Obama and pals have been quite upset over the invitation by House Leader John Boehner to the Israeli Prime Minister to address a joint session of Congress. They have insisted it wasn’t because of the bad blood between this Administration and Israel but because ‘proper protocol’ wasn’t followed. Boehner should of told the White House and Democrats before issuing the invitation you see.
On Thursday, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) revealed that Pope Francis accepted a request from congressional leadership to address a joint session of Congress in September.
“Boehner’s office says it did not coordinate with the White House when the speaker invited the pope last year,” Politico reported. “It told the administration of the visit only this morning — which is also when Boehner told reporters.”
In marked contrast from Netanyahu’s visit to Congress, the news that the Pope would address a joint session of the federal legislature for the first time in history was met with bipartisan acclaim. The White House contended that they haven’t engaged in any contradictory behavior at all. “Certainly the president and the team here was aware of the pope’s intent to travel to the United States, intent to spend some time in Washington, D.C.,” White House Press Sec. Josh Earnest said on Thursday.
So, the White House knew that the Pope was coming to Washington and they would have you believe that they are not all that surprised that he’ll make a historic swing through the Capitol Building to deliver a precedent-setting address to a joint session of Congress. Even though that same precious protocol that a was supposedly violated when a co-equal branch of government exercised its prerogative to invite whomever it wanted to speak before Congress, the White House doesn’t mind that breach so much this time because their powers of clairvoyance provided them the foresight to see this development coming.
Even more hilarious was this exchange with the White House press secretary:
Asked if Vice President Joe Biden would attend the pope’s address, Earnest said Biden’s schedule “for that period of time has not been set but I would anticipate that he would be there.”
“So why can’t you say the same about Prime Minister Netanyahu?” a reporter asked.
“Well, the vice president’s schedule for the first week of March is also not yet set,” Earnest replied. “…There has been at least one previous occasion during his tenure as the vice president where he’s been unable to attend a joint session of Congress, because he was traveling overseas. So when we have more details about the vice president’s schedule for the first week of March, we’ll certainly let you know.”
He walked right into that one.
Another excuse for the hissy fit was that the speech so close to the Israeli election would make it seem like we were ‘meddling’.
They should just admit the real reason they were upset…they just don’t like Israel.
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