As reported in an earlier essay about the successful War Power vote on Iran, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich) offered Resolution HR 84 “Directing the President pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove United States Armed Forces from Lebanon” on June 4. That Resolution was defeated in an appalling 324-92 vote with ten Republican House Members Not Voting.
Further details reveal 206 Republicans and 117 Democrats united in an unusual bipartisan vote to defeat Tlaib’s Resolution which would remove US armed forces from assisting Israel in its invasion in Lebanon.
One GOP House Member voted in favor of Tlaib’s resolution and you can guess who that might have been: Rep. Tom Massie (R-Ky).
Those ten Non Voting GOP Members were Rep. Juan Ciscoman (Ariz), Rep. Andy Barr (Ky), Rep Mike Bost (Il), Rep Dusty Johnson (SD), Rep Thomas Kean (NJ), Rep David Meuser (Pa), Rep Riley Moore (WV), Rep Ralph Norman (SC), Rep Chip Roy (Texas) and Rep Derrick van Orden (Wisc).
It is fair to say that some of those absentee votes may have been due to illness or a legitimate requirement to be elsewhere while it may also be naïve to believe that AIPAC does not have their hooks deeply embedded into each Member beneficiary as it easily delivers any vote whenever AIPAC demands it.
How is it that such a massive lopsided bipartisan vote can occur on a topic like the invasion of Lebanon that is directly related to what is being compared to a duplicate of the Gaza genocide? The Israeli invasion in Lebanon threatens to destroy multiple ancient and sacred World Heritage sites and UNESCO sites in Gaza, Lebanon or the West Bank – all under the guise of fighting Hezbollah as ‘terrorists’ as the Arab American Institute explains in “Israel’s Invasion of Lebanon: Sovereignty Violations and US Complicity.”
Lopsided bipartisan votes frequently reveal their true nature as reminiscent of votes sponsored by AIPAC which has an ability to totally control House votes when the result is in the Zionist’s best interest – and presumably continuing to conduct an additional genocide in Lebanon is in Israel’s best interest as its pursues its Greater Israel Project agenda.
The Greater Israel Project as identified by Theodor Herzl includes total political domination and geographic expansion of Palestine, Libya and Jordan while including parts of Syria’s Golan Heights, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and Saudi Arabia.
It was not so many years ago when Members of Congress held town hall meetings where they would be expected to explain their votes or to enter into conversation with their constituents about national politics. It was not so many years ago when Members of Congress were expected to be accessible and directly accountable to their constituents despite their mastery at fundraising.
With few exceptions, today’s Members may no longer serve at the pleasure of their constituents as they rake in extra grants in addition to, on top of, their generous federal benefits.
We elected them; and they serve at our pleasure. If they are not serving at your pleasure, it is your choice to vote them out of office on November 3.