Senators Won’t Let Obama Feeze Aid To Israel

Visiting senior US senators told their Israelis hosts on Sunday that they disapprove of the Obama Administration’s attempt to pressure Israel by threatening to withhold aid, and vowed they would never let that happen.

Senator John McCain told a Jerusalem press conference that he expects President Barack Obama to explicitly announce that his administration is not planning to alter America’s policy regarding financial aid to Israel.

Senator Joe Lieberman promised that even if Obama did try to use US financial aid as leverage, Congress would never approve such a measure.

McCain and Lieberman were also joined by senators John Thune and John Barras

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Uncertain Times for US Religious Right

As the dust settles on Washington following the Barack Obama earthquake, one group more than any other is expecting to be out in the cold.

For the past eight years, the so-called Religious Right has enjoyed a warm reception at the centre of White House policy-making, and with the Republican coalition on Capitol Hill.

Mainly white, “born again” evangelical Protestants, who adhere to a literal interpretation of the Bible – and oppose abortion rights above all – the Religious Right comprise around 40% of the Republican Party’s support.

“The Republican Party as it exists today could not exist without the Christian evangelical vote and the conservative Catholic vote,” said Allen Hertzke, visiting senior fellow at the influential Pew Forum on Religion and Politics.

“Now the Republican Party can’t win with them alone – as we’ve learned.”

Although there is always a tension between the narrow social agenda of Christian conservatives and the broader, more pragmatic “low tax” wing of the party, the strong US economy kept that argument at bay – until this year’s financial crisis.

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