VA-07 Is there a nice way to call Eric Cantor a liar?

There is no nice way to say it: Both Boehner and Cantor lied.

I don't care much about Boehner. He's from Ohio, and his mismanagement of his caucus and well-reported bizzare behavior in the House suggest that he is on a path to political oblivion. He will, of course, win re-election to his seat, but  rejection by his caucus in January is probable, and that would arguably spur his  retirement as he seeks to cash in on the lobbyist gravy train while he can.

But Cantor cuts close to home.

(more on the flip)  
Not only is Cantor from the district next to mine, but he is, in fact, the sole Jewish republican member in the House. I remember his initial election, which was shortly after I moved here, and he came to my synagogue in Charlottesville to talk to congregants and raise money.

I didn't give him money, but even though he was a Republican, I will admit to a small amount of pride at seeing a Jew running for Congress down here. Central Virginia is not an anti-Semitic area by any means (in fact, the the extent I have seen minor instances of anti-Semitici behavior, it has been by transplanted Yankees, but that's another story). Still, Jews have always had an uneasy relationship with the South, walking a line between assimilation into a Southern culture where race dominates creed, and maintaining Jewish identity in a diaspora within a diaspora within a diaspora. For example, many Jewish parents simply grin and bear it when Christianity enters the public school classroom here (like my son's kindergarten teacher several years back, who had the kids make stocking to hang on the mantle while Christmas carols  played on the stereo),or the inclusion of cvertly religius songs like Silent Night in Winter Concerts -- actually, I drew the line there and we didn't participate in that one), partially so as not to rock the boat and be good community members, and partially because such gestures have no malice whatsoever in them.

But there has been a concerted effort by the GOP to make Jewish people afraid of Obama. The Muslim smear was a part of this (though that smear was not specifically directed at the Jewish community). The Hamas smear, currently in vogue among the GOP, is specifically directed at Jews. It is being specifically articulated by prominent GOP elected officials and supporters, such as Lieberman this past weekend on Wolf Blitzer.

That was bad enough, but Cantor needs to be called on this.

I'll let Tapper take it from here:

In an interview with The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., talked a great deal about Israel. He was rather effusive in his support for the Jewish state.

Apparently given nothing of substance to criticize, House Republican leaders then took a statement Obama made and twisted it to act as if the Democrat had insulted the Jewish state. Which he had not.

*   *    *

When the topic turned to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Obama said, "Israel and the Palestinians have tough issues to work out to get to the goal of two states living side by side in peace and security." When asked if Israel besmirches the United States' reputation, Obama said "No, no, no."

Then he said: "But what I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy. The lack of a resolution to this problem provides an excuse for anti-American militant jihadists to engage in inexcusable actions, and so we have a national-security interest in solving this, and I also believe that Israel has a security interest in solving this because I believe that the status quo is unsustainable. I am absolutely convinced of that ... I want to solve the problem..."

It seemed pretty clear to me that by "constant sore" Obama was referring to the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As he says in the next sentence: the "lack of a resolution to this problem."

Nonetheless, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, who knows better, accused Obama of calling Israel a "constant sore."

"Israel is a critical American ally and a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, not a 'constant sore' as Barack Obama claims," Boehner said. "Obama's latest remark, and his commitment to 'opening a dialogue' with sponsors of terrorism, echoes past statements by Jimmy Carter who once called Israel an 'apartheid state.'"

(That's interesting because in that very same interview, Obama rejected Carter's use of the term "apartheid" as applied to Israel. Said Obama: "I strongly reject the characterization....")

Another member of the GOP House leadership, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, also misrepresented what Obama said.

"It is truly disappointing that Senator Obama called Israel a 'constant wound,' 'constant sore,' and that it 'infect[s] all of our foreign policy.' These sorts of words and characterizations are the words of a politician with a deep misunderstanding of the Middle East and an innate distrust of Israel," Cantor said.
(emphasis added)

When Obama twisted Sen. John McCain's "100 Years" comment, it was pretty dishonest as well.

But this may be worse, because Boehner et al are falsely accusing Obama of besmirching a nation and a people. They are accusing him of being anti-Israel, even anti-Semitic. It is false. (emphasis added)

In other words, Cantor is lying.

I'll be taking further action on this, and if I am able t accomplish anything, I'll let y'all know. In the meantime, I'll just be disgusted.

Here is the link to the whole piece, which is worth reading:

http://blogs.abcnews.com/polit...

First, good work by Tapper.

Second, Jews and non-Jews alike can reach their own conclusions about where Obama stands on this issue (I have reached mine, and Obama is light-years better than McCain when it comes to Israel), but lying is simply wrong, and in the end it does not serve American Jews who care deeply about Israel.

That Cantor is a party to this is simply odious.

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