J.C. Polanco, Esq., MBA
Bibi Netanyahu: America’s Friend In The Middle East
Nothing gets ultra-left Democrats more excited that an imaginary disrespect of the President Obama’s powers over made up protocol. Speaker John Boehner invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to address the Congress. As Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Boehner serves the entire House of Representatives and is third line to succession for the Presidency. As such, he is a national leader capable of inviting guests of his choosing to address Members of Congress
Yes, our ally was in the midst of a tough reelection, one that Israeli news media reported Netanyahu won decisively last night. [Note: Netanyahu is widely expected to form a governing coalition and remain Prime Minister of Israel.] But are Democrats crafting a new rule that our House of Representatives cannot host foreign dignitaries in the middle of democratic election and without the express consent of the President? Yet, while in the midst of his own presidential re-election in 2012, President Obama visited many countries.
Would Democrats prefer inviting a foreign head of state who ruled without facing elections at all? The truth is that members of her conference once rolled out the red carpet for those that were in fact enemies and sworn antagonists and hateful of our country. Readers may recall the star-studded affairs held for unelected despots, Fidel Castro and the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. There were no boycott discussions from Democratic ranks then.
Much was said about House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s tears over the speech inviting the belief that she was appalled. Many in her conference boycotted the speech as if the Prime Minister was a sworn enemy of the U.S.
Many Democrats, including our own Senator Chuck Schumer, attended that speech proving that there was a bipartisan spirit to the welcoming of Prime Minister Netanyahu. So, why did Pelosi have tears of anger for Prime Minister Netanyahu?
Prime Minister Netanyahu was magnanimous in thanking President Obama for his support of Israel and continued to thank both Democrats and Republicans for their assistance in the region. However, he delivered the appalling news that so many on the left including our President did not want to hear, “IRAN IS NOT OUR FRIEND.”
We learned from our ally, Bibi that Iran and ISIS are simply fighting each other to determine which extremist militant anti-Semites will run the region. We learned that the spiritual and political leaders of Iran have publicly spewed their hate of Jews and Israel. That those vile leaders have used social media to express how convenient it is to have all the Jews in Israel, so that they would not have to hunt them down around the globe. We were reminded that our Jewish brothers and sisters are experiencing incredible hostilities in the region with many of their neighbors wanting to see its demise.
What part of that merits mockery, anger and disgust? Does the protocol of informing the President of the invitation worth all this? Really? Did the President consult his executive orders with the Speaker? That would be great in a political environment where respect was mutually recognized.
What made that fiasco so truly sad was President Obama taking the opportunity to embarrass an Israeli head of state. The President refused to meet Prime Minister Netanyahu. Yet, our President finds the time to meet the World Series, Super Bowl and NBA champs but could not take a few minutes for our champion in the Middle East — the world’s most dangerous neighborhood.
It’s our good fortune that the people of democratic Israel voted to keep Bibi Netanyahu and his Likud-led coalition government in power.
Juan Carlos “J.C.” Polanco, a former Bronx Commissioner and President of the NYC Board of Elections, is an attorney, the NYC Regional Director for the State Assembly Minority Leader and teaches at the City University of New York. J.C. appears regularly on NY1 Inside City Hall, Pura Politica, CNN, Fox News, Bronxnet Open and Univision 41.
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