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Top New York Republican scorches state Dems' effort to ban gas stoves: 'An attack on working people'
EXCLUSIVE: The top Republican member of the New York state Senate blasted Democratic lawmakers for pushing a gas stove ban, saying it would drive prices higher and hurt consumers.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, New York Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt criticized the policy which he said was part of a broader energy policy that drives employers and residents alike to depart the state. He also said federal Democratic lawmakers from New York — such as Sen. Chuck Schumer and Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — are largely driving state policy.
"I think it's ridiculous and I think the danger is that it almost seems comedic and so people can take it, you know, maybe not as seriously as they should," Ortt told Fox News Digital. "It is going to increase people's utility rates in the state of New York, it is going to decrease energy reliability in the state of New York and it will do nothing to fight climate change."
"If we think that gas stoves are the reason for climate change — that's just that's ridiculous," he added. "We're not going to stop the polar ice caps from melting because my mom has to use an electric stove."
SOCIALISTS CHEER DEM STATE’S CLIMATE BILL MANDATING FOSSIL FUEL SHUTDOWN: ‘WILL TRANSFORM NEW YORK’
Ortt's comments come as New York lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul continue negotiations on a fiscal year 2024 budget package that is due March 31. The package is reportedly slated to include a bill banning gas stoves and other natural gas-powered appliances from being installed in new buildings and new residential construction.
While the exact language of the bill is unknown, New York Democrats have endorsed prohibitions on water heaters, furnaces, clothes dryers and stoves that are powered by natural gas. And Hochul called for all new construction to be zero-emission beginning in 2025 during her State of the State Address in January.
"I’m proposing a plan to end the sale of any new fossil-fuel-powered heating equipment by 2030," she remarked. "We are taking these actions because climate change remains the greatest threat to our planet, and to our children and grandchildren."
CALIFORNIA'S GRID FACES COLLAPSE AS LEADERS PUSH RENEWABLES, ELECTRIC VEHICLES, EXPERTS SAY
In 2021, about 60% of all New York households relied on natural gas for heating while another 20% used heating oil, according to the Energy Information Administration. Additionally, just 14% of households in the state were heated with electricity, the vast majority of which was generated by natural gas power plants.
Ortt noted that state Democrats have pursued a broader climate agenda that extends beyond gas stoves.
"It is much bigger than just gas stoves," Ortt continued. "This is an attack on energy diversification, it's an attack on working people who pay utility rates. It's going to increase their rates, it's going to drive out employers, it's going to drive people out of the state. And we're going to have nothing environmentally to show for it."
"All we're going to have is less people living here, higher taxes, less energy reliability," he said. "Our policy here in New York for a long time has been to export jobs and import energy. That is the New York energy policy. And, obviously, it's been a bad one."
NEW SWEEPING ANALYSIS DEBUNKS REPORTS BLAMING GAS STOVES FOR RESPIRATORY ILLNESS
If the state passes the gas stove ban legislation, it would be the first state to take such a drastic measure. Several Democratic-led cities including New York City have implemented gas appliance restrictions while some states like California have tackled the issue through modified building codes.
The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission is currently accepting public feedback on the health impacts of gas stoves, but has denied that it intends to ban the appliance. A member of the commission said in January that he wouldn't rule out a federal ban, sparking outcry from Republicans and ultimately forcing the White House to say it wouldn't support such an action.
"There are climate alarmists out there — certainly here in New York and in Albany, and in Washington, D.C.," Ortt told Fox News Digital. "I think we have to be able to push back as Republicans and people across the country to say we can have a responsible energy policy and one that's environmentally responsible and one that is responsible from a state management standpoint."
"When you're in an emergency, there's no such thing as bad energy that you don't want to have. Whether it's nuclear, natural gas, wind, solar, electric, you want as diversified an approach as possible. That's going to keep costs down and that's what's going to keep reliability up and it's what's going to keep people safe and keep people here in New York and keep companies investing in New York."
