Earlier this week, conservative website forbes.com published a scathing article about Boehner's invitation to Netanyahu to address Congress. Titled "Bibi Netanyahu -- aka 'The Republican Senator From Israel' -- May Have Made A Fatal Political Mistake", the article begins as a critical analysis of Netanyahu and how his actions may have, in fact, hindered his chances for re-election. The second half of the article, however, is about the roles played by Isreali Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer and House Speaker John Boehner in this political theater, and whether or not laws were broken in the process by Ron Dermer. A more interesting question would be whether or not laws were broken by Boehner. Still, the article is worth reading.
First, let's look at the source: Although Rick Ungar's self-written bio states he is
a Senior Political Contributor at Forbes and the official 'token lefty'
he also admits the following:
"Writing from the 'left of center' should not be confused with writing for the left as I often annoy progressives just as much as I upset conservative thinkers. In addition to the pages of Forbes.com, you can find me every Saturday morning on your TV arguing with my more conservative colleagues on "Forbes on Fox" on the Fox News Network and at various other times during the week serving as a liberal talking head on other Fox News and Fox Business Network shows.
So, we all know what kind of "token lefty" this guy really is, which is what makes his smackdown even more interesting:
I get that the Speaker doesn’t like the President or his policies. I get that many readers of this piece will have snarky responses about how this President already embarrasses himself and our nation, etc., etc., etc.
But what neither the Speaker, nor those who cannot manage to think beyond their distaste for this president, understand is the truly unprecedented step Boehner has taken by joining with the leader of a foreign nation against his own president.
Presidents come and go. However, respect for the office of the presidency, particularly on the part of the man who is second in the line of succession to the presidency, should not.
Through his actions, Boehner may have scored some points for his party and for his preferred policy option vis-à-vis the Iranian nuclear negotiations. But in the process, the Speaker of the American House of Representatives has succeeded in embarrassing the Office of the President.
Considering that Speaker Boehner has failed to accomplish anything of note during his Speakership, I can only wonder how it must feel to have his legacy be his effort to disgrace the American President in the effort to bolster the political chances of a foreign leader.
He concludes:
Seeking to damage any American President by helping a foreign leader embarrass our own leader can never be considered something that is best for the nation. And that is simply the truth no matter what your political persuasion or your feelings about the current occupant of the Oval Office.
I actually agree with that.