Observations on October 7 political aftermath
It is instructive to compare Donald Trump’s and Hillary Clinton’s reactions to October 7.
Trumps’ response was to call the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah “very smart” and to call Israel’s defense minister a jerk.
Clinton’s response was on calls for a cease fire in Gaza would be as “gift” for the terrorist government and that people calling for a ceasefire don’t know Hamas.
Also, Hillary Clinton’s response to a heckler calling her to denounce Biden as a warmonger was “Sit Down.”
Americans who support Israel and Ukraine and believe the United States can do good across the world have a huge problem with the titular head of the Republican party but there are bad actors in both parties.
A substantial share of the Republican party has no principles, no believe in human rights, supports Putin and tyrants, and is entirely transactional in their governing approach. Today 93 House Republicans want to abandon Ukraine. Tomorrow they could, depending on the polls du jour, abandon Israel.
A substantial share of the Democratic party is either blatantly antisemitic or virulently inconsistent. Even after the horrific attack 15 House Democrats did not support a resolution supporting Israel and condemning Hamas.
The mantra “Free Palestine from the river to the sea” is a call for genocide.
The claim that October 7 needs to be examined in “historical context” is bizarre and inconsistent with the way any other conflict in the world is considered.
How would Turkey or Iran respond to violence by Kurds? Where are the calls for “historical context” in these instances or in any of a dozen other situations around the globe?
The calls for historical context ignore the wars and the violence on both sides which exacerbated the Palestinian exodus. Historical context does not clearly support the Palestinian cause and provides absolutely no rationale for October 7.
So, supporters of Israel, Ukraine and the cause of freedom have opponents in both the Republican and Democratic party. The most viable solution is a stronger bipartisan center, perhaps created through a third party.
Authors Note: The author is an economist. One of his latest articles explains why people are so unhappy about the state of the economy even though aggregate economic numbers appear strong.