Ortt added that New York residents can expect a late budget based on the status of negotiations. He said energy policy is a factor in the delay, but that the main holdup is criminal justice and public safety issues.
Nikki Haley to visit southern border in Texas after unveiling plan to tackle migrant crisis
FIRST ON FOX: Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley will visit the southern border in Texas next week, Fox News Digital has learned -- as the former governor is unveiling her plan to handle the ongoing migrant crisis now into its third year.
Haley will become the first presidential candidate to visit the border when she travels to Texas on April 3. She will be accompanied by Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, and will make several stops between San Antonio and Eagle Pass. The area has seen some of the heaviest migrant traffic along the border in recent years as authorities have been besieged by the historic crisis.
There were over 1.7 million encounters at the southern border in FY 2021, and more than 2.3 million in FY 2022. FY 2023 has been on pace to eclipse those numbers, although numbers have dipped in January and February.
NIKKI HALEY UNLOADS ON BIDEN PROJECTING ‘AMERICAN WEAKNESS’ ON WORLD STAGE: ‘WE HAVE TO WAKE UP’
Republicans have attributed the crisis to the policies of the Biden administration -- specifically the rolling back of Trump-era border protections, and an increase in "catch-and-release" of migrants into the U.S. The White House has attributed the crisis to a hemisphere-wide challenge and has called on Republicans to provide additional funding.
Haley, who is a daughter of legal immigrants, has been rolling out her plan to secure the border and tackle illegal immigration. That plan would see the recent funding for up to 87,000 IRS staff scrapped in favor of 25,000 new Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The plan would also mandate that businesses use E-Verify -- which verifies a worker’s citizenship and immigration status -- in their hiring processes. As governor of South Carolina, Haley had signed a bill requiring all businesses in the state to use the tool.
Additionally, a Haley administration would cut funding to states that have been used to give money to illegal immigrants -- such as the billions used by New York to cut checks to illegal immigrant workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic.
Her plan would also restore the Trump-era "Remain-in-Mexico" policy -- which kept migrants in Mexico while their immigration hearings proceeded, instead of releasing them into the U.S. Republicans have credited that policy with reducing the pull factors which drew migrants north. Haley is also promising to end the "catch-and-release" practices of the Biden administration.
"We fix [the border crisis] by going back to Remain-in-Mexico, we fix it by stopping catch and release, we fix it by putting up an actual wall and closing our border," she said earlier this month on "One Nation with Brian Kilmeade."
"But we do it by doing what I did in South Carolina as governor," she said. "We did a mandatory E-Verify program that said none of our businesses could hire anyone that was in this country illegally. That is what got them out of South Carolina because there were no jobs for them to come to, that's what will get them out of this country, we've got to make sure none of our businesses hire anyone that is here in the country illegally, and we've got to start taking this seriously. Every state is a border state."
BIDEN ANNOUNCES NEW NORTHERN BORDER DEAL, FENTANYL COALITION WITH CANADA AS IMMIGRATION CRISIS RAGES
In addition to mandating E-Verify, the legislation she signed as governor also required police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop who they suspected may be in the U.S. illegally -- following similar legislation in states like Arizona.
That bill also created an illegal immigration enforcement unit, made it illegal to transport or harbor illegal immigrants, made it a felony to sell fake IDs to illegal immigrants and barred illegal immigrants from state or local benefits. The bill faced significant pushback from immigration activists.
"Illegal immigration is not welcome in South Carolina," Haley said in 2011 when she signed the bill.
As governor, she also declined to accept Syrian refugees over concerns about vetting, and in 2014 said that South Carolina would not be accepting illegal immigrant minors in order to focus on children already in the state. When she served as U.N. ambassador during the Trump administration, the U.S. withdrew from the global compact on migration in part due to concerns that it would have restricted U.S. policy and impinged on U.S. sovereignty.
