WASHINGTON – Barack Obama's campaign has approached Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel about possibly serving as White House chief of staff, officials said Thursday as the marathon presidential race entered its final, frenzied stretch with a Democratic tilt...
The Democrats who described the Obama campaign's approach to Emanuel spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to be quoted by name. An aide to the congressman, Sarah Feinberg, said in an e-mail that he "has not been contacted to take a job in an administration that does not yet exist. Everyone is focused on Election Day, as they should be. "
Emanuel is a veteran of President Clinton's White House, and has made a rapid ascent of the House leadership ladder since his election to Congress. He was chairman of the Democratic campaign committee two years ago when the party won a majority for the first time in more than a decade, and he cemented his reputation as a prodigious fundraiser and strong-willed political strategist.
Both Obama and McCain have authorized their staffs to begin transition operations in recent weeks — although only one of them will be in a position to make use of the results. As far as is known, no job offers have been made by either man.
Opinion polls, early voting statistics and even the candidates' campaign schedules all make it look like the race is Obama's to lose...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081030/ap_on_el_pr/campaign_rdp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
October 31, 2008 ~ VineyardSaker
Who is Rahm Emanuel, Obama's prospective Chief of Staff?
Andrew Cockburn: Meet Rahm Emanuel
John Walsh: How Rahm Emanuel Has Rigged a Pro-War Congress
John Walsh: Emanuel's War Plan for Democrats
I think these three are a *must read* for anyone contemplating an Obama vote.
Currently Obama is being very oblique when asked to confirm the reports that he approached Emanual to offer him this position. This makes sense. Obama is clearly a puppet in all this, and the real decisions will be taken by the puppeteers, In fact, there is a good chance that Emanuel himself is one of the puppeteers in this story so the decision to come out from the safer world of behind the scenes politics is probably his to make. Still, Chief of Staff is an immensely powerful position to hold (just remember Don Regan) and it would allow Emanuel to control Obama's activities 24/7.
Again, the mere fact that Obama would even contemplate placing himself in the hands of a Uber-Zionist like Emanuel should obliterate any hopes anyone could have harbored about Obama being a lesser evil or a candidate for change (although the "change" thing really got voided at the choice of Joe Biden for VP, the ultimate non-change politician).
Guys, don't do it! You will hate yourself for at least four years if you vote Obama.
Either abstain, or vote Nader or McKinney, but don't do this to your conscience. Don't vote for AIPAC's puppet!
By JOHN WALSH ~ October 24, 2006
What are Emanuel's views on war and peace? Emanuel has just supplied the answer in the form of a scrawny book co-authored with Bruce Reed, modestly entitled: The Plan: Big Ideas for America. The authors obligingly boil each of the eight parts of "The Plan" down to a single paragraph. The section which embraces all of foreign policy is entitled "A New Strategy to End the War on Terror," a heading revealing in itself since "war on terror" is the way the neocons and the Israeli Lobby currently like to frame the discussion of foreign policy. Here is the book's summary paragraph with my comments in parentheses:
"A New Strategy to Win the War on Terror"
("War on Terror," as George Soros points out, is a false metaphor used by those who would drag us into military adventures not in our interest or that of humanity.)"We need to use all the roots of American power to make our country safe. (He begins by playing on fear.) America must lead the world's fight against the spread of evil and totalitarianism, but we must stop trying to win that battle on our own. (Messianic imperialism.) We should reform and strengthen multilateral institutions for the twenty-first century, not walk away from them. We need to fortify the military's "thin green line" around the world by adding to the U.S. Special Forces and the Marines, and by expanding the U.S. army by 100,000 more troops. (An even bigger military for the world's most powerful armed forces, a very militaristic view of the way to handle the conflicts among nations. What uses does Emanuel have in mind for those troops?) We should give our troops a new GI Bill to come home to. (More material incentives to induce the financially strapped to sign up as cannon fodder.) Finally we must protect our homeland and civil liberties by creating a new domestic counterterrorism force like Britain's MI5. (A new domestic spying operation is an obvious threat to our civil liberties; MI5 holds secret files on one in 160 adults in Britain along with files on 53,000 organizations.)
There it is straight from the horse's mouth.(2)
How does Emanuel, the man who has screened and chosen the 2006 Democratic candidates for Congress, feel specifically about the war on Iraq, the number one issue on voters' minds. Emanuel and Reed do not so much as mention Iraq in their book except in terms of the "war on terror." Nor does Emanuel mention Iraq on his web site as among the important issues facing us, quite amazing omission and one shared by Chuck Schumer who is his equivalent of the Senate side, chairing the DSCC (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee). However a profile in Fortune (9/25/2006), "Rahm Emanuel, Pitbull Politician," by Washington Bureau chief Nina Easton notes: "On Iraq, Emanuel has steered clear of the withdraw-now crowd, preferring to criticize Bush for military failures since the 2003 invasion. 'The war never had to turn out this way,' he told me at one of his campaign stops. In January 2005, when asked by Meet the Press's Tim Russert whether he would have voted to authorize the war-'knowing that there are no weapons of mass destruction'-Emanuel answered yes. (He didn't take office until after the vote.) 'I still believe that getting rid of Saddam Hussein was the right thing to do, okay?' he added."(3)
When Jack Murtha made his proposal for withdrawal from Iraq, Emanuel quickly declared that "Jack Murtha went out and spoke for Jack Murtha." As for Iraq policy, Emanuel added: "At the right time, we will have a position." That was November, 2005. In June, 2006, it was obviously time, and Emanuel finally revealed his policy in a statement on the floor of the House during debate over Iraq, thus: "The debate today is about whether the American people want to stay the course with an administration and a Congress that has walked away from its obligations or pursue a real strategy for success in the war on terror. We cannot achieve the end of victory and continue to sit and watch, stand pat, stay put, status quo and that is the Republican policy. Democrats are determined to take the fight to the enemy." The refrain is familiar; more troops are the means and victory in Iraq is the goal.
