Speaker John Boehner's invitation to Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress from the very same lectern that President Obama spoke from just last week during the State of the Union may be coming back to haunt Boehner.
Before the invite—which has been received as a poke in the eye to Obama—some Democrats disagreed with their president's position that voting for more sanctions on Iran might hinder delicate diplomatic talks to end the country's nuclear program. But Jeremy Peters reports that Boehner's move may be unifying Democrats.
Mr. Netanyahu’s planned speech, a provocation of the president that many Democrats found distasteful and undiplomatic, has helped shift the political dynamic.
“For the prime minister to accept made it extremely political, knowing how the invitation played out,” said Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia and a frequent critic of the White House. Mr. Manchin was one of 10 Democrats who signed a letter agreeing not to vote on a sanctions bill until after the March 24 deadline to have a framework of an agreement in place with the Iranians.
House Democrats are also rallying to Obama's side, asking Boehner to postpone Netanyahu's visit until after the March deadline. Some members have drafted a letter accusing the Speaker of prioritizing politics over results.
“As members of Congress who support Israel, it appears that you are using a foreign leader as a political tool against the president,” said the letter, which was signed by Representatives Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Maxine Waters of California. “When the Israeli prime minister visits us outside the specter of partisan politics,” the letter continued, “we will be delighted and honored to greet him or her on the floor of the House.”
It's a tricky balance for Democrats. Although it's easy to go after Boehner, few lawmakers want to get on the wrong side of Netanyahu, or Israel for that matter.
Democrats said they saw two political issues in play. Domestically, Mr. Boehner and Republicans want to press their point that Mr. Obama’s foreign policy is weak. And in Israel, which holds its elections March 17, Mr. Netanyahu has political incentive to present himself as a man of steely resolve.