How can you tell when someone is lying to you? When he or she says one thing but does another. That is the case with Democratic convention platform. Haven’t you heard?
Needled by Mitt Romney and other Republicans, Democrats hurriedly rewrote their convention platform Wednesday to add a mention of God and declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel after President Barack Obama intervened to order the changes.
http://news.yahoo.com/democrats-change-platform-add-god-jerusalem-211928...
It’s fraudulent; it is just a show, designed as an illusion to entice certain segments of the population to either vote for Democrats or keep voting for Democrats. Which segment exactly? Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post explains (notice the group it hurts, and you will deduce the group the Democrats tried to reconnect with):
"Widely seen in pro-Israel circles as an embarrassment for the Obama campaign and a battle that needlessly rekindled mistrust of the administration by pro-Israel groups." http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/the-democrats-jerusa...
It does not change the reality on the ground, which is that:
US embassy remains in Tel Aviv pending an agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians on “final status” issues.
And,
The State Department made clear on Thursday that whatever the Democratic Party platform might say, US foreign policy had not changed.
“Long-standing administration policy, both in this administration and in previous administrations across both parties, is that the status of Jerusalem is an issue that should be resolved in final status negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians,” a spokesman, Patrick Ventrell, said.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/06/democrats-insist-jerusalem-omissio...
Such a statement hides a grim reality however. That reality is that it is very hard to negotiate the status of Jerusalem, when Israel unilaterally annexed all of it (both West and East Jerusalem):
In 1980, the Knesset passed the Jerusalem Law, which declared that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Jerusalem
Even though East Jerusalem is occupied territory.
If anything this declaration simply reinforces Israel's illegal takeover of East Jerusalem, in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 478:
Affirms that the enactment of the "basic law" by Israel constitutes a violation of international law and does not affect the continued application of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since June 1967, including Jerusalem;
http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/DDE590C6FF232007852560DF0065FDDB
So the choices are (1). It is a lie or (2). Complicity in illegality. Is there a lesser of two evils somewhere here?
Comments
I'm going to ask the Wizard for a Spine..........
Ok, so the Republican platform says that they want no abortions period, without any exceptions for rape. The villagers say, well that's something but it's not too big a deal. Granted, it did get coverage but not to the degree of say, Obama's attendance at Rev.Wright's church. Seriously, the press really gave the Republicans a pass on their no exception for rape platform. Now the Democrats come along and drop the word God (cause you know not everyone is a believer so why alienate potential supporters?) and they drop the Jerusalem as the capital part of the platform. I agree with dropping the reference to God and I agree with dropping the reference to Jerusalem as the capital and I think most Democrats would also agree with both of those changes. However, in the face of media scrutiny the Democratic party once again proved they are spineless. Did the Republicans reverse themselves on their insane no exception for rape platform? Nope. The media yelled boo and the Democratic party immediately began trying to please people who would never vote for them no matter what they put in their platform. Cowardly politics is never rewarded.
Trying to please people that will never or seldom vote for them
Jewish-Americans are overwhelmingly liberal and tend to votes for Democratic candidates on mass, so this seems to be aimed at another segment of the population, mostly Pro-Israel Christians and/or Conservative Jews
We have seen this time after time after time
It's hard to know how much of it is response to media, which is just as you have described, conservative. The Dems play the role to perfection--always ready to cave and call it compromise. Dems express outraged indignation at all the crazy things the Reps are doing, but they don't stop it. I've seen this show a thousand times.
And thanks to Shawn for the well-organized essay. That really lays it out in stark terms.
Thank you for your kind words
I really appreciate that
This is why a blue-green movement cannot be ...
... organized as a faction of the Democratic Party ~ party establishments tend to be spineless in the face of a strong pushback from the incumbent President in their party. They automatically lose people they thought were on their side once the President puts out the word, and the erstwhile supports of the issue say "we don't want to risk the re-election".
The Republican party establishment was just as spineless with George Bush, but the radical reactionary movement that labels itself the "conservative" movement has a substantial organizational base outside the Republican party, and it has somewhere to stand to push back against Republican politicians that don't toe the line.
pandering to one special interest group at expense of another
Pandering to so called Pro Israel Christian Americans who must have the Jerusalem is the capital platform position before they will cast their vote for a Democratic candidate would alienate the Arab Americans who would be offended by that position. It's generally best to not pander. Inclusive is usually better than exclusive. However, when a position is adopted then it should be adhered to until evidence is presented that the position is wrong. This was a spineless move that has the potential of costing important Arab American votes in the State of Michigan.
And while that might be ...
