A Death Rattle for the Lobby? - Cieran

This is not a campaign tactic: it's a death rattle for the ziocon movement, and the desperation shows even in the nomenclature (e.g., "emergency").

The whole "there's no daylight between the U.S. and Israel" apparatus passed its sell-by date a few years ago, and the stridency of those who are desperately trying to revive it is becoming increasingly obvious, as the whole relationship increasingly stinks up the place.

So here's a fun experiment you can try at home to gauge the health of that relationship... take a clean install of a web browser (e.g., download Firefox) and set Google's search preferences to permit query help, i.e., to complete your searches for you using algorithms that (among other things) consider how popular certain search targets are of late.

And then type "foreign aid to" and see what Google offers up as its top ten search targets. Here's a hint: three of them are queries about U.S. foreign aid to Israel, and no other country shows up more than once in that list of popular searches. Hmmmm....

Now does anybody think that legions of Google users are searching for this information so they can write their congress-people to demand MORE foreign aid? Not too likely... Congress may be oblivious to what the American public is thinking (what else is new?), but even the most devout Evangelicals I know are talking less about Israel and more about taxpayer-funded Wall Street bank bailouts and the evil ways of Goldman Sachs.

So there may be wars and pain and suffering in our futures, but the special relationship between the U.S. and Israel is no longer a going concern. That relationship started stinking pretty bad during Israel's ill-considered incursions in Gaza, and the media's slamming the lid shut on coverage of the Mari Marvara incident only made the whole mess fester to the point where the Likudnik-inflicted wound will never heal.

And that's why the message here is so strident: because against the constant din of a bad economy and an increasing loathing against more war, the only thing left for Bauer and Kristol to do is to scream loud and long. And Americans love a winner, not a screamer.

All Mr. Sestak has to do is to respond to these insults with "that's ADMIRAL Sestak to you!" to remind the voters who puts America first, and who doesn't.

The citizens are plenty smart enough to take it from there.  Cieran

Comments

[Anthony]

I actually have another theory. I think the relations between the two country hasn't changed much, what has changed is the perception that the relation is changed. and this is where the "emergency" movement comes to play a part. they're trying to change the trajectory of the narrative back to the special honky dory relations between the two country.

[Fred]

I believe the general public is starting to ask what is going on in Gaza and the West Bank. Not settling for the infotainment that passes for T.V. news these days they resort to the internet. Thus they are getting far more reality than Israel bargained for.

[Matthew]

Fred: The more the MS media has adopted message discipline on the ME, the less trust people have in the MS media.

That's the paradox for the Lobby: You more power you have to force untruth on people, the more resistence to your message you create.

[Cloned Poster]

Fred, Murdoch killed free internet access for his rags in the UK...... more to come?

[confusedponderer]

ClonedPoster,
killing free internet access is counter productive from a propaganda point of view since it must reduce the audience exposed to his content.

It seems this has more to do with making more money. Murdoch, so I presume, is making propaganda to make more money, not primarily to make propaganda.

[clifford kiracofe]

In the near and medium term what counts is who has the votes in Congress. At this time, the "Lobby" influences over 75 percent plus of each house.

The voting patterns in Congress are the critical indicator. Public opinion, in general or of a particular ethnic bloc, is a vague gauge IMO.

The bottom line is that AIPAC and other key Lobby organizations have the votes in Congress and have the clout in the White House.

It is the votes on legislation and the people sitting at the desks making the decisions on policy that is the real issue here.

It may be that the majority population in the US will begin to understand more clearly what has happened to them and who has dragged them into these "No-Win" wars.

Perhaps there will come a reaction down the road. But again the issue is the politics of the matter as measured by the votes in Congress as a key indicator.

It may be that a war against Iran which would bring consequences for the US and its population could possibly cause a revulsion among the general population here against the Lobby...perhaps and that remains to be seen. It hasn't happened yet with respect to Iraq and Afghanistan...

[Cieran]

Dr. Kiracofe:

I agree that the votes in Congress are key. But I've also noticed that the fundamental shift in voter sentiments is to throw out incumbents who are not seen as paying attention to America's problems. And that means that every member of Congress is potentially in danger of losing their next election, no matter how safe their seat might appear to be (Exhibit A: Ted Kennedy's senate seat).

This electoral phenomenon is currently viewed as favoring the GOP, but that's only because the Democrats currently hold majority positions in the federal government. But in 2006, America voters threw out the Republicans from those same seats, and they'll be thrown out again if they retake Congress and don't get to work on the real problems facing this country.

There can (and likely will) be plenty of rough times ahead as the new reality settles in, but more wars will speed this process, not retard it. But I do believe that the overall pattern is emerging, and the economy is one of the most important driving factors.

Kristol, Bauer, and their ilk say the things they do because they're paid handsomely to say them. But for one in six Americans today, nobody is paying them any such handsome wages because they are out of work or underemployed, and that's a big part of what is opening the door to an honest discussion of the special relationship.

And if Obama proves to be a one-term wonder, who in the GOP is polling the best against him? It's that candidate who has been talking about ending pointless wars, fixing the economic system, and cutting off foreign aid to Israel. So even within the GOP we can see the obvious signs of the end of the "no daylight" school of political thought.

And one more thing: I love your book! It's meticulously researched, reads like a good novel, and as informative as can be. You've done a great job of writing an honest scholarly work on a subject where all too often, the words "honest" and "scholarly" are rare adjectives indeed.

[Charles I]

When has Congress saved you from any of these imbroglios? They, and so many of us, are completely herdable.

[J]

Report: Secret document affirms U.S.-Israel nuclear partnership

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-secret-document-affirms-u-s-israel-nuclear-partnership-1.300554

Colonel,

One has to step back and ask why did the 'accord' between D.C. and Israel have to be classified SECRET ?

What is sooo potentially damaging to U.S. National Security within the SECRET document that if disclosed would cause grave damage to U.S. National Security if disclosed to the American public? Hmmmm......