The war on Iraq benefited Israel by laying waste a country seen to be one of its major adversaries. Emanuel's commitment to Israel (4) and his Congressional service to it are not in doubt. The most recent evidence was his attack on the U.S. puppet Prime Minister of Iraq, Nouri al Maliki, because Maliki had labeled Israel's attack on Lebanon as an act of "aggression." Emanuel called on Maliki to cancel his address to Congress; and he was joined by his close friend and DSCC counterpart, Sen. Chuck Schumer, who asked; "Which side is he (Maliki) on when it comes to the war on terror?" In terms of retired Senator Fritz Holling's statement that Congress is Israeli occupied territory, Rahm Emanuel must be considered one of the occupying troops. And he certainly is a major cog in the Israel Lobby as defined by Mearsheimer and Walt. Nor is the idea that the Lobby exists and has tremendous influence on Middle East policy any longer a taboo in the minds of the general populace. According to a poll just carried out by Zogby International for CNI (5), 39% of the American public "agree" or "somewhat agree" that "the work of the Israel lobby on Congress and the Bush administration has been a key factor for going to war in Iraq and now confronting Iran." A similar number, 40%, "strongly disagreed" or "somewhat disagreed" with this position. Some 20% of the public were not sure.
But in some respects, Emanuel is a mysterious fellow, as evidenced by his biography, which is readily available on Wikipedia and in the piece in Fortune (3). But there are a few things missing or not fully explained. First, as is often pointed out, Emanuel's physician father was an Israeli émigré; but, according to Leon Hadar, he also worked during the 1940s with the notorious Irgun, which was labeled as a terrorist organization by the British authorities.(6) Perhaps Rahm's current interest in terrorism was first kindled at his father's Irgun knee.
Second, during the 1991 Gulf War, Emanuel was a civilian volunteer in Israel, "rust-proofing brakes on an army base in northern Israel." (Wikipedia, New Republic). This is peculiar on two counts. Here the U.S. goes to war with Iraq, but Emanuel, a U.S. citizen, volunteers not for his country, but for Israel. Moreover, here is a well-connected Illinois political figure with a father who had been in the Irgun, but he is assigned to "rust-proof brakes" on "an army base." Maybe.
Third, immediately upon his return from his desert sojourn, Emanuel at once became a major figure in the Clinton campaign "who wowed the team from the start, opening a spigot on needed campaign funds."(3) How did he do that after being isolated overseas, and with no experience in national politics? Fourth, after leaving the Clinton White House, he decided that he needed some accumulated wealth and "security" if he were to stay in politics. So he went to work for Bruce Wasserstein, a major Democratic donor and Wall Street financier.
Notes:
http://www.counterpunch.org/walsh10242006.html
(2) Emanuel and Reed also refer approvingly to Peter Beinart, the neocon warrior theoretician for the Democrats, warehoused at Marty Peretz's The New Republic, thus: "In his recent book, The Good Fight, Peter Beinart, explains why a tough new national security policy is as essential to the future of of progressive politics as a united front against totalitarianism and communism was to the New Deal and the Great Society." (This chapter of The Plan is titled: "Who Sunk My Battleship." Needless to say, the battleship in question is not the USS Liberty.) Emanuel and Reed also like Anne-Marie Slaughter's proposal for "a new division of labor in which the United Nations takes on economic and social assistance and an expanded (!) NATO takes over the burden of collective security." In other words the UN can do the charity work while the US-dominated NATO is policeman to the world. Quite a vision. And their call for more troops is shared by the Republican neocons, with William Kristol's Weekly Standard calling for 250,000 more for the army this past week.
(3)http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/17/
You have made multiple posts referencing Rahm Emmanuel, what crime is he supposedly guilty of?
Is this merely a Jew hating thing?
Where's the beef???
Sh'arks, you just don't get it, or you refuse to. Do some research on Rahm Emmanuel and then be honest with yourself about how his inclusion in your next government will bode for America and the world.
You could begin your research by actually reading the above.
love to see what else ya got....
counterpunch is a lame joke...
Emmanuel is the son of Jewish terrorist who volunteered for military service with the IDF during the Gulf War. He emulated his daddy and fought for Israel in 1991, and he's fighting for Israel now. He was brought up as a Jew, in a Jewish school. He's an Israeli, he carries an Israeli passport, and he's a dual citizen. He's tight as fuck with AIPAC. His record on Israel reflects his love of it.
What do you think that means for America and Iran and Iraq and the rest of the world? What do you think it says about his loyalty to America? He's never served in the U.S. military, only the IDF. If Rahm Emmanuel is acceptable to you as a representative, so would be Bibi Netanyahu.
You just don't want to see it.
Rahm Emanuel's Dirty Secret
by Christopher Bollyn
Independent Journalist
(Without Borders)
17 November 2006
The Terrorists In The U.S. Congress
Rahm Emanuel
Christopher Bollyn, spoke about this with Smith.
Click here for the audio interview
Really, I am not making this up, the chief power-broker of the Democrat Party, the 5-and-a-half foot foul-mouthed Israeli named Rahm, is the son of terrorist – a real living terrorist.
So, what do we do as citizens of the land of the free and the home of the brave fighting the War on Terror?