... damage done down-ballot in Michigan, it seems likely that the Presidential campaign decided Florida is a bigger deal than Michigan.
while that might be true
I really don't see the likelihood that a Jewish American who would be offended at the removal of the Jerusalem portion of the platform would be mollified at the deftless way in which it was reinserted. I mean it defys logic to think that someone who was initally offended at it's removal would then say, oh, it's back, ok, that was a close call, now I'll vote for you again. However, I can see how an Arab American would be offended at the entire process. It is extremely important that the democratic party retake control of Michigan (at the State level, I mean). The tea party has turned the state into a battle ground for their dangerous ideas. I believe that you are in Ohio, correct? Kasich looks like Lenin compared to Snyder (gov of Michigan). Honestly, I don't think there was any real thought into putting Jerusalem back into the platform. I think you are being far too generous (unless you have read something that I have not seen about the Democratic party thinking they would pick up Florida by putting Jerusalem back in the platform) in seeing actual strategy on behalf of the party. I don't think they acted out of anything except fear. Like dogs, voters can smell fear, and like dogs, they don't respect fear.
From the polls I have seen
The majority of Jewish-Americans want a two state solution, so I don't think they would mind if Jerusalem remained omitted from the Convention Platform. It doesn't alter the reality on the ground i.e., American embassy in Tel Aviv
my point entirely
I concur with you 100%.
I'm skeptical about the proportion of voters ...
... who haven't yet made up their minds who follow the play by play on things like that.
As far as the percentage of persuadable voters in which swing states that care, and the percentage of decided voters who can be persuaded to just give the Presidential election a pass .. I dunno. I don't follow low level detail like that myself.
Well done, Shawn.
If he hadn't already lost my vote long ago, his personal interference to add recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would have done it. East Jerusalem is occupied territory where war crimes are being committed almost daily in the form of theft of privately-owned land and homes, and eviction of the occupied by the occupier from his own land. Our very SUPPORT of Israel amounts to "complicity in illegality", and makes the United States complicit to each and every war crime committed by the Zionists. That Obama has, once again, caved to the demands of the right-wing extremists known as the GOP, is proof beyond doubt, to me, that he no longer deserves to serve as President of the United States. Of course, neither does Romney, which leaves us with a catch-22. Damned if we do, damned if we don't. Or, in short, we're just damned.
And imagine what it must be like to be a Palestinian right now. The superpower that is supposed to be impartially fostering a negotiated peace between two equal states is now taking an official position, laid out in BOTH parties official platforms, on the Israeli side of the Jerusalem question. How can the United States now be seen as impartial in any way? Obama has trashed the last vestige of impartiality we had left with this action. We can no longer be trusted to solve the I/P crisis or work for peace in the region. We can no longer be trusted to stand with the victims of war crimes against their oppressors.
Indeed, in more ways than one, we ARE the oppressor.
Exactly so
A way of viewing Obama that has been highly predictive to me is as a person whose job it is to neuter the left by hook and by crook while instituting the same old policies the imperial strategists have been pursuing for many years. Iow, I don't see it as a cave or a betrayal, I see it as what he went to Washington to accomplish. He's not debating these issues then coming to a conclusion--he's looking for a way to follow the neocon game plan while keeping from awaking the hypnotized populace. Considerations of war crimes never even enter the actual decision-making process. This is who the U.S. is and the election charade as it currently exists will have zero impact on this fact.
Very possible.
Would certainly explain the continuation of Bush-era policies he criticized as a candidate, and things like putting entitlements on the table. He's either the "smartest man in the room" and involved in a conspiracy as you describe, or he's simply spineless like so many other Democratic leaders. Either way, it doesn't bode well for progressives.
Hey DownSouth
I did not know you were a member of VOTS! Glad to see you and thank you.
Thanks, Shawn.
I've been a member for a while...just been lurking and reading, mostly. Can't seem to break the habit of going to...erm...that other place. Even though it drives my blood pressure up, lol. I've been meaning to get involved more here, though. I can't even tell you how nice it is to be on a progressive site that isn't in full worship mode for Dear Leader.
Welcome to VotS.
We're very happy to have you here.
You kind of cut to the chase as to why this site was created: We worship no one -- just serious and passionate about policies and issues no matter who is or is not implementing them.
Tipped & rec'd. .
I think that's why we're really an oligarchy as opposed to a plutocracy or a corporatocracy, etc. Although the lines cross of course.
As to whether there's a lesser of two evils ...
... in setting the actual policy of the administration against the party platform ...
... and the party platform is not an actual policy platform. I doubt there is anything in the Democratic party platform that proposes giving the Syrian rebels enough support to keep the Syrian regime in a civil war, but not enough to win and proceed to take power. Yet that vicious, cynical policy may well be the actual policy being carried out.
So for me, having their party platform lie about their actual policy is, where the actual policy is not as bad as it could be, that'd be a lesser evil right there.
Thanks everyone for your continued support
You make me feel at home