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Posted on 07/14/2003 10:34:00 AM PDT by tripod
US President George W. Bush is mistaken to believe the Christian Right - which strongly supports Israel - is in his pocket for the 2004 election, Gary Bauer, a leading voice for this constituency, said Thursday.
Bauer, on a four-day visit to Israel, admitted that this constituency - which he said makes up the bulk of the Republican Party - is not going to leave the Bush camp and vote instead for one of the Democratic contenders. However, if it appears that the Bush Administration is "browbeating" Israel into making concessions to terrorists, Bauer said a large number of these people may just sit out the elections.
Bauer, a Presidential candidate in 2000 and head of American Values, a conservative advocacy group, said the idea that Bush has a "captive audience" in the Christian Right is "one of the big misunderstandings of American politics."
"No, they would not vote for Howard Dean," he said, referring to the liberal Vermont governor who has emerged as one of the leading Democratic contenders. "But Christian conservatives have been uncomfortable with politics for years, and they only became more involved in politics when they concluded they could make a difference in the country. If they are repeatedly disappointed, some percentage will just stay home; they will change their focus back to their churches and away from politics."
Bauer said that Bush's top political advisor, Karl Rove, understands this well. "He has said publicly that the last election was close because not enough of that vote got out. So it would be very unwise for any politician to take that vote for granted."
Moreover, Bauer said that this constituency makes up a bulk of the party's activists at the state and local level who ring doorbells, lick envelopes and solicit funds during election campaigns. He said that undo pressure on Israel could dampen their passion, and if their passion for the Republican Party becomes tepid, it could hurt the party.
The Christian Right is "a great asset for Israel to have in American politics," Bauer said, adding that there is a tendency in Israel to forget that this large independent force stands with it.
In the 2000 elections, some 14 percent of the electorate questioned in exit polls aligned themselves with the religious Right.
Bauer attributed the Bush Administration's change of tone after Israel's failed assassination of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantissi to anger at a perceived double standard that was articulated by the Christian Right.
He said that after the Bush Administration's initial condemnation of the assassination attempt of Rantissi, he received copies of 1,000 e-mails sent to the White House on the issue.
"Even I was surprised by the tone of the e-mails," he said. "They were very respectful of the president, said they prayed for the president every day, but said universally that if they conclude that undo pressure is being placed on Israel, or that Israel is being held to a double standard, they will stay home on election day."
Bauer said he believes this "contributed a great deal" to the Bush Administration's change of tone in the 24 hours that followed the initial condemnation.
Concerned that the US not "browbeat Israel into making concessions that are unwise or inappropriate for its security," Bauer said he doesn't understand the Administration's opposition - articulated recently by National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice - to the construction of the security fence.
"It is hard to understand why Israel is being told it cannot take overt actions, like going after terrorist leaders, nor passive actions, like continuing the building of the security fence," Bauer said.
Bauer attributed the US pressure on the fence, as well as stepped up pressure on the road map after the conclusion of the war in Iraq, to the State Department getting an upper hand in the Oval Office.
"The State Department, unfortunately, has had its own foreign policy for 40 years, and that foreign policy tends to reassert itself in the oval office," Bauer said. "We want to help the president fight to make sure that his very clear moral views about terrorism are what prevails, not the bureaucracy of the State Department."
Bauer said he is "concerned" there is "evidence of a drift right now away from the clear standards that the president has previously outlined. We want to do everything we can to get the Bush Doctrine back into the driver's seat, and to remind everybody in Washington that the Bush Doctrine is universal, and that these principles apply not only to the right of the US to contest terrorism, but to Israel as well."
Bauer said in recent years there has been a marked decrease in the wariness of American Jews to team up with the Christian Right. According to Bauer, one the signs of this change is the number of invitations he now receives to address mainstream Jewish organizations. This, he said, wouldn't have happened two and a half years ago.
"I think there is a tremendous movement taking place, and a growing comfort level between Jewish and Christian leaders," Bauer said.
Bauer attributed this to an understanding among many Jews that he doesn't have a hidden agenda. On domestic issues, where organized American Jewish leadership and the Christian Right are often on opposite sides of the issues, Bauer said, "We can agree to disagree, but most of these issues are at the end of the day not as important as Israel's peace and security.
Bauer's trip, his second to Israel, was sponsored by a group of Orthodox Republicans called the Jerusalem Coalition, headed by Michael Landau, a real-estate developer from New York. Among the officials he met or will be meeting during his visit are Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Education Minister Limor Livnat, Ministers-without- Portfolio Natan Sharansky and Uzi Landau, Likud MK Omri Sharon, and Tourism Minister Benny Elon, considered to be close to the Christian Right.
Landau said a meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, whom Bauer met during his visit here last year, did not take place because of scheduling problems.
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
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Bauer said he is "concerned" there is "evidence of a drift right now away from the clear standards that the president has previously outlined. We want to do everything we can to get the Bush Doctrine back into the driver's seat, and to remind everybody in Washington that the Bush Doctrine is universal, and that these principles apply not only to the right of the US to contest terrorism, but to Israel as well."
What part of that did you not understand ?
I suppose what he had in mind is the $20m down payment to terrorists, the pressure for the release of terrorists, and the sporadic "concern" that Israel might be killing terrorists. Since illegal immigrants and, by implication, terrorists can penetrate our security fence daily I suppose you have an argument for no drift there.
Why is it the "enthusiastic" posters always come back to the same old argument? :-) I'm sorry. I thought we were talking about Bush's support for Israel.
No, we were talking about his administration's support for Palestinian militants. Is that the appropriate term to use now ?
You choose the terrorists. Genuine Christians choose Israel. It doesn't get much simpler.
Let's make a list of how many people care what Gary Bauer thinks.
Anyone?
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