Illegal immigration and border security are likely to remain top topics in both the Republican primary season and the 2024 general election.
Former President Trump, who has announced his own 2024 bid, made tackling illegal immigration a key part of his administration. Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis -- who has not announced a bid but is widely expected to run -- sparked outrage from Democrats last year when he flew illegal immigrants into Martha’s Vineyard.
Matt Gaetz introduces Somalia war powers resolution, forcing vote on removing armed forces
FIRST ON FOX – Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is introducing a war powers resolution that calls for the removal of United States armed forces from Somalia, excluding those assigned to protect the U.S. Embassy.
"The American people have extremely low confidence in our military leaders and their ability to assess their own efficacy. How do they expect Americans to believe their justification of occupying Somalia when they can’t even determine who in their own training programs will lead a violent coup afterwards?" Gaetz said in a statement.
"While the Congressional War Machine has decided to rage on in Syria, they must explain how continuing the occupation of Somalia best serves the interests of the American people at home. If they cannot, it is incumbent upon the Congress to bring our troops home from Somalia," the congressman said.
The war powers resolution would force a vote in the House of Representatives within 18 days of the resolution's introduction. It would also mandate the removal of U.S. armed forces from Somalia no later than 365 days after the resolution's adoption.
MATT GAETZ WANTS ALL US TROOPS PULLED FROM SYRIA, CLAIMS BIDEN LIED ABOUT MILITARY PRESENCE
"When the House debated my resolution to withdraw troops from Syria, both Republicans and Democrats argued the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force against Afghanistan serves as a global permission slip for every neocon fantasy. They will argue the same for Somalia," Gaetz said.
House GOP and Democrat members teamed up last week to kill a similar resolution from Gaetz that would require the U.S. to remove roughly 900 service members stationed in Syria, who some argue are beating back terrorists who could threaten the U.S. homeland if left unchecked.
The resolution ultimately failed in a 321-103 vote that split both parties; Republicans opposed it in a 171-47 vote, and Democrats rejected it 150-56.
GAETZ INTRODUCES RESOLUTION TO END MILITARY AND FINANCIAL AID TO UKRAINE, URGE PEACE DEAL
Those against placing a small force in Syria argue that force is there without any authorization from Congress. The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) is used as justification for such a move, with the argument that the resolution authorizes action against those who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks.
Gaetz and others members argue that Congress needs a more current authority to send troops abroad than one that was passed more than 20 years ago. Proponents for removing the service members also said the U.S. needs to stop acting as a "global police force" and should remove itself from Syria despite warnings that the country could play a determining role in the strength of ISIS and other terrorist groups.
MATT GAETZ CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO FBI'S RELIANCE ON SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER
"I do not believe that what stands between a caliphate and not a caliphate are the 900 Americans who have been sent to this hellscape with no definition of victory, with no clear objective and purely existing as a vestige to the regime change failed foreign policies of multiple former presidents," Gaetz said.
Gaetz, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, filed that resolution in late February following a Feb. 17 report from U.S. Central Command that four U.S. service members were wounded during a U.S. and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) helicopter raid in northeastern Syria that killed a senior ISIS leader.
Fox News' Peter Kasperowicz contributed to this report.
Schumer swipes DeSantis as Russia prepares to position tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus: 'Excusing Putin'
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, took to Twitter on Monday to criticize Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis amid ongoing tensions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.
The Democrat said DeSantis and other members of the "Hard Right" were to blame for being "more comfortable excusing Putin rather than condemning him."
"This isn’t hard: Putin is a threat to American national security and democracy," Schumer wrote in a tweet that quoted DeSantis as previously referring to the Russia-Ukraine conflict as a "territorial dispute."
Schumer’s tweet came after Putin announced he would be moving tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus by the summer as the war in Ukraine, which crossed the one-year milestone last month, continues.
PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA WILL STATION TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN BELARUS AS WARNING TO WEST
DeSantis previously described ongoing fighting in the eastern Donbas region as a regional conflict and seemingly downplayed its significance to U.S. national security.
The Republican's remark was made in a written response to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who sent questions to declared and potential GOP presidential candidates.
"While the U.S. has many vital national interests — securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party — becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them," DeSantis wrote in his answer.
The governor has since walked back the comment, following criticism by fellow Republicans and supporters, clarifying during an interview with Piers Morgan on Fox Nation that Russia did not have a right to Ukraine and that he should have been "more clear" in his initial answer.
"What I’m referring to is where the fighting is going on now, which is that eastern border region Donbas, and then Crimea, and you have a situation where Russia has had that. I don’t think legitimately, but they had," DeSantis said during an interview that aired Thursday. "There’s a lot of ethnic Russians there. So, that’s some difficult fighting, and that’s what I was referring to, and so it wasn’t that I thought Russia had a right to that, and so if I should have made that more clear, I could have done it."
Schumer’s tweet failed to point out that DeSantis walked back the comment.
His tweet also did not point out the criticism he received from Republicans, who principally disagreed.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio suggested DeSantis was inexperienced with international relations, saying he "doesn’t deal with foreign policy every day as governor."
"Foreign policy is all about nuance," he added.
DESANTIS ON POSSIBLY JOINING TRUMP IN 2024: 'I'M PROBABLY MORE OF AN EXECUTIVE GUY'
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina told Fox News that DeSantis "is basically taking the Chinese position when it comes to Russia’s invasion."
Schumer’s tweet also does not mention that Democrats are actually in control of the White House and the U.S. Senate — and can impact foreign policy while DeSantis cannot.
Democrats were also in control of the White House and the U.S. Senate when Putin annexed Crimea in 2014.
When Republicans gained control of the White House, under former President Donald Trump between 2016 and 2020, Putin did not invade Ukrainian territory.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Chip Roy pushes to amend Respect for Marriage Act, include stronger religious protections
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is leading an effort to amend the controversial Respect for Marriage Act, a law aimed at protecting same-sex marriages that was passed with bipartisan support last summer, in order to include new protections for religious observers that weren't included.
In a Tuesday letter reviewed exclusively by Fox News Digital, Roy and 23 other House Republicans asked the House Appropriations Committee leadership to include these new protections in a spending bill for the next fiscal year.
The Respect for Marriage Act requires the federal government and states to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where they are legal. The law includes language that was aimed at ensuring people and organizations who don't support same-sex marriage aren't subject to retaliation, but Roy says those protections are not enough, and that these groups could still be at risk of losing them unless the law is strengthened.
Specifically, Roy wants to add language that prohibits the federal government from taking "any discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially, on the basis that such person speaks, or acts, in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief, or moral conviction, that marriage is, or should be recognized as, a union of one man and one woman."
PROGRESSIVES GRUMBLE AS RESPECT FOR MARRIAGE ACT ADVANCES: ‘I HATE THE SENATE BILL’
The House Republicans want to define "discriminatory action" to include altering any federal tax treatment, withholding federal government benefit or access to federal property or educational institution otherwise publicly available, among other things.
"Without this language, we fear that the federal government will begin to systematically discriminate against religious schools, faith-based organizations, and other non-profits by barring their participation in federal programs, and removing their tax-exempt status, for their views on marriage," the letter said.
"The First Amendment is sacred. It secures the right to write, pray, think, speak, and associate as one pleases. These fundamental rights are uncontroversial and must be protected," it said.
BIDEN TO SIGN SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL DESPITE CONCERNS BY SOME PROGRESSIVES
The law was passed after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which returned the question of abortion rights back to the states. Democrats then worried that another case that created a federal right to same-sex marriage might be overturned, which prompted passage of the Respect for Marriage Act.
