Republicans Actually Say Out Loud They Are Not Loyal To America, To Pollsters, With Their Mouths

After all these years of hearing So. Much. BULLSHIT! about Barack Obama -- he's a secret Muslim, he's a secret Kenyan, he's a cokehead, he's a gay, he's the devil, he's the anti-christ, he's Hitler, he's a this that the other thing ARGGGHHHH! -- we have no right to be shocked anymore by anything any Republicans say or do to let us know just how much they hate the president.

And yet, we are shocked. And if you are anything like us -- that is, a More Or Less Intelligent Being-American -- you'll be shocked too. And then you'll throw up. And then you'll shake your head and say, "I must be reading that wrong, it is UNPOSSIBLE," and you'll read it again, but yes, you read it right the first time, sorry:  

Republicans by a ratio of more than 2-to-1 say the U.S. should support Israel even when its stances diverge with American interests, a new Bloomberg Politics poll finds. Democrats, by roughly the same ratio, say the opposite is true and that the U.S. must pursue its own interests over Israel's.

Further illustrating how sharply partisan the debate has become, Republicans say they feel more sympathetic to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than to their own president, 67 percent to 16 percent, while Democrats are more sympathetic to President Barack Obama than to Israel's prime minister, 76 percent to 9 percent.

We know. You don't believe it. You have to read it again anyway. Go ahead. We'll wait for you.

OK, wipe the vomit from your chin, and let us growl and groan about what this poll reveals about the Republican Party in 2015, but together, so we do not have to sob and drink ourselves to death, alone.

The Grand Ol' Party of Lincoln -- who kept the union together and freed the slaves, so it can NOT be racist, as the GOP of Lincoln is so fond of reminding us -- is more loyal toanother countrythan their own U.S. America, and more supportive of the prime minister ofanother countrythan their own president of U.S. America. What? How? Who? What? Huh? WHAT EVEN THE FUCK?

We cannot begin to imagine the jingoistic outcry of love-it-or-leave-it RAGE that would sweep this nation if a poll found a majority of Democrats was more supportive of another country -- let's say France, where freedom fries werenotactually invented -- and its leader than, say, President George Dubya Bush. Oh wait, yes we can. Every single bobblehead on Fox News would encourage True Patriots to show up at their local God Bless 'Merica rally to wave their made-in-China American flags, chant slogans, and sing whatever country song they think should be the National Anthem. Republicans in Congress would demand apologies and try to censure the whole damn lot, and some of the wingnuttier elements in the caucus would insist that the media investigate who among them is "pro-America" or "anti-America."

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You know it's true. We know it's true. Those of us with memories capable of reaching back further than five seconds ago can recall all too well what this country was like during the dark days of President "You're Either With Us Or Against Us"and his Americans"need to watch what they say, watch what they do" administration.

Oh, but that was a different time, with a different president, before it was acceptable to write open letters to governors , the United Nations , and our sworn enemies to explain just how little authority the current president has, so just ignore him. 

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This poll in which Republicans (and a disgraceful but thankfully tiny handful of Democrats) lack the shame or self-awareness to even lie andpretendthey have any sense of loyalty to their country and the office of the president, even if they hate the guy currently in it, is ostensibly about Iran and Israel. Do Americans like or not like the president's attempt to work with other world leaders to avoid yet another war in the Middle East? What do Americans think about our relationship with a country most could not find on a map -- Dubya was amazed, in 1998, when he took a copter ride and saw how teeny tiny it is -- in which there is socialized health care, taxpayer-funded abortions, and no Christmas?

Yeah. Sure. Riiiiiiight.

Claiming to "Stand with Israel" and "Stand with The Jews" is the latest fashion in the Republican Party, and it has nothing at all to do with Israel, and certainly not The Jews, and everything to do with trolling President Obama. This is the same party that whines every year about a War on Christmas because some retailers say "Happy Holidays." This is the same party that insists America is a Christian nation. This is the same party that very few American Jews vote for because it in no way represents their interests, which tend to include unapologetically redistributing wealth from the top 1 percent, strengthening unions, legalizing marriage equality, protecting reproductive rights, and not forcing kids to say "under God" in public schools. This is the same party that nominated John McCain for president, after all. John McCain, who said, in 2007:  

"I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles ... personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith," McCain said. "But that doesn't mean that I'm sure that someone who is Muslim would not make a good president."

Oh, but now that same party thinks our own country's interests are trumped by those of Israel, a country about which Republicans know absolutely nothing at all, a country whose system of government is so gosh darned "complex" that neurosurgeon and potential Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson thinks they should "just adopt the system we have." 

For the Republican Party, supporting Israel is nothing more than a convenient catchphrase to express opposition to President Obama, and maybe toss in some Muslim-bashing while they're at it. (Hint: They're always at it.) This level of virulence directed at the president is not new, certainly, but rather than tiring of their own worn out tune, they are growing ever bolder and more creative in finding ways, in these last remaining years of his presidency, to put on the record just how much they despise him, still and forever.

American Jews, meanwhile, whose relationship with Israel is deeper and more nuanced than a stump speech applause line, are still quite suspect when it comes to their loyalty and objectivity. At Stanford University, and earlier this year at UCLA, Jewish students running for student government have been asked how their Jewish identity would affect their ability to objectively govern their fellow students because the ancient canard of "dual loyalty" still very much exists today. Perhaps those college students aren't aware they need not fear accusations of dual loyalty anymore, because swearing allegiance to Israel, over America, is a perfectly acceptable thing to do. For Republicans, at least, who are quite willing to tell them what bad Jews they are for not supporting the GOP agenda.

Once they return one of their own to the White House -- which will happen again one day, though not, it seems, any day soon -- rest assured the preference for another country and its leader over their own will disappear. Anti-Semitism and accusations of disloyalty against American Jews, on the other hand, will no doubt remain intact.

Same as it ever was.

[ Bloomberg ]