An election debrief on candidates re: the pro-Israel community

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Friday November 05, 2010 · 10:46 AM PDT

2010/11/05 · 10:46

While election day was pretty bad for Dems everywhere, it wasn't nearly as bad for the Democratic pro-Israel community. There is one lesson that until 2010 has been a standard in the pro-Israel community (and was violated in 2010 on both sides)...Israel must be a bipartisan issue.

It should not be made into a partisan election issue by either side. What you saw on Election Day is that key pro-Israel members endorsed by bipartisan PACs did very well. But members that were endorsed by the single-party partisan groups, Emergency Committee for Israel and J Street underperformed. More after the jump...

oldskooldem

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Monday November 01, 2010 · 2:04 PM PDT

2010/11/01 · 14:04

Below the jump I've listed the ten lessons I'm taking away from 2010 and into 2012. As you'll be able to tell, I'm not a fire breathing liberal. I believe that elections matter, policy follows election results, and we should focus to maximize our electoral success. So with no further ado, my 10 lessons.

oldskooldem

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Saturday May 29, 2010 · 9:06 AM PDT

2010/05/29 · 09:06

We've already seen a disproportionate number of diaries on the flotilla of boats that seeks to create favorable PR with the goal of perpetuating the Hamas terrorist regime. (I note that if their goal was truly delivering aid to the Palestinian people, they could have easily done so with Israel's assistance). This diary will instead focus on a counter flotilla of boats. This flotilla seeks to Free Gaza! Free Gaza from Hamas, that is.

Per the Jerusalem Post, the Free Gaza Flotilla will "will wear bloodstained T-shirts, representing Hamas’s terror record". More on the flip.

oldskooldem

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Thursday March 04, 2010 · 5:13 PM PST

2010/03/04 · 17:13

Some ignorant individuals regularly call Israel an apartheid state. Few have lived in Israel. In today's diary, I'll quote extensively from one of Israel's Bedouin citizens. Bedouins are Arabs. They're Muslims. If born on the other side of a border, they might be Jordanian or Saudi Arabian or Palestinian. But Ishmael Khaldi isn't Jordanian or Saudi Arabian or Palestinian. He's an Israel Bedouin.

I'd encourage each of you to drop the rhetoric fed to you by your particular affiliation, and instead listen to Ishmael's beautiful words below the fold. But first, a note on Ishmael's bio:

I was born into a Bedouin tribe in Northern Israel, one of 11 children, and began life as shepherd living in our family tent. I went on to serve in the Israeli border police, and later earned a master's degree in political science from Tel Aviv University before joining the Israel Foreign Ministry.

But this ain't any old former shepherd who got a masters. He's now the Deputy Counsel General for the Pacific Northwest. And he's got some important things to say.

oldskooldem

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Friday May 01, 2009 · 8:45 AM PDT

2009/05/01 · 08:45

After four years of grasping at straws for largely PR value, on the eve of trial, the Justice Department finally admitted the futility of their witch-hunt against Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman by dropping the charges against these men. Rosen and Weissman, if you recall, are former staffers of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs committee, and the object of so many diaries of scorn on the left and the right. Continue after the fold.

oldskooldem

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Tuesday March 24, 2009 · 9:09 AM PDT

2009/03/24 · 09:09

Ehud Barak, the leader of Israel's left-wing Avodah or Labor party today forced Bibi Netanyahu, the leader of Israel's right-wing Likud party to take a giant leap to the left. While the coalition agreement has yet to be signed, below I will explore the coalition deal, some of the consequences of the deal and some of its possibly unintended consequences.

oldskooldem

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Tuesday February 10, 2009 · 2:28 PM PST

2009/02/10 · 14:28

With 99% of the vote in, it is:
Kadima: 28 seats
Likud: 27 seats
Yisrael Beitenu: 15 seats
Labor: 13 seats
Shas: 11 seats
National Union: 4 seats
United Torah Judaism: 5 seats
Meretz: 3 seats
Jewish Home: 3 seats
United Arab List: 4 seats
Hadash: 4 seats
Balad: 3 seats
Others (Gil, Green, Green Leaf/Holocaust): less than qualification

oldskooldem

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Wednesday February 04, 2009 · 8:39 AM PST

2009/02/04 · 08:39

I'll use a minimum of my own editorializing and link to this editorial today in the Guardian in whole.

