Published on Mar 10, 2016
I’m for candidates that are capable of looking at the 7.4 billion people in the world as part of a human family, even if they live in Iran or Israel or Mexico or Mali or Gaza or Gabon.
I’m for candidates that are capable of doing the right thing even though it involves confronting and displeasing important elements of their own base.
For instance, is a Democrat capable of taking an action that is opposed by the Congressional Black Caucus or Planned Parenthood or the Teacher’s Unions. Or is a Republican capable of taking action that is opposed by the National Rifle Association or Big Oil or the Prime Minister of Israel.
If a President is not willing to confront his own base, when necessary, he or she is not worth the money we pay them.
Ronald Reagan did it twice in his first two years against the toughest of tough opponents, the State of Israel.
The first time involved the right of the President to conduct foreign policy unimpeded by foreign interference. It involved the sale of aircraft to the Saudis. The Israelis, under Prime Minister Begin, opposed the transaction. Reagan worked the issue very hard and won a showdown vote in the United States Senate 52-48. Before it was over, Reagan was accused by the Israeli government of “Antisemitism and betrayal”. See, Ronald Reagan, An American Life p. 416.
The second time involved the excessive killing of civilians in the Siege of Beirut in 1982. The Israeli army pummeled Beirut in the summer of 1982, trying to flush out the remnants of the Palestinian liberation organization. Reagan’s request for moderation in the siege was ignored. After civilian casualties reached what Reagan considered completely unacceptable levels, he telephoned Prime Minister Begin on August 12, 1982.
According to Reagan’s Diary, this is what he told the Prime Minister: Continue Reading…………