It has been an absolutely crazy week in terms of news and politics, both internationally and domestically. It has been so crazy that I have decided to write a Politics Roundup from abroad. So here we go…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is Voting for Romney
Well, not actually. But, he sure wants to. On Tuesday, Netanyahu said that the Obama administration doesn’t have the “moral right” to halt prospective Israeli military actions against Iran as the United States hasn’t done enough to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear capabilities. With the election less than two months away and the President working hard to gain votes in Jewish-heavy swing states like Florida, the last thing Obama wants right now is to be receiving verbal attacks from the Israeli leader.
Netanyahu, however, has shown no fear in thrusting himself into American politics in the last week. After giving his “moral right” remarks, his camp leaked information claiming that Netanyahu had requested a meeting with Obama at a UN summit only to be refused. The White House immediately denied that this claim and basically called the Israeli leader a liar. You’d think that would be a great time for Romney to step in and capitalize in an area (Israeli-US relations) that Obama is weak in. Unfortunately, Romney was far too busy shoving his foot in his mouth trying to attack Obama over Libya.
Netanyahu’s recent actions even led the Israeli opposition leader Shaul Mofaz to question whether Netanyahu was more interested in ousting Obama or Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This story is only going to get better as Netanyahu is doing an interview on NBC’s ‘Meet The Press.'
House Republicans Thankful for Middle East for Distracting Americans from their Bad Legislation
Here is a story that has been covered almost nowhere in the news. There is a bill in the House right now called the Workforce Investment Improvement Act and it is sponsored by three Republican Representatives. The bill is designed to reform and roll back welfare but has some unintended consequences according the Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan research and analysis arm of Congress.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the bill will eliminate many of the welfare-to-work requirements that were put in place in the bipartisan legislation from the Clinton years. After reading this, you might be wondering, aren’t those the same requirements that Republicans have relentlessly and falsely attacked Obama for attempting to eliminate? Why yes, yes they are. Neither presidential campaign has commented on this sad attempt at welfare reform and other, more pressing news stories have kept this legislation out of the news, a fact that House Republicans must be thankful for.
Wisconsin Union-Busting Law Struck Down in Court
So after months of protests in Madison and a failed attempt to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, the Wisconsin law that limits collective bargaining rights for all public workers has been struck down by a Wisconsin judge. This news is just breaking but the Walker has already vowed to appeal.
Federal Reserve Reverses Policy and Decides to Stimulate Economy
In a total departure from previous policies, the Federal Reserve announced a new program designed to stimulate the economy. I could try to pretend here that I know what an “open-ended mortgage bond-buying program” is and what its implications are, but I will spare you. Here is an article explaining what exactly the Fed did and here is an article explaining why this new policy is exciting.
Arab Countries Thrust Themselves onto World Stage
I feel bad throwing this down at the bottom on the Roundup, especially with some of the horrific things that have happened the last couple days in Tripoli and Tunis among other places, but this is an article about American politics and not world news. I considered not mentioning it at all but it does have American political implications. Basically, so much has happened in the Middle East and North Africa in the last few days that I can’t even begin to try to summarize it in this article but I will address the political aspect.
As the attacks began, Mitt Romney attacked President Obama for sympathizing with the protestors and the backlash for him has been immense. Nearly every media outlet has called him out for what was basically a lie and his comments have been painted as desperate and inappropriate. His comments couldn’t have come at a worse time either, with Obama feeling a hefty bump in the polls after a successful Democratic National Convention.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.