. No, they just get their jollies posting these threads

There's a word for it that's slipping my mind at the moment.

[olddots]

11. no

No

[Number23]

15. Excellent discussion, Cali. I didn't even see your OP from last year

[Warren Stupidity]

16. Will Hillary Clinton ever stop beating her wife?

[BillZBubb]

17. I would hope neither attend or any of the entire Democratic membership

[ananda]

18. Sanders is Jewish and Warren is probably..

.. more Republican in her foreign policy views, while
more liberal and Democratic economically and socially.

[Thinkingabout]

20. Bernie will just have another Christie moment where he can yell "Shut up" when

Ask about attending.

[herding cats]

22. I think both are opposed to imposing more sanctions on Iran.

Which is what's important here. We need their votes, along with enough from other Democrats to reject an override. Everything else is just theater. It's how they vote that matters now.

This whole move by Netanyahu and Boehner could actually end up helping Obama's Iran talks by making it difficult for some Dem senators to cross the partisan line drawn to support sanctions.

[99Forever]

26. Pathetic.

[onenote]

28. Has the President asked that Democratic members not attend?

[Bluenorthwest]

31. This is ultra daft. Warren was a Republican from Nixon through Bush. Why the expectation that her

foreign policy would be wildly liberal? Bernie Sanders is Jewish, he's not going to play snit fit games over such a petty thing. The folks who are simmering over this on DU all of them are wildly excited about the Pope bringing his anti gay, anti choice religious message to the Congress. None of them even think about Americans who are denigrated by that man, nor about Members of Congress who are called disordered by that man, nor about Members who are not a part of that religious sect who might not really want to be be subjected to harsh and intolerant rhetoric that is for the most part diametrically opposed to the Democratic Platform.
So once everyone cheered for speeches by hate preachers in the Congress, the idea of getting upset because a head of State is talking to Congress seems silly and also bigoted in two directions.
Boehner invited two right wingers to speak, DU only objects to the one when DU should have objected to both. But if you all support the hateful preacher railing against equality in Congress, then I don't give a shit about the other. At all. Who cares? It's very clearly not my Congress, it's the Pope's.