When the law was being considered in the Senate, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., wrote an amendment aimed at adding religious liberty protections that the Senate approved. But some Republicans and conservative groups said at the time that this amendment didn't go far enough to protect people who fear litigation or government retaliation for their belief in traditional marriage.
Roy says his amendment "ensures that the free exercise rights of millions of Americans and nonprofit organizations will not face punishment and discrimination from the federal government for their beliefs."
"Such organizations care for the poor, mentor at-risk-youth, feed the hungry, rebuild homes after natural disasters, minister to soldiers and first responders, visit those in prison, educate children and manufacture millions of good, civic-minded citizens each year," Roy said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"To weaponize the power of the federal government against them is un-American and would do a tremendous disservice to not just these organizations but to this Republic and the fundamental rights which it protects," he said.
The letter earned praise from religious and conservative special interest groups like Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America and Catholic Vote.
"We applaud Rep. Roy for responding quickly to the despicable 2022 law that allows the federal government to target those who believe in marriage," Catholic Vote President Brian Burch told Fox News Digital.
"In every civilization, marriage has always been privileged because it binds a father and mother together to raise the next generation of citizens on behalf of the nation. No government should allow activist legislation to target citizens who honor that definition," the group added.
Other signatories to the letter include Reps., Kat Cammack, R-Fla., Jim Banks, R-Ind., Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-S.C. and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.
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He is particularly bad for Israel and the Jewish people.
The following is a brief synopsis of the main reasons for which Jewish Americans should strongly consider not voting for Barrack Obama:
1) Mr. Obama has repeatedly lied to and manipulated the Jewish community, telling it what it wants to hear when the cameras are on, and then retracting or "evolving" his position when the cameras are off. No more egregious an example of this exists than that of the speech Obama gave to the annual AIPAC convention several weeks ago. In that speech, Obama ostensibly moved to the right of Condoleezza Rice, insisting that "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." Those comments clearly moved even the most skeptical of Jewish AIPAC conference attendees, and on that basis many had decided to vote for him. Then of course the truth came out the next day when anonymous sources in the Obama campaign informed Agence France Presse that by "undivided" Obama meant that Jerusalem was "not going to be divided by barbed wire." Essentially, Obama's position is that which many in the Zionist community have always feared – that he is still sympathetic towards the Palestinian Arabs and believes the Palestinian Authority has the right to make parts of Jerusalem its capital. Obama was caught telling a crowd of Iowan activists last March, "Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian People."
Obama has successfully insulted the intelligence of American Jewry by wooing them with ingratiating phrases and one liners such as how he has been in the "foxholes" in Chicago with Jewish friends with whom he worked closely to heal the rifts between local Jewish-American and African-American communities. He also claims that "nobody has spoken out more fiercely against anti-Semitism than I have," yet not once did he avail himself to speak out against the rampant anti-Semitism in his church, let alone condemn specific anti-Semitic and anti-Israel remarks on the parts of Reverend Wright, Reverend Meeks, or father Pfleger all of whom have abused the pulpit of the Trinity United Church of Chicago to foment hatred of Jews, as described in '6' below.
2) Whatever short legislative record Mr. Obama has is that of an extreme leftist -- one that does not bode well for the State of Israel. Obama sponsored 129 bills since his arrival in the Senate, but only 9 of them came out of committee and only one of them became law – an testament to how out of touch he is with mainstream law and politics. Obama was one of the few senators not to support the Kyl-Lieberman resolution which designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Obama also opposed the overthrowing of Saddaam Hussein when Obama was an insignificant Illinois State Senator and Hussein was still a vociferous and stark threat to the State of Israel and actively financing Hamas suicide terror attacks against Israeli civilian targets.
