U.S. congressman Joe Cunningham is being pressed by national Republicans to become the first Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives to support a particular piece of pro-Israel legislation.
The bill – H.R. 336 – is dubbed the “Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act of 2019.” However, according to its staunchest supporter – congressman Lee Zeldin of New York – the real goal of the legislation is to “combat the anti-Israel (and) anti-Semitic hate infiltrating US politics, college campuses, the halls of Congress (and) elsewhere.”
The push to get a vote on this bill comes amid several recent scandals involving allegedly anti-semitic statements made by Democratic members of congress.
“Joe Cunningham (has) the opportunity to stand up to the rabid anti-semites in his caucus,” one national GOP source told us, referencing a discharge petition for the pro-Israeli bill. “Will he sign it, or cower to the bigots in his party?”
For those of you unhip to parliamentary procedure, a discharge petition is simply a method of advancing a piece of legislation to the floor of the House.
Assuming 218 members of the Democratic-controlled chamber (a simple majority) were to sign the petition, it would require the legislation to go to the floor for a vote – potentially putting some Democrats in an awkward spot. Signing a discharge petition does not necessarily mean one supports a bill – it merely means a lawmaker believes it has sufficient merit to receive a vote.
Is there a difference? Eh … probably not in our hyper-partisan climate.
[su_dominion_video_scb]So far, no Democrats have signed the discharge petition for H.R. 336 – and it seems exceedingly unlikely the 218-vote threshold will be reached.
That is not the point, though … the point is to force Cunningham (the GOP’s top takeover target in 2020) into a position where it appears as though he is siding with his liberal leaders against the all-powerful Jewish lobby. Thus, ideally, taking some of the luster off of his “Lowcountry over Party” schtick – not to mention opening up a potentially massive fundraising stream for his eventual Republican opponent in the Palmetto State’s first congressional district race next fall.
So, do we support H.R. 336? Hell no … of course we have always viewed issues related to the Jewish State (and for that matter alleged “anti-semitism“) a bit differently than most media outlets.
Cunningham, 36, won his seat in congress last fall by upsetting GOP nominee Katie Arrington – who herself upset former congressman Mark Sanford in last spring’s Republican primary election.
Arrington has yet to say whether she will run again in 2020, while second-term state representative Nancy Mace – another top tier prospect – appears to be “all in” (and already drawing fire). Meanwhile, former GOP gubernatorial candidate Catherine Templeton – who has said she is not running – continues to be courted by national GOP donors who are unsatisfied with the current crop of candidates.
Stay tuned … given the competitiveness of this district we will obviously continue to keep a watchful eye on the various machinations related to the upcoming showdown.
-FITSNews
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