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Nancy Smith

Obama, Most Anti-Israel President of All-Time; Bill Nelson Goes Stealth for Obamacare

January 7, 2017 - 6:00am

This column is a vehicle for a number of items in a bits-and-pieces, strictly opinion, sometimes irreverent format. Look for "Just Sayin'" to run once a week in this spot.

 

Barack Obama's Anti-Israel Legacy

Many of my colleagues tell me their biggest beef with the Obama administration is the doomed Affordable Care Act.

It's not mine.

For me, the most egregious failure of this administration has been President Obama's determination at every turn to pull the rug out from under the state of Israel.

In his last month in office, the outgoing president takes unfriendly action against the Jewish State to leave his mark on the Middle East.

Sadly, Israel has been right to worry about its increasingly precarious position in the region because as history has proven, Barack Obama has been the most anti-Israel president of all time. Yes, of all time.  Consider --

Obama signed a treaty that enshrines an Iranian path to a nuclear weapon, and in the process hands over tens of billions of dollars to fund Iran's terrorist activities.

Over and over again he belittled Israel's image on the world stage, calling it no more than an outgrowth of the Holocaust, referring to it on several occasions as "an occupier."

He once shooed Benjamin Netanyahu out the side door of the White House, tried to undercut the prime minister's speech to Congress and then had the cheek to deploy a team to Israel to try to defeat him in an election. 

And of course, the coup de grace: Obama stabbing Israel in the back at the United Nations.

Netanyahu isn't perfect, I admit, but he's not the enemy. Please look at the map on this page. Look at the position Israel is in. It stands alone holding the Middle East together. For us.

Thank God for Florida's congressional delegation, most of whom have pushed back hard since the U.N. vote and the United States' failure to veto.

The Obama administration’s last-gasp effort to promote a two-state solution by abandoning Israel at the United Nations is based on a fantasy. It presumes that Hamas, which rules in Gaza, and Fatah, which governs the Palestinian territory on the West Bank, will suddenly join forces and create a unified entity once Israeli settlements are removed.

That presumption is crazy. It ignores Palestinian rejections of prior proposals, most prominently at Camp David with President Clinton. And it ignores the current reality that there already is a Palestinian state in Gaza, where President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority is hardly welcome. Shouldn't realistic policy discussions relate to a three-state outcome?

I want a president who appreciates everything Israel is to the Free World, and to the United States in particular.

I want a president who says and shows the Arab World that Israel is permanent, strong and tough. And that no matter how many U.N. resolutions are passed, the Palestinians' foul dream of eliminating the Jewish state ain't gonna happen. No way, no how.

I want a president who shows Palestinian leaders what they win is release from a perpetual Ground Hog's Day of death, left to focus instead on building their own policy, society, economy, and culture.

After the leadership recognizes this reality, the Palestinian population at large will follow, as will eventually other Arab and Muslim states, leading to a resolution of the conflict. 

I've been wanting to say this for a long time, and since so many of the Florida congressional delegation are rising up to make my case for me, I thought it was time I joined in.

Now, I don't know what the Trumpies are going to do. Their Middle East policies at this point are pretty obscure. But Donald Trump himself adamantly opposed United Nations Resolution 2334 and by choosing David M. Friedman as ambassador to Israel, he at least tells me he's open to a much more favorable approach to Israel than President Obama took.

Sadly, the U.N. resolution, which Obama allowed to pass, calls on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all ‘settlement’ activities in the ‘occupied’ Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.” It was a vote of no-support, no-confidence for Israel. 

This is the parting gift Obama hands the Trump administration, an act that undermines its prospects of advancing peace.

 

Nelson Joins the Behind-Closed-Doors Huddle to Save Obamacare

The future of Obamacare, the president's signature accomplishment during his two terms in the Oval Office, isn't looking bright. Donald Trump made one of his rally cries a promise to dismantle the Affordable Care Act as one of the first orders of business after his inauguration.

That doesn't mean Obama won't go down swinging. But Sen. Bill Nelson?

Apparently Nelson participated in a private, partisan strategy session behind closed doors with President Obama and other pro-Obamacare Democrats to discuss how to protect the failed and expensive health care law they enacted in 2010.

The Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), a conservative non-profit independent 527 political organization, reported on the meeting Wednesday -- and roundly condemned it.

Nelson was one of 60 senators to vote for Obamacare, and has repeatedly voted to keep the law in force despite rising premium costs for Florida families and businesses.

Said SLF spokesman Ian Prior, “While Bill Nelson promotes himself as a bipartisan ‘moderate’ to Floridians, in Washington he’s having back-room partisan meetings with President Obama and other liberals, in a last-ditch effort to save the disastrous health care law they rammed down Floridians’ throats seven years ago.

"That’s the kind of phony politics that Americans rejected in November, and we will make sure Nelson pays a heavy price for his dogmatic support of Obamacare." 

Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmih

Comments

Don't forget Obama's last minute 221 million dollar check to Palestinian Authority despite congressional oversight questions about where the money was going to. A last minute swipe at Israel, and at congress.

The deluded folks in NYC thank Obama & Kerry for their Israel policy. Check out the full page as in the 1/5 NYT. Nancy you are correct. As for Bill Nelson, make him the permanent crew member of the Space Station after his term runs out.

Bill Nelson, when on the stump, continually told us the Republicans were going to take our Social Security away and all the while it was the Democrats. I have no use for Bill Nelson as he speaks like Hillary Clinton. What ever it takes to win.

Israel has been given more money by President Obama than by any other President in our history, only to be belittled and insulted by the Israeli government. The bad relations started with Netanyahu.

Obama didn't 'give' Israel money Congress allocated it. But yes he signed it into law. My question to you if you believe Netanyahu has treated our petulant man child commander-in-chief bad - how are the unicorns in that fantasy world you are living in?

'Behind closed Doors' didn't seem to be a problem for all of you anti-Nelson folks earlier in the week when the Republicans voted to eliminate most of the Ethics Committee. Me thinks there is a double standard.

Yeah, but who "behind-closed-doors" is gonna save "Zippy, the ride-along-rocketeer Nelson" in his 2018 re-election bid??? (He's touched alot of buttons and switches over the last couple years, that he was warned against]. Maybe he should try getting in touch with his constituency for-a-change for the "straight skinny", instead of the Lobbys he embraces, and hopes to be employed by "post Senate" (Hurry up Donald with that 5 year moritorium prohibiting 'Lobby-employment' by failed politicians... [make it 10 years, or even 'Life']

This is a bunch of xenophobic, Islamophobia trash. All lives matter. Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Israeli, Palestinian, American, Syrian, you name it. You cannot pick out one group and say they are totally right and all other people's lives and rights are subservient to them. This is what Hitler did. And as for Senator Nelson - bravo! He is standing up for all of us. Senator Rubio needs to take a lesson or two from Senator Nelson. We need him to stand up to this insane new president that we have.

As a true patriotic American, I had hoped after the disclosure of all the fake news planted on social media to sway the presidential election, then spread through right-wing blogs, websites, Fox, at al, that people who supposedly post news and information about our government and politicians would get a conscience and report factually. But alas, Nancy, you continue to assist Putin's efforts to discredit his opponents by poisoning Americans' minds with lies.

Israel has always offered the two (2) state solution. The response has traditionally been from many Arabs and Palestinians that of their WW II Nazi allies: "Jews and Israel must die." Jews love life like ISIS loves death and that is why the Hebrews out live scores of corrupt empires for thousands of years. Islam was created to stop Arabs from killing each other. Let us all learn this lesson.

Your comment is pure lies. Did you forget Rabin's Oslo Peace Accords? The agreement for a 2-state solution signed by Israel and Palestinian leaders? Just before Rabin was assassinated by an anti-peace radical from Netanyahu's party. Then Netanyahu stepped in and out the window went peace and the two state solution. After Netanyahu's term, attempts for a 2-state solution picked up, but when he won again, they died again. Readers, do your own research.

Diane, maybe we need less fake news from the likes of you. Or maybe you ought to do research. Netanyahu has been a proponent of the 2 state solution, and has even offered to compromise more than any previous Prime Minister. In fact, when Obama first engaged in Middle East peace attempts, Netanyahu committed to a UNILATERAL freeze of all settlements for 9 months. What did Israel get in response? A daily rain of rockets from Gaza. Yeah, Gaza - the same area that Israel removed settlements from and have to Palestinains UNILATERALY. And what came of that action? Palestinians elected Hamas - a designated terrorist organization. And they proceeded to rain rockets into Israel, and infiltrate Israel with terrorists. Please try not to let your antisemitism get in the way of facts.

It's about time we Florida voters let Mr. Nelson be aware of our disappointment with his political views towards Mr. Obama's poor Presidency's performance, along with Nelson's own awful performance. While he loves to play the astronaut act, he was merely a politician taking, yet another free ride on the taxpayers, only this time, his ride was in space. Technically yes, he became an astronaut because of his flight however, he does not even come close to measuring up to the greater, true astronauts, of our time. 'If' he possessed a real conscience his votes in Congress would reflect more in line thinking with the citizens rather than his own. He's merely a career politician who now should be retired.

Thump your chest and tout the SLF.. Trash pragmatic policy - and a great, and competent President. Elect Trump. Go to war on the basis of the "tweet of the day". Apocalypse now - sorry, but not for me. Think you best save Bill Nelson. He works for all of us - repeat all of us - has a view that life exists outside one's personal extremist bubble, and has a conscience.

Comments are now closed.

nancy smith
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