WaPo | So, while congressional Republicans have been much more in harmony
with their grass roots constituents on the issue of Israel,
congressional Democrats have not. One reason they are able to do this is
that for most Democrats, the Israel issue is not especially central in
their electoral decisions.
Now, it’s different: The Israeli issue has
become part and parcel of the partisan tension. If Netanyahu hoped to
isolate the president by demonstrating bipartisan support in Congress,
on which he has usually counted, the current environment puts
congressional Democrats in an untenable position: They are facing a
grass-roots constituency that’s very much on the president’s side on
this issue, and the issue itself is center stage and deeply about
American politics. It’s much harder to fudge, which is why earlier
reports that Netanyahu received a “bipartisan” invitation from
congressional leaders was quickly challenged by Democratic leaders,
including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
It is of course too
early to tell how Congress, Netanyahu and the White House will alter
their postures between now and Netanyahu’s scheduled speech on March 3 –
or what Netanyahu would exactly say if he were to deliver such a
speech. But my guess is that views of him among the American public,
especially Democrats, may have become even more polarized. The most
important consequence is perhaps that congressional Democrats may now
feel they have to look over their shoulders in Democratic primaries on
an issue that has not been traditionally front-and-center in U.S.
election campaigns.