Obama made headlines in the primary campaign against Hillary Clinton when he stated his desire to meet with Iranian dictator and vicious anti-Semite Mahmud Ahmajinadad, without any preconditions first met regarding either Ahmajinadad's desire to exterminate the Jews or Iran's dedicated movement toward acquiring a nuclear weapon. Obama has also recently dismissed the threat posed by Iran, considering Iran to be a "tiny" nation that should elicit less concern than that felt by Israel and the majority of Jews. His exact quote, speaking in Pendleton, Oregon, is as follows: "Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union... In Iran, they spend 1/100th of what we spend on the military. If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance." Unfortunately Obama doesn't seem to realize that it doesn't take 2,000 nuclear weapons to destroy Israel; it only takes 2!
Experts agree that Jews should be forewarned about voting for Obama. Mid-East exert Barry Rubin, director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center in Herzeliya, Israel, describes Obama as "not the candidate of the Arab states, but the candidate of the Islamists, whether he knows it or not. . . . If elected, he will be the most anti-Israel president in American history." Obama was even caught saying that he might have difficulty dealing with an Israeli government headed by Likud, which is particularly ominous as it appears Israelis are about to elect a Likud government. What is surprising is that Obama has expressed more concern about dealing with Likudniks in Israel than he has in dealing with Mullahs in Iran. You can't make this stuff up, folks!
3) Obama is surrounded by advisors who have historically been very critical of Israel and the Jewish community. The first such advisor is Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security advisor to anti-Semitic President Jimmy Carter. Brzezinski, who has stood by Obama's side in public on several occasions, has accused "some people in the Jewish community" as being "McCarthy-ite." Brzezinski has also intimated that Israel may be guilty of war crimes for its defense of itself in the Lebanon War of 2006.
The second such advisor is retired general, Tony McPeak, who has been tapped recently as Obama's military advisor and national campaign co-chair. In a 2003 interview, McPeak blamed much of the troubles in the Middle East on those who "vote here in favor of Israel [in] New York City [and] Miami," whom no "politician wants to run against."
A third such advisor is former Michigan Congressman David Bonior, who represented the Obama campaign at The DNC Rules Committee meeting in Washington D.C. this past May. While in Congress, Bonior was known to be "the biggest supporter of the anti-Israel Arab lobby in Congress." In 1990, Bonior was one of only 34 Congressmen to vote against recognizing Jerusalem as the unified capital of Israel. In 1997, Bonior was one of only 15 Congressmen who signed a letter asking President Clinton to pressure Israel into making even further concessions to the Palestinian Authority, despite the PA's constant abrogation of its commitments under the Oslo Accords. In 2002, Bonior was one of only 21 Congressmen who opposed H.R. 392, which buttressed Israel's right to self defense and called upon the PA to dismantle the Hamas terrorist infrastructure. Throughout his tenure in Washington, Bonior repeatedly voted against aid to Israel while continually supporting arms sales to Arab states.
A fourth top Obama advisor is Robert Malley, a long-time fierce critic of Israel who attempted to rewrite history by claming that the 1999 Camp David Accords fell apart because of actions on the part of the Israeli delegation (and not because of Yasser Arafat's intransigence, which we know to be the case). Malley has also called for greater legitimization of and accommodations for terrorist organizations such Hamas and Hezbollah, not to mention rouge Muslim states such as Syria and Iran.
A fifth such advisor is Samantha Power, who had to formally resign from the Obama campaign after calling Hillary Clinton a "monster," but is known to play a strong unofficial role in the Obama campaign till this day. Power has called for the suspension of aid to Israel and its redirection to "Palestine." Power has stated that criticism of Obama is solely on the grounds of what is "good for the Jews." She also advocated using U.S. troops to invade Israel and force a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority.
