Lindsey Graham, John Boehner Disses Tea Parties, An End To Any Future Palestinian State

Smoltczyk & Zand
Dana Milbank
Perry Bacon Jr

Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court moved out of committee and will go for a full vote of Congress. Lindsey Graham was the sole Republican to vote for her, and I think that he schooled some of the other Senators in the process. Dana Milbank has the profile in the link above, where, he says that his speech was: "Graham's penetrating indictment of the tribal logic that has overtaken his colleagues... He reminded his colleagues that "no one spent more time trying to beat President Obama than I did, except maybe Senator McCain." But "President Obama won," he said, and "the Constitution in my view puts a requirement on me as a senator to not replace my judgment for his, not to think of the 100 reasons I would pick somebody differently or pick a fight with Ms. Kagan."


"Objectively speaking, things are changing, and they're unnerving to me," Graham's lecture continued. It is, he said, "our obligation to honor elections" -- an obligation that led him to vote "yes" for Kagan. "It would not have been someone I would have chosen," he said, "but the person who did choose, President Obama, I think chose wisely." I don't particularly like Lindsey, but do respect him for this. More Republicans need to have dialogues with their colleagues, like they used to do  before George Bush was elected. President Obama could start having weekly meetings with both Democratic and Republican members of Congress. He proposed to do something similar, but it never happened on any regular basis. I know Obama doesn't get much time with his family, but he also needs to start spending a weekend or two hanging out with some vets and veteran's hospitals.

The right wing propaganda that Obama is a socialist or dreaded liberal keeps falling short as he makes decisions like nominating Elena. He is a moderate Democrat who likes to consider both sides of an argument before making a decision. We would have a more constructive national debate if we added to the arguments instead of trashing them. And that is the reason why neither Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh will ever enter into a public debate, it's safer for them to isolate themselves in their respective studios and talk trash for hours at a time. Makes more money for them, too...

I have a feeling that the negotiations for a Palestinian state are at a crucial cusp - what will be decided next will either let them go forward into direct negotiations or fall apart, maybe forever. Mahmoud Abbas is content to wait until September, when the phony Israeli moratorium for building in the West Bank expires, as well as his mandate from the Arab League to enter into the indirect discussions. So, if nothing happens before then, there will be no incentive for him unless the Arab League tells him to sit his fat ass down and negotiate face to face.

Abbas maintains that Israel had agreed to some actions of faith while the indirect talks were taking place, but never did any of them: "He said the U.S. had asked Israel to carry out confidence-building measures to coincide with the start of the indirect talks, begun in the spring, including a halt to Israeli arrest raids of suspected militants in Palestinian-controlled cities, transferring larger areas of the West Bank to full Palestinian autonomy and releasing prisoners.


"When we agreed to the proximity (indirect) talks, none of this happened," he said, adding, "we agreed to go to the proximity talks to discuss borders and security and we gave the U.S. envoy George Mitchell our thoughts on that. But we have not yet received Israeli responses." Too bad we can't get Fatah and Hamas to hold an election in September, Yes, the results will probably end up that Abbas will lose, and Hamas will lose moswt of their seats, but they should buck up and accept any results from a free election. Fat chance that will happen...

Of course, having a Palestinian state may be the last thing on Israel's mind right now. If they really wanted it, Israel could announce it and it would happen this weekend, if they chose. But they will let it fall apart through neglect, all the while proclaiming that they were willing to sit in face to face negotiations, so it's not their fault. Besides, they are too busy getting ready for when Iran's President visits Beirut. They may then attack Southern Lebanon, using the military build-by by Hezbollah as a diversion while they also strike Iran's nuclear facilities. But, what will be the consequences if their intelligence and the CIS'a intelligence was wrong again, and Iran really was only building for civilian purposes, getting ready to export that technology to the rest of the Middle East? I guess it would just put and end to the conversations and speculations and conspiracy theories going around in the coffee shops and hubble bubble emporiums on a late night...

John Boehner, who wants to be the next Speaker of the House, if Republicans win back a majority of seats, tires in his inept way to praise the tea party people: "Seventy-five percent of these people who show up at these events are the most average, every day Americans you've ever met. None of whom have ever been involved in political process, and I'd guess half of them have never voted," Boehner said. "These people have been driven off their couch, they've been driven off their EZ-chair, driven away from their TV, and into the streets of America to demonstrate against their own government." His ideas for creating new jobs: Keep the Bush tax cuts and repeal hthe health care reform bill that hasn't gone into effect. Mighty creative there, John, perhaps those tanning booths have also frid your brain, oh wait, that's right, you're also an alcoholic hanging out at the bars every day at 5 pm sharp... With friends like John, the tea party should start sending him all of their used tea bags...