Israel and Republicans Share in Some Bad Press

Israel’s plans to add even more housing units to East Jerusalem caused an uproar with the US at a time inconvenient for all parties to say the least.  Events and the press rolled so fast that many important facts got swept away in the dust storm.

Israel had never promised not to build in East Jerusalem.  Our Vice-President should have consulted a map of the region before staging a retaliatory late arrival at an official dinner party.  Then Hilary took to the airwaves and made harsh, public demands of Israel – the public being tougher than the demands.  Public airing of dirty linen is never successful. Then when he came to Washington this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was cooly received by Obama who had reemerged from the tough fight for health care reform as a giddy victor. Regardless, it is as if Clinton and Obama have no sense of Israel and its realities.  It is a reality that the Israelis consider Jerusalem their capitol – a non-negotiable situation.  Even if this were a point of negotiation, Netanyahu heads a coalition government.  He is limited in what he can do and yet the Administration expects him to proceed as a dictator to his people as Obama has done.  There is no time for the US public to be educated in these complexities.  Israel or the Palestinians just get blamed.

Welcome to the world of the Republican Party.  Just when it looked as if their chances in 2010 were all but locked in, the Obama health care train pulled into the station and took lots of voters with it leaving the Republicans blanketed in, well, bad press .  Initial polls showed public acceptance of the new law was gaining in strength and any/all moves by Congressional Republicans to stop it was seen as purely obstructionist and without merit or cause.  To top it off, SOME tea partiers demonstrating in the Mall last weekend hurled insults and spit on distinguished members of Congress who crossed their path. Because so many in this movement are Republicans, Democrats had a field day with this Of course, no Democrats have ever done that.

All in the perfect past are Pelosi’s tactics to strong-arm the legislation through the House.  Will anyone remember to back track to ensure that Rep. Eric Massa of NY resigned shortly after the House Speaker  knew about his behavior?  Some say she has known about his harassment of young men in his office and beyond for some time.  If true, she put young pages, etc. unconscionably at risk.  But this was swept away in the fog of war. She just moves effortless through her day and these things drop off like water off a duck’s back.

So how did Obama himself crawl back out of his PR hole and become a hero to the nation last week?  It wasn’t health care.  No, it was the fact that he did not engage his critics overly long. AND he did what he did on the campaign trail – he bypassed the press and took his case to the people – just as he will be doing as he campaigns across America for his health care legislation.

In like fashion, Republicans need to stop trying to explain things away such as the fact that it was just a few people who hurled insults and spit on representatives on the hill last weekend. They need to quickly dispatch with it and move on. Did Clinton spend a lot of time explaining Monica to the world?  NO. Leaders of nations and the leaders of political parties stay relevant and retain any credibility they have by reducing discussion about hot issues  – by just going on with their daily rounds. Actions do really speak louder than words.

Talk about action,  Senator McCain, needs to stop pounding his fist on the podium and waving his arms about in uncontrollable rage. He and the rest of the GOP have a big job to do to move away from the right wing extremists in a visibly decisive way and to stop acting like the label of “the party of no.”   Quiet, forceful work in areas that make sense and get us somewhere rather than tie us up for months by using antiquated procedures will take the party farther ahead.  Pelosi and company ditched the Slaughter method of passing legislation.  Its use would have polarized voters who saw right through it. Again, she assessed the way the PR wind was blowing and took immediate action to end discussion of all but what was in the health care package.

Romney is looking very good these days. Why? Even Larry King could not goad him onto the defensive.  He was composed and spoke with his brain not his emotions. AND he was able to point to the bi-partisan passage of health care reform while he was Governor of Massachusetts.  Heck, he had to work with the late “lion of the Senate” to achieve that goal. Don’t lose this point:  He  had to work effectively with the opposing party. Republicans are today acting like the label: “the party of no.”  If they want to change their label, they had best change their behavior and they need to calm down. They look desperate.  Well, at least Republicans have begun to throw off that country club image. With Obama’s taxes, there should be no more rich and by extension, no more country clubs.

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Tagged: CONSERVATIVE BLOG NETWORK, Nancy Pelosi, Public Relations and Image, Republican National Committee, WORDPRESS POLITICAL BLOG

Posted in: HEALTH CARE REFORM 2009, ISRAEL, LEADERSHIP, LEGISLATION, POLITICAL MOVEMENTS/ORGANIZATIONS, POLITICS, REPUBLICAN