A sixth such advisor is Senator Chuck Hagel, one of the few Republicans to consistently express anti-Israel views. Obama has chosen Hagel as one of his chief foreign policy advisors. In reference to Hagel and co-advisor Senator Jack Heed (D-RI), Obama said the following: "They're both experts on foreign policy; they reflect I think traditional bipartisan wisdom when it comes to foreign policy. Neither of them are ideologues but they try to get the facts right and make a determination about what's best for U.S. interests, and they're good guys." Let us examine what foreign policy expert Chuck Hagel has done on foreign policy issues most concerning to most Americans:
In August of 2006, Hagel was one of only 12 Senators to refuse to call upon the European Union to declare Hizbullah a terrorist organization. He was even criticized by Democratic organizations for his stance. In December of 2005, Hagel was one of only 27 Senators to refuse to sign a letter to President Bush urging him to pressure the Palestinian Authority to ban Hamas and other terrorist organization from participating in parliament. In June of 2004, Hagel refuse to sign a letter urging President Bush to raise the issue of Iran's nuclear ambitions at an upcoming G-8 summit. Last but not least, in October of 2000, Hagel was one of only 4 Senators to refuse to sign a Senate letter in support of Israel.
Finally there is Obama's nuclear proliferation advisor, Joseph Cirincione, who has called upon Israel to completely relinquish its nuclear arsenal, while dismissing claims that Syria has been recently building up its nuclear enrichment capacity.
It is true that Obama has some high-profile Jewish advisors and supporters, but these, such as Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida, are largely pro-Oslo Jews who have come to expect and support constant concessions from Israel even in the face of mounting Arab terrorism.
4) Obama and McCain speak of Israel and the Israeli-Arab conflict in starkly different terms.
Obama, in his own words, views the Arab-Israeli conflict as an "open wound" and "open sore" that has a deleterious effect on "all of our foreign policy," according to Jeffery Goldberg of The Atlantic Monthly who conducted twin interviews with McCain and Obama. This characterization underscores Obama's belief that that there is some sort of parity between Israel and the Arabs and if only we can get both sides together, we can close this open sore; and furthermore, that all the other problems in the middle east stem directly or indirectly from this "open sore." McCain on the other hand understands the ultimate threat of Islamo-facism and views both Israel and America as targets and victims of the constant assault perpetrated by Islamo-fascists. Says McCain: "I don't think the conflict is a sore. I think it is a national security challenge." Asked what would happen if the Israeli-Arab conflict were resolved, McCain responds, "We would still face the enormous threat of radical Islamic extremism." When asked about Israel building new homes for Jews in the West Bank, Obama responded by stating that given the prospect of such continual construction, "we're going to be stuck in the same status quo that we've been stuck in for decades now." McCain, on the other hand, switched the topic of conversation by focusing attention of the plight of Israel's citizens in Sderot who brave every day the constant barrage of Hamas's Kassam and Kytusha rockets from Gaza.
5) Both Barrack and Michelle Obama have a long history of associations with radical leftists and Arabists, neither of whom, it should go without saying, bode well for the Jewish people:
Barrack Obama's first political mentor in Hawaii was a relatively well-known black writer and poet named Frank Marshall Davis who was an activist in the Soviet-controlled Communist Party USA (CPUSA). Obama continued his communist training and indoctrination at his first college, Occidental. According to Obama's book, Dreams From My Father, Obama spent much of his free college time with "Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk rock performance poets," with whom he "discussed neocolonialism." Before leaving to college, "Frank" warned the young Barrack, ". . don't start believing what they tell you about equal opportunity and the American way and all that shit."
Barrack Obama's leftism continued in full force, albeit subtly, on the streets of Chicago. Obama is known to have been friends with left-wing fanatic and Weatherman terrorist Bill Ayers, who is responsible for dozens of bombings between 1969 and 1975, and who also served on two different boards with Obama. Ayers told the New York Times, "I don't regret setting bombs . . .I feel we didn't do enough." When George Stephanopoulos challenged Obama in an interview to explain his relationship with Ayers, Obama dismissed the relationship as "a guy who lives in my neighborhood." Nothing could be further from the truth! Obama's political career began with him raising funds in Ayers living room. Ayers and Obama worked together in the context of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge through which Ayers hoped to include left-wing indoctrination in the city's public school system. Later on in is career as an "organizer", Obama worked closely with Ayers at the Woods Fund which conveniently gave a $6,000 grant to Obama's radical Trinity United Church. Ironically, Ayers, the American terrorist, has accused Israel of terrorism after Israel retaliated for vicious Arab attacks against its own civilians.
