From Wallwritings
As soon as the Congress arrived back to do the nation's business on January 5, it bowed to Tel Aviv.
Politico reports that "the House voted overwhelmingly [342 to 80] to rebuke the United Nations for passing a resolution that condemned Israeli settlement construction, a bipartisan slap that also targets the Obama administration while signaling a rocky road ahead for U.S.-U.N. relations under soon-to-be-President Donald Trump."
The encouraging sign, however, is that while 342 members supported the resolution, 80 members opposed House Resolution 11: Objecting to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 as an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace, and for other purposes.
To see how your local House member voted, click on this link
Alternet examined that list and found that only four Republicans voted against the resolution, joining 76 Democrats who voted to support President Obama. Given a choice between Israel's far-right government, 109 Democrats voted with Israel, while 76 stood with the UN and Obama.
Democratic PEPs (Progressive except for Palestine) stayed with Israel.
Former DNC chair, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, supported Bibi.
Even self-described progressive members of the party, including "Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin -- who dubbed himself an 'effective progressive' and was described by The Washington Post as the 'most liberal congressional candidate in a crowded field' -- voted for the anti-UN bill."
Rep.Ted Lieu, a progressive Democrat from Los Angeles who has been perhaps the most outspoken critic of US support for the brutal war in Yemen, joined the Republicans in supporting the pro-Israel legislation.
PEPs are predictable in their fear of, or fondness for, Israel. But do not despair. Remember, the game is on; it is not over. The unknowns dominate the knowns.
Putin and Trump are clearly amigos. Bibi and Trump appear ready to create a new reality show, Three Amigos: Trump, Bibi and Putin. But trouble looms in this three-way bromance.
To update Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, "the Twitter game is on."
In his December 29 column, Israel First or America First?, Pat Buchanan wrote: "Having tweeted, 'Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching,' and having named a militant Zionist [David Friedman] as his ambassador, [Donald] Trump is certain to tilt U.S. policy heavily toward Israel."
Perhaps he will. But he may also be driven in a different direction when he discovers he is on the same pro-Israel glide path as the U.S. Congress. Trump prefers to glide alone, showering his affections and dislikes online through @realDonaldTrump.
The Palestine Chronicle editor Ramzy Baroud offers the silver lining that Trump's egotistical needs just might inadvertently land him with the righteous in the new era of Trump.
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