Do we run and hide from the foul-mouthed little Israeli who danced ballet and swears for effect - or do we laugh? Or do we demand answers? How can we respect a U.S. Congressman who served in a foreign army and whose father was a terrorist?
Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the Democrat congressman for the 5th District of Illinois in Chicago is the son of an Israeli terrorist. Rahm's father, Benjamin, was a member of the Irgun, the Zionist terrorist organization that coined a new word as they blew up hotels, train stations, and other buildings in Palestine in the 1930s and 40s.
Rahm was an Israeli citizen until he was 18 years old, when for obvious reasons he hid his Israeli passport in his underwear drawer. In 1991, however, he pulled his Israeli passport out and went and reportedly joined the Israeli Army to defend Zion from Saddam's Scuds.
Irgun, the army of his father, is short for Irgun Zvai Leumi, which supposedly means something like "National Military Organization" in Hebrew. As a matter of fact, the Irgun was simply a terrorist Zionist group that operated in Palestine from 1931 to 1948. They killed innocent Palestinians and British soldiers and blew up buildings.
After 1948 they became part of the new Israeli government and did the same thing. In September 2001 they put their skills to work in New York City and Washington to kick start the "war on terror" - a conflict long promoted by their chief architect, Bibi Netanyahu, son of the former secretary of Ze'ev Jabotinsky.
The Irgun even has a website with pictures of the buildings they blew up before they demolished the World Trade Center with Thermite and high explosives:
www.etzel.org.il
In Israel, the Irgun is referred to as Etzel, an acronym of the group's Hebrew initials. The Irgun was considered a terrorist organization by the British authorities as well as by mainstream Zionist and Jewish organizations, such as the Jewish Agency, the Haganah and the Histadrut. (It just has not made it onto the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist organizations – even after blowing up the World Trade Center. Some people are slow to learn.)
Irgun was founded by Ze'ev Jabotinsky and the relationship with Jabotinsky's Revisionist Zionism made it the predecessor to Israel's right-wing Herut and Likud parties.
Guess who runs Israel today?
Answer: The sons and daughters of Irgun. (Check out the commander list on the Etzel website if you don't believe me.)
Guess who runs the United States today? The same people – let's start with Rahm Emanuel.
Of course you won't find anything about Rep. Emanuel's father's exploits in Palestine on Rahm's website: http://www.house.gov/emanuel/aboutrahm.shtml
The late Sherman Skolnick of Chicago called Rahm Emanuel the "Acting Deputy Chief for North America of the Mossad – Israeli Intelligence."
cloakanddagger.de Rahm Emanuel
Skolnick went on to say that Emanuel's father Benjamin had been "part of the Israeli assassin team that murdered Sweden's Count [Folke] Bernadotte" in 1948. Bernadotte was the envoy of the United Nations in Palestine who sought to find a solution to the UN Partition Plan that gave Palestinian land to Jews from "beyond the pale."
Was Skolnick correct? Skolnick does not document his claims so I checked into his allegations.
"Beyond the pale" would certainly describe where Rahm Emanuel's family came from. His father's family came to Palestine from somewhere in the Ukraine in 1917, according to what Dr. Benjamin M. Emanuel told me the other day. Dr. Emanuel now lives on the appropriately named Locust Road in Wilmette, Illinois.
Benjamin, speaking with a thick Israeli accent, told me that his father's name was Ezekiel Auerbach and that his mother's name was Pinina or something like that. He said it meant "pearl" in Hebrew. Asked about his role in the Irgun, Ben told me he had been a "simple soldier."
Yes, Ben, but serving as "simple soldier" in a terrorist organization makes you a terrorist. And the fact that you served in a terrorist organization 60 years ago makes no difference. You know, same rules for Nazis and terrorists.
Is that not what all those fellows in Guantanamo are being held for?
The Emanuel family name was Auerbach until 1936, although they are not related to the famous rabbinical family of Germany and Krakow named Auerbach. Ben said that his family was from Russia. (Well, the pale but not quite Russia.)
His father Ezekiel supposedly changed the family name to Emanuel when his son with that name died fighting Palestinians in 1936.
Many Jewish families in Palestine changed their names to make themselves sound like they actually came from Palestine. And you wondered where all those Jews disappeared during World War II?
Sheinerman became Sharon, Yezernitzky became Shamir, and Auerbach became Emanuel, and so on. And then multiply by a few hundred thousand. Voila! Millions of European Jews vanish from the face of the Earth - and build new lives in Palestine.
Ben told me that Emanuel Auerbach had died from "shrapnel in the knee" in 1936. When I asked him today for details on this incident he suddenly decided that he did not want to do an interview on the phone and hung up.
But before he terminated the conversation, Dr. Benjamin Auerbach-cum-Emanuel told me that he had been a member of the Irgun and had served under Menachem Begin. He told me that he had never met Begin and had not smuggled weapons into Palestine, other news reports notwithstanding.
Naftali Bendavid (not a local reporter) with The Chicago Tribune spent 18 months working with Rahm Emanuel to prepare a story for the week after the mid-term elections although Naftali did not think that there was enough room in the 9-page story to mention the salient fact that Dr. Benjamin Emanuel had been a member of the terrorist organization – the Irgun.
No. In 9 pages of Bendavid's fluff piece there was simply no room to mention the ugly fact that Rahm's father had been a member of a terrorist organization.
Naftali Bendavid (clearly of Israeli persuasion) wrote a 9-page cover story for last Sunday's paper, which took up the entire second section of the now-failing Chicago Tribune. (The latest rumor in Chicago is that the indicted but not convicted Zionist criminal Maurice Greenberg may buy the Tribune.)
