UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES?

While the Blog was on hiatus, someone at JFNA thought it would be a great idea for the Board Chair to testify before a group of Democrats in Washington. (And, don't get me wrong, what we are examining here would be equally disappointing had the testimony been before a group of Republicans.) JFNA then published the testimony -- very well-prepared and thought through (and, I am certain, well-presented.) But. was this really a good idea?

No mention was made in any of JFNA's self-congratulatory bloviation on the Chair's presentation that a quid pro quo was asked of all of the invitees. Senators Carl Levin and Ben Cardin  essentially stated, as reported in JTA but never making a special JFNA Leadership Briefing: we want public support from you for our positions and those of President Obama. Sometimes you have to sit back in wonder -- is it all about the public appearance with no anticipation of potential outcomes?

And, so it should have come as no surprise when, at the GA, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the highest ranking politico to make the trek to Denver, echoed the "ask" of Senators Levin and Cardin in her Plenary address. 

I am reminded of the words of Maria Callas, as spoken by Tyne Daley in her brilliant performance in the restaging of Master Class, when criticizing one of her students: "I'm sorry to do this to you, but what's the point of going on with it if it's all wrong, eh?"

Rwexler