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Iran sanctions: It was executive prerogative, stupid

By Ron Kampeas · February 6, 2012

There's been a lot of speculation about why President Obama attached an "I can ignore this if I want to" caveat when he signed the Defense Authorization Act, which included an amendment targeting Iran's Central Bank for sanctions.

Congress members -- mostly Republicans -- questioned the president's commitment to the sanctions.

The administration countered that it was all about executive prerogative. They noted the many other instances in the Act in which Obama added the "would interfere with my constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations" caveat.

As of today, we can safely say it was about executive prerogative. Obama kicked in the sanctions over the weekend -- but through an executive order.

The "stupid" in the hed to this item is me, among others: In a blog post, I wondered whether this was a matter of executive prerogative, or if there was a shorter-term political calculus.

The order yesterday nods toward the Act's amendment, but Obama makes it clear that he is sanctioning the bank on the authority of the presidency, citing his predecessors' executive orders as precedent.

It's not the first time that the age-old battle between Congress and the presidency over foreign policy supremacy has been cast as a partisan back and forth -- there are plenty of examples of Democrats giving George W. Bush the same heartburn when they ran Congress in the last two years of his presidency.

But casting it purely as a partisan game of chicken obscures a more complex -- and potentially more consequential -- argument over who controls what the United States does overseas.

One person -- or 535?

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What makes Sheldon give?

By Ron Kampeas · February 5, 2012

 Last night, after Mitt Romney's decisive win in the Nevada caucuses, a reporter asked Newt Gingrich about reports that his white knight, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, had reached out to Romney as well.

The reference was apparently to this good story in today's New York Times, which frames Adelson's willingness to keep feet in both camps in terms of his dedication to Israel and his determination to oust President Obama:

Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino executive keeping Newt Gingrich’s presidential hopes alive, has relayed assurances to Mitt Romney that he will provide even more generous support to his candidacy if he becomes the Republican nominee, several associates said in interviews here.

The signals from Mr. Adelson, whose politics are shaped in large part by his support for Israel, reflect what the associates said was his deep investment in defeating President Obama and his willingness to play a more prominent role in the Republican Party and conservative causes.

This shouldn't be a huge surprise: However acrimonious the race for the GOP nod has been, Jewish donors to the different candidates have remained in touch and convivial as I reported here a while back.

Much of the why has to do with Israel, as explained in Gingrich's response to the reporter, illustrative not just in how he frames GOP perceptions of the Obama-Israel nexus, but in his evident irritation with the question.

From CNN:

SWIFT action on Iran sanctions

By Zach Silberman · February 5, 2012

A new draft bill approved by voice vote by the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday will expand on Iran sanctions already in place through previous legislation.

The key for the Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Human Rights Act of 2012 will be to close loopholes that Iran is using to skirt existing sanctions laws.

One important provision included in the legislation is an amendment sponsored by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) that would place sanctions on banks that have officers on the board of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) if SWIFT continues to process financial transactions for Iranian banks.

SWIFT is responsible for processing electronic bank transfers and serves as the final entry point for Iran into the global financial system.

Who’s attending the Adelson caucus?—UPDATE

By Ron Kampeas · February 4, 2012

Nevada's Clark County held a special Republican caucus today at 7 pm tonight to accommodate a substantial observant Jewish population.

It's dubbed the Adelson caucus because it is being held at a local Jewish school, the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Educational Campus. The actual Adelsons have disclaimed any association with the caucus.

What's interesting, watching it unfold on CNN, is how few of the caucus-goers appear to be observant Jews.

Political Points: Obama’s ecumenism, Romney-Paul alliance, why vote Israel?

By Daniel Treiman · February 2, 2012

OBAMA’S MULTIFAITH PITCH: In his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Obama cites Jesus, Judaism and Islam in making the case that the rich should pay more in taxes.

ROMNEY-PAUL ALLIANCE: While they may have big policy differences, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul are friendly with one another, and have worked together to establish a political relationship that is mutually beneficial, The Washington Post reports.

FLORIDA’S ECLECTIC JEWS: Haaretz’s Natasha Mozgovaya met a diverse cast of Jewish characters while covering the Florida GOP primary.

In Virginia, JCRC lobbies against bill targeting ‘foreign law’

By Zach Silberman · February 2, 2012

A bill making its way through Virginia’s state legislature would place restrictions on the consideration of foreign laws – and likely religious laws, as well -- in the state’s courts. And it is drawing opposition from the Jewish community.

