Rep. Thomas Massie Was the Only Person Who Voted 'No' on Resolution About the Existence of Israel
I didn't know you could 'vote' on existential questions?
Why does the congress make bills about emotions?
Is this even serious anymore? Why would we need Congress to have a vote about whether any country has a “right to exist?” What would it even mean if such a vote resulted in a majority who voted “no”?
Would that be like an automatic declaration of war against that country?
This is like running a country in terms of Facebook likes.
"Please vote on the following emotional plea. If we achieve a simple majority, the emotion will be added to the nation's official, collective soul and all citizens will be required to feel the same way. And consider what you do before voting; winding up on the wrong side of the majority could result in various struggle sessions and public humiliation rituals for you."
Rep. Thomas Massie stood by his decision to vote late Tuesday against a House resolution affirming Israel’s right to exist, claiming it wrongly conflated criticism of the Jewish state with antisemitism.
Massie (R-Ky.) was the sole lawmaker to vote “nay” on the resolution titled “Reaffirming the State of Israel’s Right to Exist,” which the lower chamber approved with 412 “yea” votes and another member, Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), voting “present.”
How lame!!!
Rashida Tlaib has been one of the very few vocal critics of all of Israel’s genocidal tactics against Palestine (she is Palestinian born, for what it’s worth). And yet she doesn’t even have the courage to vote against something that was guaranteed to be a near-unanimous and empty getsture.
Good for Massie though.
“I agree with the title ‘Reaffirming the State of Israel’s Right to Exist’ and much of the language, but I’m voting No on the resolution because it equates anti-Zionism with antisemitism,” Massie explained on X.
“Antisemitism is deplorable, but expanding it to include criticism of Israel is not helpful.”
Notably, the resolution did not refer to anti-Zionism by name, nor did it suggest that generic criticisms of Israeli policy are antisemitic.
The measure did take note of “persistent external threats” against Israel and declared that “denying Israel’s right to exist is a form of antisemitism.”
“[E]ven after the establishment of the State of Israel, other countries and terrorist entities continued to attack Israel, reject its right to exist, and call for its destruction,” read the resolution, introduced by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY).
LOL at the framing.
"Do you agree that Israel has a right to exist?" There are zero people anywhere saying that Israel doesn't have the right to exist. It's just like the phrase, "Black Lives Matter." It's fake reasonableness.
The sloganeers are not reasonable, of course. They say "Can Israel exist?" What they mean is, "Don't you agree Israel is a superior nation deserving of ruling over everyone with impunity?"
Well obviously nobody would agree with that, despite the fact that it's how things stand now. And when you object, or start to ask questions, the Congress cries out in pain as it censures you.
Notably, while Tlaib voted present, other members of the so-called “Squad” of far-left lawmakers — often critical of Israel and accused of antisemitism — supported the resolution, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) of the Bronx and Queens, Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) of the Bronx and Westchester.
AOC is the biggest phony of all. She ran originally talking about the problems with campaign finance, corruption in American politics and donor influence on how Congress operates. But very quickly she was brought in line with what her own donors told her to do and say.
This squad of morons will signal certain edgy things in their gay tweets and protest events, but when it’s time to vote, they roll right over and vote with the majority—or in Tlaib’s case, lamely abstain.
Only Massie had the nerve to say, actually, no, I am not ok with all of the hospital bombings, refugee slaughterings and baby killings. And no, I don’t agree that those opinions add up to anything like “antisemitism.”
Massie, who casts himself as a libertarian, has bucked his party in the past over support of Israel.
Last month, for instance, he joined with members of the “Squad” and voted against a House resolution affirming US support for the Jewish state and condemning the Hamas terror group. He was the sole Republican to do so.