(This is the same paper that actually hired an outside writer from TIME magazine to co-author a short piece in order to properly smear me and misrepresent the story of my brutal arrest at the hands of Homeland Security goons last August.)
Naftali, at his office in Washington, knew all about Irgun when I spoke with him on the phone. When I said it was an egregious omission to leave out the fact that Rahm's father had been in the Irgun, he said he just couldn't figure how to squeeze that bit into a 9-page article.
Naftali, let me help, as English is my mother tongue: "Rahm Emanuel's father Benjamin was a member of the Irgun, a Zionist terrorist group that operated in Palestine from 1931 to 1948. The Irgun blew up buildings and killed hundreds of innocent people in order to achieve the goals of militant Zionism in occupied Palestine."
Rahm's mother is Martha Smulevitz, who married the Israeli doctor in August 1955. Ben told me that they met in Chicago. I asked if she was related to the Smulevitz family that was living in Palestine in the 1930s. He said no.
There are Smulevitz's and Shmuelevitz's all throughout the Zionist invasion of Palestine. One was hanged by the Brits, one dealt with the Nazis in Berlin, and another was the chief of staff for Menachem Begin – take your pick.
It would, however, be most interesting if Rahm's father were actually related to Moshe Auerbach, the Zionist who went to Berlin with Pino Ginzburg to arrange the transfer of Jews and money to Palestine – with the Nazi regime.
On February 28 1937, Feivel Polkes, head of the Haganah told Adolf Eichmann that he was interested most of all in "accelerating Jewish migration to Palestine so that the Jews would obtain a majority over the Arabs in his country."
In The Secret Contacts: Zionism and Nazi Germany -1933-1941 by Klaus Polkehn, he revealed that collaboration between the Zionists and the Third Reich was cemented by the "Mossad Aliyah Beth" which had been created by Haganah as an illegal immigration organization. Pina Ginsburg and Moshe Auerbach, with the blessings of the Reich, set up offices in Berlin to carry out their immigration activities in 1938.
Here is a page from Klaus Polkehn's book.
And you wonder where Rahm Emanuel got his "chutzpah" from?
Photo: "I said before the election that if the Democrats win the House, the lion's share of the credit should go to Rahm," says Rep. Ray LaHood, an Illinois Republican. "He legitimately can be called the golden boy of the Democratic Party today. He recruited the right candidates, found the money and funded them, and provided issues for them. Rahm did what no one else could do in seven cycles."
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/08/AR2006110802239.html
And the fact that more than 70 percent of the American population is opposed to wasting U.S. blood and treasure to fight a Zionist war in Iraq means nothing?
The U.S Congress Democratic Caucus president would be Israeli military intelligence officer
The new democratic group (Democratic Caucus) in the U.S Congress House of Representatives has elected Rahm Emanuel as a new chairman. Former professional dancer, Mr Emanuel was Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign treasurer, then his political director in the White House.
He was one of the main protagonists of the Free Trade Area of the Americas Agreement and would have played a role in Wye River negotiations on the Middle East. He inspired Josh complex character in the famous television series The West Wing. Today, he is Chicago (Illinois) elected representative.
Of Israeli origin, he obtained the United-Stator nationality at the age of 18. As a volunteer engaged during Desert Storm operation ( 1991 ), Rahm Emanuel (then 32-years old) has served for Israel defence against a possible Iraqi attack.
Accused afterwards of being a Tsahal officer and of being subjected to a double allegiance, Mr Emanuel pointed out that he had not served in the uniform. In fact, according to our information, he would be a member of Amal, Tsahal’s military intelligence service.
[Wikipedia cites a New Republic article that claims Rahm's role in the IDF was "rust-proofing brakes on an army base in northern Israel".]
Rahm Emanuel is Benyamin Auerbach’s son. On September 17, 1948, Mr. Auerbach took part, under Yitzhak Shamir’s authority, in the attack that caused the death of both the Swedish count Folke Bernadotte (UNO mediator in Palestine) and the French colonel André Sérot (a United Nations military observer).
It is this double assassination which put an end to the binational State project in Palestine and which transformed the Israel State nature itself in comparison with what had been decided by the UN Organisation.
Rahm Emanuel’s younger brother, Ari Emanuel, is Michael Moore’s agent in Hollywood. He encouraged this latter to point out the supposed responsibility of Saudi Arabia in September 11 attacks in his famous film Fahrenheit 911, the showing of which was ensured by the Democratic Party.
Source
(Part of Shooting Blanks can be seen, kneeling behind Emanuel...)
strong arm fundraising tactics? Every crime of the Irgun?
i could only listen to the first 15 minutes of the guilt by association report.
he's a jew, he's an israeli..blah blah blah..i knew months ago he had served in the IDF
i could really care less, i didnt vote for the guy, and i am not racist, and military service is compulsory in Israel
there's no there there... it's just a propaganda screed from what i have heard so far.
of course, others are free to take from it what they will.
David Robinson, like AIPAC did.
Paul Findley was a rarely staunch anti-Zionist congressman.
I hope you'll be cool with that.
