Trapped Democrats Can't Decide on Netanyahu Speech

[Purveyor]

Feb 25, 2015 12:11 PM EST
By Josh Rogin & Eli Lake

Caught between their party loyalty to President Barack Obama and the popularity of Israel in Congress, most Senate Democrats refuse to say whether they will attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress next week.

When Netanyahu addresses lawmakers March 3 to talk about the threat of the Iranian nuclear program and his objections to the deal being negotiated in Geneva, Republicans will attend with enthusiasm. But there could be scores of empty seats on the Democratic aisle, which House Speaker John Boehner would have to fill with staffers. Democrats are unsure if they will stage a boycott in protest of the way the speech came about, with Boehner and Netanyahu intentionally keeping their plans from the White House.

Compounding the pressure on Democrats is that thousands of supporters of Israel will be in Washington and Capitol Hill this weekend for the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which is urging members to lobby their representatives to go to the speech.

We spoke with almost a dozen Democratic Senators Tuesday who said they still haven’t decided. Among them is Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein of California, who wrote a letter (with Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin of Illinois) Monday to Netanyahu asking him to meet Democrats separately in their offices while he is Washington.

“I won’t make a decision on that for a while,” she told us, insisting there was no organized Democratic boycott. “But it does mean that I would like an opportunity to sit down and talk to him rather than listening to a speech of red lines. It isn’t a boycott, its individuals making up their own minds. There is no boycott.”

more...

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-02-25/trapped-democrats-can-t-decide-on-netanyahu-speech

[Autumn]

1. They aren't trapped. They just can't come right out and say who they serve.

It's called a lack of spine and the inability to do the right thing. Which is a description that sadly enough fits too many democrats.

[yeoman6987]

2. 25 are definitely sitting it out. Hopefully a few more will follow

[bemildred]

3. Bullshit. nt

[old guy]

4. Not trapped at all.

This is an up or down decision. If they support the government of Israel over the government of the US, they should by all means attend. If not they should not be in attendance. Simple choice. No trap there.