Obama's initial financial base was none other than left-wing fanatic hedge fund guru George Soros, who is well known for being a strong critic of Israel and who has explored creating an anti-Israel lobby to countervail the activities of AIPAC. Soros has stated that America needs to go through a "certain de-Nazification process" so that it can extricate itself from Iraq. Soros has also had close relations with the anti-Israel advisors to Obama's campaign noted above.
Obama is known to have been particularly close with ex-PLO member and now Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi. Obama and Khalidi were fellow board members of a foundation that funded the Arab American Action Network, a fiercely pro-Palestinian organization. Obama has admitted that Khalidi has changed Obama's views and attitudes about the world. Obama is considered in Chicago to be a close friend of the Palestinian Arabs. Not a surprise, given the facts.
6) The Obamas have regularly attended a racist and anti-Semitic church for about twenty years and have raised their daughters in same atmosphere.
The Obamas had been proud and regularly attending members of the radical Trinity United Church of Chicago for twenty years.The Trinity United Church of Chicago is a proud member-church of the Black Liberation Theology movement. Much like the Holy Roman Empire was neither Holy nor Roman nor an Empire, Black Liberation Theology is neither a theology, nor about Liberation, nor strictly about black people. Black Liberation Theology is a subset of the global Liberation theology movement which was founded in Latin America and spawned vicious socialist dictators and rebels such as Che' Guevara. Black Liberation Theology is and predicated on the notion of saving dark-skinned people through the gradual extermination of light-skinned people and their beliefs. The father of the Black Liberation Theology movement is James H. Cone and the bible of the Black Liberation Theology Movement is Cone's Black Theology and Black Power. The following is a quote from same book: "Black Theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the Black community. If God is not for us, and against white people, then he is a murderer and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill gods who do not belong to the black community. . . . Black Theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy."
This is the theological backdrop for Barrack Obama' s political activism. This is the church where the bombastic and racist Rev. Jeremiah Wright had served as pastor for the span of that time. Obama has described Wright as his "moral compass," "sounding board," "confidant," and "mentor." Wright married the Obamas and baptized their children. Only after 20 years, strong political pressure, and Wright disavowing Obama, did Obama finally disavow Wright. But Obama never thought to disavow Wright after any of the numerous racist and anti-Israel remarks made by Wright both at and away from the pulpit over the course of 20 years!
Wright is an anti-Israel activist who has given sermons at Trinity United calling for the US to cease and desist from all aid to Israel. Wright also allowed Hamas officials and Arab activists to contribute to the church's magazine. One such Hamas official accused Israel of building an "ethnic bomb." Wright is also good friends with fierce and notorious anti-Semite, Louis Farrakhan, leader of the
Nation of Islam movement. This same Farrakhan, who called Jews "bloodsuckers," was the recipient of an award from the Trinity United Church. Barrack Obama has yet to publicly condemn the granting of this award. In fact, all the evidence suggests that Obama, himself, has had a close relationship with Farrakhan. Obama even chose to march with Farrakhan in the Million Man March of 1995 despite the Anti-Defamation League pleading with African American leaders not to attend.
And it wasn't just Wright who gave anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sermons at Trinity. Father Pfleger and Reverend James Meeks, both supporters of Louis Farrakhan, have been regular guest speakers at Trinity over the years. When Jewish members of an Illinois state board, mandated with monitoring hate speech, resigned after a fellow board member, affiliated with the Nation of Islam, refused to denounce Farrakhan's anti-Semitism, Pfleger retorted with the words, "good riddance." Reverend Meeks has been known to scapegoat "Hollywood Jews" for corrupting the moral climate in America.