It's just pro-LEFT-zionist, hence the senile garbage from Uri Avnery it continues to print with so much complacency. Consider this:
I am a very secular person. I have always advocated a complete separation between state and religion, even in the days when that sounded like a crazy idea. But it has never entered my mind to drive on Yom Kippur. There is no law forbidding it, no law is necessary. For a traditional Jew, Yom Kippur is a day like no other. Even if one does not really believe that on this day God makes the final decision about the life or death of every human being for the next year and writes it all down in a large book, one senses that one has to respect the feelings of those who do believe. I would not drive on Yom Kippur in a Jewish neighborhood, just as I would not eat in public during Ramadan in an Arab neighborhood. It is difficult to know what the Arab driver Tawfiq Jamal was thinking of when he entered a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in his car on Yom Kippur. It is reasonable to assume that he did not do it out of malice, as a provocation, but rather out of stupidity or carelessness ... In the Arab community, there are probably some who dream about the good old days, before the Jews came to this country and took it by force ... There is reasonable hope that at some future time we shall end the national conflict and reach a peaceful solution that both peoples will accept (if only because there is no alternative.) A Palestinian state will come into being side by side with Israel, and both peoples will understand that this is the best possible solution. (The Akko events should give rise to second thoughts in the mind of anyone who believes in the "One-State solution"' where Jews and Arabs would live in brotherhood and equality. Such a "solution" would turn the entire country into one big Akko.) ...
http://www.counterpunch.org/avnery10202008.html
CounterPunch is really just the voice of the old Second Socialist International, the one that failed to prevent WW1.
That's a bit of a stretch. Former Knesset member Avnery's commentary sucks, but it doesn't accurately reflect the general philosophy of Counterpunch.
Counterpunch defends the free speech rights of holocaust revisionists, heavily criticizes AIPAC and the Lobby, opposes aid to Israel, opposes supporting war for Israel, opposes Israeli war crimes and atrocities, and opposes Zionism in general. It promotes books like The Case Against Israel and The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. Counterpunch is pretty weak on Israel and 9/11, but I don't think you can rightly say that it's pro-Zionist.
I would provide examples, but the 'CPU quota exceeded' message is coming up in the little mini-window when I try to create hyperlinks.
what i find most troubling about Emmanuel is his Clinton connection... My recommendation i guess would be that if Obama get elected and nominates him for a cabinet position that you contact your local representative and voice your concern to him in hopes of preventing a confirmation in the senate.
this could be read in different ways...might be a story leaked for effect, could be real meat...i guess we'll find out one way or another. Aside from the intro at AIPAC Emanuel has not figured prominantly in the Obama campaign.
The Associated Press reports that Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel has been approached about being Barack Obama's chief of staff.
FOXNews.com
Friday, 2008-31-305
As Barack Obama continues to absorb accusations that he is not committed to maintaining America's staunch support for Israel, knowledgeable Democrats have leaked word that he is considering a well-known, pro-Israeli Jewish congressman to be his chief of staff if elected.
The Associated Press reported Thursday night that Obama's campaign has approached Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel about the job.
Such an appointment could be seen as a salve to Jewish voters, some of whom have grown skeptical of Obama despite his repeated statements that he is committed to Israel's security.
Obama and his campaign won't comment on the implications of forging an Emanuel-led White House staff -- but they're not completely dismissing the report that he's being considered for the job, either.
Asked if Emanuel would be his chief of staff Thursday night in Missouri, Obama responded: I'm trying to win an election."
Is that a no? a reporter asked.
"Plouffe is my chief of staff," Obama answered, referring to his campaign manager, David Plouffe.
"There's no news because there's no job to offer. We're focused on one thing and that's the election, not anonymous D.C. parlor games," spokesman Nick Shapiro told FOXNews.com in an e-mail.
ss -- you say you listened to 15 minutes of that audio, ane were unable to glean anything other than 'guilt by association' propaganda from it? And you've seen the items posted by CoZ, Atheo and myself. You clearly are a liar or an idiot.
October 31, 2008
Categories: Campaigns
RNC revels in Rahm rumors
Even though Rep. Rahm Emanuel has denied an AP report linking him to the White House chief of staff job, it isn’t stopping the RNC from assuming it’s already a fait accompli.
“Rahm Emanuel is working with Barack Obama to create the most unbalanced and partisan government in a generation,” said RNC spokesman Alex Conant.
“Emanuel is among the most vitriolic and partisan people in American politics. Reports that Obama wants him to be White House chief of staff undercut any claims to unity and bipartisanship, and should alarm every voter.”
When contacted, Emanuel’s office once again denied the report.
“He has not been contacted to take a job in an administration that does not yet exist,” said Emanuel’s spokeswoman Sarah Feinberg.
“Everyone is focused on Election Day, as they should be.”
You said: "he's a jew, he's an israeli..blah blah blah..i knew months ago he had served in the IDF
i could really care less, i didnt vote for the guy, and i am not racist, and military service is compulsory in Israel..."
Hey genius-
Your bias is showing. Emanuel was supposedly an American when he served in the IDF.
Get thee back to Tel Aviv.
sourcewatch.org
Support for gun control
Emanuel cosponsored H.R. 1312 (Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2005) on June 30, 2005.[1]
Chicago Water Deparment
In May of 2005, Gerald Wesolowski, a top lieutenant in City Hall's Water Department, pled guilty to collecting $200,000 in bribes from trucking companies.[1] Wesolowski also stated that his former boss Donald Tomczak, who has since been ordered him to raise funds and direct water department workers to campaign for a number of politicians including Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel back in 2002. David Keene, the President of the American Conservative Union, brought up this incident as evidence that Emanuel is hypocritical for assailing Tom DeLay over ethics issues.[2] Emanuel has never been alleged of wrongdoing and has stated that he was unaware of the pressure Tomczak was using on water department workers to campaign in the 2002 election.