Stopping HB 825 was the top priority item for Jewish advocates who were in Richmond, Va., on Wednesday lobbying legislators for Jewish Social Advocacy Day, sponsored by an array of local Jewish communal groups.

While the bill’s text does not mention religion, critics -- and some supporters -- of the legislation view it as taking aim at Shariah, or Islamic religious law.

Among Jews there is fear that the legislation, which was moved forward on Monday by a Virginia House subcommittee, could potentially cause problems that would impact the Jewish community on issues related to religious arbitration.

Joseph Lieberman talks turkey

By Daniel Treiman · February 2, 2012

Zach Silberman has a nice story for The Washington Jewish Week on the new kosher food options in the Dirksen Senate Office Building cafeteria. He quotes a couple Jewish lawmakers who are kvelling, including Sen. Joseph Lieberman.

Here’s what the independent from Connecticut had to say about the offerings (via a spokesman):

It was excellent, and the bread was especially good. It had that certain aura of holiness. I certainly appreciate these new options, and I plan to try the turkey next week.
 

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Florida’s Jewish GOP primary vote, and what it means

By Daniel Treiman · February 1, 2012

Let's answer a question with a question: What does the Florida GOP primary tell us about how the state's Jews will vote in the general election? Who knows?

Some folks are highlighting exit polling from the Florida GOP primary that found only 1 percent of those who showed up to vote identified themselves as Jewish (so few that the folks behind the poll offer no information about how they divided up their vote).

The New York Times’ political number-cruncher Nate Silver wrote:

…there is no sign tonight of Jewish voters switching their registration over to the Republican side in Florida. According to early exit polls, just 1 percent of voters in tonight's Republican primary identified as Jewish. That's down from 3 percent in the Florida Republican primary in 2008, which also might mean that Jewish Republican voters in the state are not terribly enthusiastic about this group of candidates. Jewish turnout in general elections in Florida is normally about 4 percent.

The National Jewish Democratic Council linked to Silver’s take on the 1 percent stat, as well as other similar analyses in a statement headlined “Exit Polling Shows No Evidence of Jewish Voters Switching to GOP ID in FL.”

Well, it’s certainly true that the exit polls don’t offer any evidence of a Jewish registration shift to the GOP. But I do wonder whether we can really know from the exit polling how much of a real decline there was in the Jewish percentage of Republican primary voters. After all, like other types of polling, exit polling also has a margin of error. (Of course, I'm no statistician, so my tentative thoughts on this issue should be taken with a big grain of kosher salt.)

In Florida, Allen West abandons district, and Jewish GOPer Adam Hasner’s jumping in

By Daniel Treiman · February 1, 2012

Freshman Republican Rep. Allen West, and, was one of the top 2012 election targets of Democrats, who are hoping to take back his South Florida district and take out an outspoken Tea Party favorite.

But it turns out West is a moving target.

West announced yesterday that he is abandoning Florida’s 22nd district to run in another, more Republican district. A prominent Jewish Republican will reportedly try to take West’s place in the district.

Adam Hasner, a former majority leader of Florida’s House of Representatives, was running for the Republican nomination for Senate, but he had been trailing badly in the polls ever since Rep. Connie Mack IV jumped in the GOP race. Now reports say he will be running in the 22nd.

Even with the high-profile and polarizing West out of the picture, the race to win Florida’s 22nd could be a hard fought.

Two Democrats had been vying to replace West: Lois Frankel, the Jewish former mayor of West Palm Beach, and construction company exec Patrick Murphy (who until last year was a registered Republican), both of whom have been raising real money.

Petraeus to Senate: Israelis see Iran as ‘an existential threat’

By Zach Silberman · January 31, 2012

The former lead commander for U.S. Central Command underscored the importance of Israel's perception of Iran as an existential threat during a U.S. Senate hearing on Tuesday.

David Petraeus, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, told senators of the Select Committee on Intelligence that Israel sees Iran “as an existential threat to their country.”

“I think it's very important to note, as the article did in the New York Times, the growing concerns that Israel has…about the continued activities by Iran along a path that could, if the decision is made…to pursue the construction of a nuclear device,” Petraeus said, according to a transcript of the hearing.

Petraeus was referring to a piece in The New York Times Magazine by Israeli reporter Ronen Bergman about Israeli preparations for a possible attack to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.