Lieberman Shill Game

There is an old Jewish saying comparing the Biblical Moses and Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides):

From Moses to Moses there was none like Moses.

In what is perhaps the ultimate example of bathos (from the sublime to the ridiculous), I thought in light of the recent meeting between the charming brothers’ Lieberman, we should change the terms to:

From Lieberman to Lieberman, there was none like Lieberman.

Could Joe and Avigdor Lieberman be brothers?  You might think so based on the shameless shilling Joe did for Avigdor in the latter’s bizarre campaign to be named foreign minister in the incoming Netanyahu government.  In a way, this is an important indicator of what could easily happen if Bibi fails in his efforts to entice Livni or Barak into his coalition and turns instead to the far-right and far-Orthodox.

Avigdor can dream all he wants about the foreign ministry portfolio.  That doesn’t mean he’s going to get it.  Imagine if the Obama adminstration declares him persona non grata for his membership in an Israeli terror group, Kahane Chai.  How can he possibly serve as foreign minister when he might not even be allowed to enter the U.S.?

And to have Joe Lieberman willingly cooperate in this charade and give this Jewish racist the don’s kiss is contemptible.

Like Joe, the Jerusalem Post dutifully fulfills its role as the mouthpiece of the Israeli right:

Israel Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman met with his American namesake, US Senator Joseph Lieberman, on Sunday in what sources close to him said was an audition for the role he wants in Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu’s government: foreign minister.

Lieberman has told associates in closed conversations that he will request the Foreign Ministry in coalition talks. Former ambassador to Washington and incoming Israel Beiteinu MK Danny Ayalon, who accompanied Lieberman to the meeting, said he was a natural fit.

“He’s already prepared to be foreign minister,” Ayalon said.

“Of course he’s fit for the position. He’s a strategic thinker and analyst. He’s impressive one on one. His English is very good. The more meetings like this, the more people understand his caliber. I’ve been meeting ambassadors, including Arab officials, and no one is raising eyebrows about the possibility of Lieberman being the minister of foreign affairs.”

…The senator requested the meeting, because he wanted to better understand the Israel Beiteinu leader’s views. He advised his namesake to go to the US to explain his views.

“Though we’re not related by blood, we are privileged to hold positions in two great nations,” the senator said after the meeting. “I wanted to meet Lieberman, because he will play an important role in the next government, so it’s important that we in the US get to know him well.”

Joe, I know how low you can go. You’ve gone this low before…but to tell the American people that they need to get to know Avigdor Lieberman better and to tout his brand as something worthy of American consideration is beyond despicable. I’ve been ashamed that Joe is a Democrat for a few years now, but not I’m absolutely repelled by him. Get this man out of our Party now.

If he wants to shill for an Israeli proto-fascist let him do it on his own time. To wrap himself in the robe of the U.S. senate as he touts this piece of vileness demeans the senate.

Danny Ayalon, Lieberman’s chief enabler within the Party, shows a deft Bushian touch in renaming revolting legislation to make it smell like a rose instead of the turd it is:

The Israel Beiteinu chairman explained his party’s platform, including his call for a loyalty oath, which he renamed “the responsible citizenship bill,” and dispelled what he said were myths about the party being racist.

What’s perhaps most intolerable among a series of deeply insulting statements is this one seeking to wrap Yisrael Beitenu’s racism in the mantle of the U.S. constitution:

“I told him that we are the most Americanophile party,” Ayalon said. “We support drafting a constitution, an American system of government, and instituting a pledge of allegiance like America has.”

The only proper comparison would be if the U.S. constitution affirmed that Blacks could only be citizens if they pledged loyalty to a white country and affirmed that the most segregated Hispanic regions of the country should be ceded to Mexico in order to rid us of undesirables. Note that Lieberman’s loyalty oath has become an innocent “pledge of allegiance.”

Brothers under the skin?

The Israel Beiteinu leader praised the senator after the meeting and said that “Lieberman is the best name in the world.”