First Primary Campaign
In his first Congressional primary campaign, a nasty battle over the prize Democrat seat, the president of the Polish American Congress, Ed Moskal, who was supporting Emanuel's main rival, claimed that Emanuel was secretly an Israeli citizen and served in the Israeli army. Moskal also called Emanuel a "millionaire carpetbagger who knows nothing" about "our heritage." Emanuel served as a noncombatant in the Israeli army during the first Gulf War and is not an Israeli citizen. Emanuel strongly denied both claims and brought a coalition of Chicago clergy together to denounce Moskal's allegations. Emanuel said of the incident, "One of the proudest moments of my life was seeing people of my district from all backgrounds demonstrate our common values by coming together in response to this obvious attempt to divide them."[3]
National security and foreign policy
On May 24, 2007, Rep. Emanuel, along with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in the Senate, added a provision to the Iraq War funding bill that would stop the Bush administration from cutting Medicaid payments to hospitals for one year. The bill, including the Medicaid provision, passed overwhelmingly, 348-73.
On February 28, 2007, Emanuel introduced the Wounded Warriors Act in the House. The bill would mandate standards of care and facilities for wounded soldiers. It would create a congressionally appointed Wounded Warrior Oversight Board, a 24-hour bilingual hotline, employment protections for caregiver family members and a zero-tolerance for pest infestations at recovery facilities. The bill was introduced in the wake of public furor over a series in the Washington Post detailing squalid conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Election reform
On June 27, 2007, the House passed by voice vote the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007, sponsored by Rep. Emanuel. The bill, still pending passage in the Senate, would establish criminal penalties for acts of voter deception. Those who knowingly disseminate false information with the intention of keeping others from voting would face up to five years in prison under the legislation.
Ethics reform
Prior to the 109th Congress convening for the 2006 midterm elections the Republican majority passed a rule change that made public the names of earmark sponsors on appropriations bills. The majority of Democrats opposed the rule change stating that it did not go far enough. Reps. Emanuel and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) offered an amendment to the earmark reform proposal that went much further than solely making the identity of the earmark author public. This amendment may serve as a guide to the earmark reform that the 110th Congress would pursue. The Emanuel-Van Hollen amendment would:
Calls on Attorney General to continue congressional investigation
On February 7, 2007, Emanuel called on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to name former U.S. Attorney Carol Lam as outside counsel to continue her investigation of former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham. At this point, Cunningham was in prison after pleaded guilty in 2006 to taking $2.4 million in bribes. [5]
In his letter to Gonzales, Emanuel argued that “keeping Lam on as an outside counsel would allow the Bush administration to dispel questions about whether Lam’s firing was politically motivated.” During the time of her dismissal, Lam was investigating whether the Cunningham case involved other members of Congress and lobbyists. [6]
Emanuel continued, “To remove the cloud of politics over Ms. Lam’s dismissal, and to ensure there are no delays in the investigation of the Cunningham matter, I call on you to immediately name Carol Lam as outside counsel with all necessary resources to continue her excellent work on the Cunningham case and related matters.” [7]
Bio
Early Career
Emanuel was born November 29, 1959 in Chicago. Emanuel was a ballet dancer as a boy and in high school and won a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet. He turned down the scholarship to attend Sarah Lawrence College, a school with a strong dance program and "there were four women for every guy."[8] He graduated in 1981 and received a Master's Degree in Speech and Communication from Northwestern University in 1985. While still a student at Sarah Lawrence College, he joined the congressional campaign of David Robinson of Chicago.
Emanuel began his career with the consumer rights organization Illinois Public Action. He went on to serve in a number of capacities in local and national politics, including liberal Democrat Paul Simon's 1984 election to the U.S. Senate, political director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 1988, and senior advisor and chief fundraiser for Richard M. Daley's victorious campaign for mayor of Chicago in 1989. Emanuel became known for his fundraising abilities in the mayoral campaign of Richard Daley. He would insist on donors giving more than they previously gave, even hanging up the phone on donors to convey his disgust. At the age of 30 he raised an unheard of $7 million for Daley. This helped win him a job as Director of Finance in the 1992 Presidential campaign of then-Governor Bill Clinton.
Clinton Administration
He joined then Governor Bill Clinton's presidential primary campaign in 1991 and worked as part of the original "War Room" with George Stephanopoulos, James Carville, and Paul Begala. Following the campaign, Emanuel became a senior advisor to Clinton at the White House (1993-1998). In the White House, Emanuel was initially Assistant to the President for Political Affairs but was fired for overstepping his bounds. He then worked his way from the bottom of the administration, lobbying Congress for NAFTA and working to recast Clinton as a centrist[9], until he was appointed Senior Advisor to the President for Policand Strategy. He was a leading strategist in the White House's ultimately unsuccessful push for universal healthcare in 1994 and worked on a variety of other issues including expanding the use of school uniforms[10] and putting trigger locks on guns. Emanuel's proudest work came from organizing and choreographing the meeting and handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.[11]
He left the White House to accept a well-paid position in investment banking at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in Chicago where he worked from 1999-2002, when he was elected to the U.S. House.
Congressional Career
Nicknamed "Rahmbo", the Congressman is well known for aggression and great intensity. He sent a rotting fish to a pollster whom he said sent inaccurate and poorly prepared research to him while working as national campaign director at the DCCC during the late 1980s.[12]
According to NARAL's rating system, Emanuel has maintained a 100% pro-choice voting record. Emanuel is known as a centrist Democrat, but also a very strong partisan. He favors "incremental, family-friendly policies in the Clinton mode" like tax-breaks for middle-class families, incentives to encourage workers to save, and importing prescription drugs from Canada to lower the cost to seniors.[13] On the latter proposal he has worked with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to pressure the FDA on re-importation.[14]
In September 2006, Emanuel and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) created an amendment to a proposed House rules change regarding earmarking to include a prohibition on earmarks to any organization employing a spouse, family member, or former employee of the sponsor. A spokesman for House Rules Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) responded by stating that amendments are not usually permitted to rule changes. Nevertheless, a procedural vote could be forced. [15]
2006 elections
In 2006, the Republicans nominated Kevin Edward White to face Emanuel in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Emanuel defeated White by a large margin, receiving 78% of the vote. [16]
2008 elections
Before Hillary Clinton conceded the race, Rahm Emanuel, as a superdelegate, had not endorsed a candidate for President.
