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Florida Democratic Congressman Robert Wexler sent this email to supporters early this morning:
Dear Teddy,
Today, with both sadness and excitement, I announced that I am leaving Congress in January to accept the position of President of the Center for Middle East Peace, a non-profit institute devoted to achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East
This decision was not easy: I love my job and my devoted staff, and have a long, close relationship with my constituents – many of whom I’ve served for nearly 20 years.
Throughout my 13 years in Congress, I sought to be an advocate for democratic values and provide a voice to vitally important progressive causes. Whether it was working to end the use of torture by the Bush Administration, fighting for a legitimate vote during election 2000, successfully pushing for a voter verified paper trail in Florida, or our shared quest for genuine accountability these last few years – I’m proud of the stands I’ve taken. I am even prouder to have had you standing with me.
Those who have followed my career know that in addition to the progressive causes I have championed, one of my overriding passions has been my work on the Foreign Affairs Committee helping to ensure the unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel, and promoting a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians and Israel and the Arab world.
While I regret that I will be unable to complete my current term in office, I truly believe we are at a unique and critically tense moment in the history of the Middle East and decisions made today will shape the world for years to come. There is no time to waste.
The work on issues of accountability did not start with me, nor will it end with me leaving office. This movement has always been driven by you – and your support for the vital causes we have worked on together.
One of the great lessons I learned in my time in Congress I learned from you – and it is this:
If you stand up for and defend the constitution and rule of law, you will gain the support of hundreds of thousands of citizens across the country.
Thank you for having being part of my team and, most especially, for being brave American patriots.
With warm regards,
Congressman Robert Wexler
16 Comments
This is a sad loss. I wish him luck and hope his quest is fruitful, but realistically, I wish he were staying in Congress, and hope they get someone as effective as he was in representing his constituency to replace him.
I’m still struggling with this one. Wexler seemed to be so committed to the idea of accountability that this seems like a strange time to just drop it and take up a new career.
I guess he really is an Israel firster
Just like Rahm.
Rahm, Dennis Ross, Joe ‘I am a Zionist’ Biden, the Kagans …lots of Israeli firsters floating around this administration.
Any wonder why the Mid-East peace process has yielded nothing -including a start date?
I take this as a positive sign … the Dem leadership could use a strong debater like Wexler on the team that fashions an historic ME peace deal.
For World Politics, the conflict in the Middle East has been a huge stumbling block to electing moderate and liberal Gov’ts. A resilient peace deal would make our World a lot safer and having Wexler focussed on that goal is a very good thing.
I might add one more thing … this hints that a robust PO is all but done and the Dems will increase their majority in ’10, therefore losing Wexler is not such a big deal, for the House.
Yeah, yeah, I know … I’m an incurable optimist ! *g*
I appreciated the discussion with Wexler on the book salon. I liked his energy, his passion, his commitment, his insistence on constitutional rights. At the end I asked about the Israeli lobby (naively) and got no answer.
Does this mean he will play an engaging “front man”?
That is industrial strength kool-aid, for sure.
“Throughout his tenure in Congress, Wexler has been an outspoken advocate for the unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel and a leading proponent of Israel’s right to self defense. He has traveled on numerous congressional delegations to the Middle East and met with the leaders of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Kuwait, Turkey, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman. At President Clinton’s invitation, he was the only member of the House of Representatives present during the signing of the Wye River Peace Agreement. In addition, Wexler was one of two Congressmen to travel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague to oppose the Palestinian case against Israel’s construction of a security barrier. ”
http://www.centerpeace.org/bios/bio_Wexler.htm
This is what happened to some of the “assumed” boomer hippies who ended up not being dedicated to peace with the First Gulf War. Took me a long time to get it. Where did everybody go, and where is this hawkishness coming from among my NYC buddies.
I know Wexler is too young for that era. His resume reads like the perfect progressive and then you get to the religious-cronyism-tribalism loyalty to Israel, the blind spot that skews the vision of world peace to the tremendous pressure from one’s religious-other-national cultural community.
Oy vey.
If you follow Sibel Edmond’s information, then this might be a factor in his decision. He is 100% behind the Zionist Government of Israel, so I doubt he angered AIPAC. He will be doing AIPAC’s bidding in his new position, no doubt.
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http://www.turkishcoalition.org/caucus.html
Well, if I may offer a modest defense…if Wexler is so committed to accountability and yet this administration is not – and there have been absolutely no indications that it is – If you know you are not going to get any further along than when Bush/Darth were in office, then why not move on?
Dosido !
The bible says there will be calls for peace, but there will be no peace.
So why lie? He could have just said, “I got a sweeter deal.”
So
Sarah PalinRobert Wexler wants to leave in the middle of their term.Ah!!!!!!! If WE only had 534 more of them like him, “What a wonderful world it would be.” We should demand He get a Medal. Guy’s like Arlin want to stay till they start to curl-up. Some their brains have migrated with age to their asses, and are dragging on the halls of Congress.
AH!!!!!!! what a wonderful Country and Government we have, that doesn’t work. Yet we stil believe the people there are working for us. THat jokes on us. HA! HA! HA! !Ha !Ha
OT..
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“As head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, Jay Bybee issued a series of memoranda—rescinded by the Justice Department before Bush left office—purporting to legalize the torture and mistreatment of prisoners held in the war on terror. His conduct is potentially chargeable under the War Crimes Act and the Anti-Torture Act. But the Ninth Circuit doesn’t consider it worth serious consideration in the context of a judicial misconduct complaint. ”
http://harpers.org/archive/2009/10/hbc-90005918