Guardian Edtiorial

oldskooldem

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Sunday January 25, 2009 · 12:43 PM PST

2009/01/25 · 12:43

I generally like our Constitution. Not that it is a perfect document--certainly it is not. But what ain't broke shouldn't be fixed, and our Constitution has provided America with one of the more stable governmental systems for a couple hundred years. I'm also generally skeptical of "opening the can of worms" that is Constitutional amendments. Once the Constitution is opened up for inspection, I'm wary that other parts of this marvelous document will be futzed with. No good can come of that.

However, once in a long while, a set of circumstances arises that makes a Constitutional amendment the 'right thing to do'. Typically, these fall in the "functioning of government" camp. For example, Birch Bayh's constitutional amendment for Presidential succession wasn't something you could really oppose on ideological grounds; rather it set forth the necessary mechanisms for a governmental transition in this modern era.

However, Russ Feingold is going to propose a constitutional amendment I support... right below the fold.

Poll

147 votes Show Results

Do you support Senator Feingold's proposed amendment?

147 votes Vote Now!

Do you support Senator Feingold's proposed amendment?

Yes

83 votes

18 votes

Probably, but I want to see it first.

46 votes

Bush's achievements: Five things the president got right

oldskooldem

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Monday January 12, 2009 · 12:47 PM PST

2009/01/12 · 12:47

Fred Barnes, noted conservative, just published an article entitled, Bush's Achievements: Ten things the president got right

With all due respect to Mr. Barnes, I don't really agree with his ten things. But Mr. Barnes is a conservative, and I'm not. Below the fold, I'll present my own Five things the president got right (or at least that he didn't mangle up that bad).

It is difficult to come up with even five liberal things that President Bush did right; but in the interest of being fair, here they are.

Finally, note that I'm giving Bush the benefit of the doubt here. If these five things constitute his entire legacy, he will go down as one of the worst presidents in history.

Poll

131 votes Show Results

What was Bush's greatest accomplishment?

131 votes Vote Now!

What was Bush's greatest accomplishment?

Staying clean and sober.

7 votes

Staying (extremely) well-rested at all times

17 votes

Colin Powell

12 votes

Ushering in a new Democratic majority

85 votes

Eight years of no conservative policy intiiatives in Congress

10 votes

Why I support Israel

oldskooldem

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Tuesday January 06, 2009 · 11:35 AM PST

2009/01/06 · 11:35

While diary after diary condemns Israel in the strongest possible language (and makes me wonder why so few of those same diarists have written articles on Darfur, for example), I am a strong supporter of Israel. Israel isn't perfect. Neither is America. Or Sweden. Or Mozambique. But I support Israel in this War of 2009, and I'd like you to know why.

oldskooldem

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Saturday August 09, 2008 · 3:09 PM PDT

2008/08/09 · 15:09

This isn't diary-worthy, but I don't care. I'm livid. I donated money to John Edwards even before I donated money to Hillary. He was my first choice, and he was my first choice based on lies.

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An election debrief on candidates re: the pro-Israel community

Election Post-Mortem: 10 Lessons For 2010-2012

Free Gaza Flotilla

From an Israeli Bedouin

Rosen and Weissman vindicated

Israel takes a leap to the left UPDATED

Live Results (from Israel) 9th UPDATE

On Anti-Semitism

A Constitutional Amendment I support

Bush's achievements: Five things the president got right

Why I support Israel

John Edwards, return my money