DCCC
Emanuel was named the Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2005 after Rep. Robert Matsui (D-CA) died.[17] Prior to his work for Clinton, he had been employed at the same Committee. His role at the DCCC is leading fundraising efforts to support the Democrats strategy to improve its poor level of representation in the Congress, it has been in the minority in the House since 1994. He has declared that in his new role "winning is everything." The Committee's role is principally that of recruiting good candidates for the House and Senate and raising funds to assist new candidates and incumbents from the Democratic party.
Emanuel is using his tenure at the DCCC to try and create a "change election" in 2006. Since he took over for the deceased Matsui he has aggressively attacked Republicans on ethics issues, particularly now-former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX). "Emanuel is trying to create a national wave of anti-Washington sentiment rooted in the mounting instances of corruption and sleaze that have piled up in the Republican-led Congress," according to Rolling Stone.[18] He holds meetings every Thursday morning to strategize for the elections and meet with other members of Congress. By February of 2006, the National Republican Congressional Committee had outraised his DCCC $74.1 million to $48.6 million (February 2006 numbers).[19]
CoZ, things aren't completely black-and-white in the relationship between zionism and the left (or between zionism and the right, for that matter). Leftists who are theoretically anti-zionist but are so only because they are anti-fascist in general terms, still accepting that 'the Jews' have been the unique targets of fascist genocide, and that 'the Jews' have also been unique sources of anti-fascist thought and struggle, end up defending Israel as a nachtassyl (an overnight shelter).
This is a good introduction to the complex relationship between zionism and the left:
http://mailstar.net/zioncom.html
For some reason it doesn't discuss Fabianism here, but on another page on the same site there is some mention of it:
http://mailstar.net/red-symphony.html
Interesting tidbits on Mr. Ballerina of Zionstan :
Voted NO on Constitutionally defining marriage as one-man-one-woman.
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution stating: "Marriage in the US shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman."
Proponents support voting YES because:
The overwhelming majority of the American people support traditional marriage, marriage between a man and a woman. The people have a right to know whether their elected Representatives agree with them about protecting traditional marriage.
Every child deserves both a father and a mother. Studies demonstrate the utmost importance of the presence of a child's biological parents in a child's happiness, health and future achievements. If we chip away at the institution which binds these parents and the family together, the institution of marriage, you begin to chip away at the future success of that child.
Opponents support voting NO because:
This amendment does not belong in our Constitution. It is unworthy of our great Nation. We have amended the Constitution only 27 times. Constitutional amendments have always been used to enhance and expand the rights of citizens, not to restrict them. Now we are being asked to amend the Constitution again, to single out a single group and to say to them for all time, you cannot even attempt to win the right to marry.
From what precisely would this amendment protect marriage? From divorce? From adultery? No. Evidently, the threat to marriage is the fact that there are millions of people in this country who very much believe in marriage, who very much want to marry but who are not permitted to marry. I believe firmly that in the not-too-distant future people will look back on these debates with the incredulity with which we now view the segregationist debates of years past.
Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent.
To extend and modify authorities needed to combat terrorism, and for other purposes, including:
Source
It just struck me that people here may not have considered this: it's really very suspicious, the way McCain himself was over-ruled by his own neocon advisers, forbidden to even ask Joe Lieberman to run as his vice-presidential candidate -- supposedly because these neocon advisers were so concerned to enlist the christian zionist base -- with the laughable results we have seen. The one thing everybody agrees on is that, when it came to picking Palin, "Krystol was out there shaking the pom-poms." :
http://niqnaq.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/neocons-chose-palin-to-sabotage-m...
HR 3199.. the most troubling thing i could find in Emanuels record...on examining the vote it seems probable (at least to me) that his 'aye' vote on the re-authorization of the patriot act was a political play to his constituents. It was going to pass even if every dem in the house voted against it.
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll414.xml
FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 414
(Republicans in roman; Democrats in italic; Independents underlined)
H R 3199
RECORDED VOTE 21-Jul-2005 9:44 PM
QUESTION:
On Passage
BILL TITLE:
USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act
read into it what you will...
they all look same to me ... I can't tell 'em apart.
What about the fact that he headed up the successful effort at pushing NAFTA through, foo'?
at the time i supported NAFTA as well....i guess that means ???
Everybody here knows what that means... and stop spamming all the blogs.
and lets not be coy smart guy...were you even old enough to have an opinion when the passage of NAFTA was an issue?
"everyone knows what that means" do tell sport...step up, state your position and be prepared to defend it.
SS why not fuck off and start your own board or something?
You are taking the piss here on WakeUp
Don't go away Mad, just go away
"Enjoying my day today, came up with some new ways to fight the NWO and my plans are changing.
I would love to notch up our INFOWAR to another level"
Now here's an attack by you on DBS, and then a blog posting here with you citing him..
"Slavo DBS and all that crap IMHO is here to disgrace the Truth Movement and I'm not going to stand for it."
DBS with guest Lady Michèle Renouf on free speech
now why would you condemn him so stridently, and then post his content?
just curious...
when i am having so much fun???
