Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), one of Congress’ more notable right-wing freshmen, has an angry column in the Daily Caller today on U.S. policy towards Israel. Take a wild guess what the Republican lawmaker argued.
It pains me to say this, but President Obama is not pro-Israel. After last Thursday’s speech, that should be clear. His call for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement based on the 1967 borders should leave no doubt where he stands. The 1967 borders are entirely indefensible. He is not pro-Israel.
It pains me to say this, but Rep. Joe Walsh is not smart. After today’s column, that should be clear. His argument that President Obama wants a peace agreement based on the 1967 borders is demonstrably ridiculous — Obama, like Netanyahu and all modern U.S. presidents, sees the borders with land swaps as a starting point for negotiations — should leave no doubt where Walsh stands. The argument the congressman presents entirely indefensible. Walsh is not pro-reality.
We could, I suppose, explore whether Walsh is deliberately trying to deceive the public or simply doesn’t understand the subject matter he’s writing about, but either way, the column is idiocy.
But the Illinois Republican really gets cooking when he goes after Jews who refuse to see the world as he does.
[W]here is the outrage from the American Jewish community? Don’t they understand that the president is not pro-Israel? … The short answer is that most American Jews are liberal, and most American liberals side with the Palestinians and vague notions of “peace” instead of with Israel’s wellbeing and security. Like the president, the U.N., and most of Europe, too many American Jews aren’t as pro-Israel as they should be and too many share his belief that the Palestinians are victims of Israeli occupation.
So, after getting President Obama’s policy position completely wrong, Walsh feels comfortable lecturing Jews about their need to support Israel the way he wants them to.
Walsh, of course, is Catholic.
What’s more, after 10 paragraphs, Walsh never quite gets around to explaining how his approach to foreign policy strengthens U.S. interests, improves Israeli interests, bolsters the peace process, or helps anyone in any way.
It’s almost a parody of what a right-wing reactionary foreign policy looks like, and serves as a reminder of why clowns like Joe Walsh are not to be taken seriously.