As with everything else, you're years behind the times blanks... get back to your talmud...
i didnt pull those quotes out of the talmud...
i didnt pull those quotes out of the talmud...
you have nothing with which to argue and are forced to resort to ad hominem attacks.
And great columns by Paul Craig Roberts, who's been running blogs warning of another 9/11.
I would very much like to put my finger on it. I said above in this thread that they were typical of the Second International, the one that failed to prevent WW1, but I don't really know : what can you make of people who use a mish-mash of marxian, green, feminist, anarchist and queer theory to support a series of third party candidates like Nader -- who they claim takes more votes from McCain than he does from Obama, but we know damn well that isn't true.
It's has a moderate vibe, that's all. Maybe a bit too moderate.
I like how Dr Steven Sniegoski sums up the quandary of the left-leaning, progressive, anti-war, anti-imperialist, anti-fascist, anti-corporate scene.
"Counterpunch defends the free speech rights of holocaust revisionists." - Crimes of Zion | Sun, 2008-11-02 07:12
Can you give me an example of this, please?
By way of contrast, no one ever got in trouble berating oil magnates or Arab sheiks — witness Michael Moore's blockbuster 2004 documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11," which focuses on those alleged villains while ignoring the neocon/Israel connection to the war
It helps if your agent is Ari Emmaneul, the brother of former IDF storm trooper and dual citizen/agent Rahm Emmaneul.
Hillary Rodham Clinton was the likud and Rothschild mafia's pick for our next president. Mr. Emanuel came out early for Obama against Clinton in the primary.
While you may consider this to be of no import, it had huge significance during the primary.
Gawd, you sure are thick....
I had the chance to meet Alex Cockburn at a lecture he did 3-4 years ago.
At the end of his spiel, he took the trouble to comment on my Impeach the Terrorists sign saying he didn't believe that "George Bush masterminded 911." After pointing out that nobody had ever suggested some a notion, I took a few minutes to run through some of the obvious problems with the official story. Finally, the Cockscab muttered that maybe there were some questions to be answered. Naturally he has done nothing on the topic.
He's Garden Gnome Chomsky lite. Don't know much about his background except he's been battling empire since the beginning of time or some such twaddle.
but at least be honest with yourself that you're only voting for the person of the two that have any chance of winning that you consider to be the lesser of the evils. I was considering doing so myself but have decided against it. But the posters at this site, which is one of the best anti-Zionist sites on the web & actually one of the only decent truth sites period, are not going to drastically lower the standards of the quality of content here to accomadate your delusional pro-Obama views. Nothing written about Rahm is 'propaganda', his father really was in the Irgun, it's a fact. He really did fight for Israel in the Gulf War. He really is a hardcore Zionist & really does support the war.
I can't remember, and I haven't found much after a quick search.
Does this article by Stephen Gowans defend holocaust revisionism? I can't even tell. The entire article is about the Tehran conference, but he dances around a lot without clearly sticking up for free speech rights. Make up your own mind.
But there's The Prosecution of Zundel, by Alan Cabal. I can't find it on Counterpunch, but there's a reference to it at ihr.org:
It's referenced by Counterpunch at the top of this page, but the article has been removed from the site.
Counterpunch has published articles by Prof. Daniel McGowan, who also defends Zundel, but I don't see him defending Zundel on Counterpunch.
Has Gilad Atzmon stuck up for holocaust revisionism on Counterpunch? I don't know.
So we can take defending the free speech rights of holocaust revisionists off the list of Counterpunch's graces. This is a good example of Counterpunch's over-moderate mediocrity and cowardice, holding back to appease the pro-Jewish left and play it safe for the sake of populism. There's no reason at all why Counterpunch should feel pressured to remove articles that defend free speech.
Cockburn is very clear here that there are no questions in his mind when it comes to the events surrounding 9/11. He also believes that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman and the Warren Commission was a perfectly legitimate investigation.
This is another example of Counterpunch dipping out and letting down the left, or the truth movement, whatever.
COZ, wish I remembered the exact date of the encounter with Cockscab. I have no doubt that his muttered "well maybe there are some questions" was insincere and an attempt to "move on" to another topic. I did get in a mention of JFK and MLK as in IF the American public had done it's damn job and demanded answers to obvious questions, then MLK, RFK, and 911 might not have transpired. Believe he kind of squealed at the suggestion that there were questions about Oswald's guilt. 100% gatekeeping pile of shit.
The John Walsh article was published by CP which publishes many excellent writers. Are we to ignore every author that CP deigns to publish? We can make a list and I can assure you that the majority of anti-establishment voices would have to be shunned. There is no point to restricting our reading to such a degree other than perhaps to selectively attack anyone whose perspective challenges some pet issue.
http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/?q=node/228
not even CounterPunch would print this:
... I think the Left’s embrace of conspiracy-theories has become profoundly damaging to the whole progressive movement. Conspiracy thinking produces a deep cynicism towards positive action and towards the kind of long-term organizing upon which real social and political change depends. When people think that the fix is in, they are not inclined to put time and energy into the hard work of organizing unions, working to get local candidates elected to office, running for positions on party committees, etc. Conspiracy thinking also leads people on the left to completely write off the Democratic Party as a vehicle for progressive change, as the notion that “they” run everything is broadened to include in the term “they” the elected Democrats in the White House and Congress. Democrats may be weenies, but such a conflation of Republicans and Democrats is also self-defeating nonsense, as is the notion that Obama is “just another tool” of the corporate/imperialist power structure. Democrats are not just Republicans by another name, and Obama is not just McCain or Bush with a better tan...