Not once did Jimmy Carter
mention President-elect Donald Trump by name in his
. Instead, Carter urged President Barack Obama to grant diplomatic recognition to Palestine before he walks out the door on Jan. 20.
In the column, the former president also called for a U.N. Security Council resolution that laid out guideposts to resolve the decades-old Middle East conflict. The Georgia Democrat said those steps should include a "clear assurance to the Israeli public of the worldwide recognition of Israel and its security." From the piece:
This is the best — now, perhaps, the only — means of countering the one-state reality that Israel is imposing on itself and the Palestinian people. Recognition of Palestine and a new Security Council resolution are not radical new measures, but a natural outgrowth of America's support for a two-state solution.
The primary foreign policy goal of my life has been to help bring peace to Israel and its neighbors. That September in 1978, I was proud to say to a joint session of Congress, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." As Mr. Begin and Mr. Sadat sat in the balcony above us, the members of Congress stood and applauded the two heroic peacemakers.
I fear for the spirit of Camp David. We must not squander this chance.
***
On a lighter note, the Bitter Southerner has a delightful piece on a sojourn to Maranatha Baptist Church to hear Jimmy Carter's Sunday school lesson after Donald Trump's victory. Carter drew his text, appropriately enough, from the Book of Revelation:
He gets down to it. Donald Trump won a "fair and square honest election," Carter says. He called Trump first to congratulate him, and then he called Clinton.
"I was highly qualified to make both phone calls," Carter quips. More laughter.
***
Your morning Twitter messages from President-elect Donald Trump begin with some commentary on the attacks by a Somali refugee (and student) at Ohio State University:
Which is followed by a series of acknowledgements by the president-elect that, perhaps, his business interests do pose a long-term problem:
But handing your business interests over to your children isn’t exactly the same as divestiture, as Jon Richards of Georgiapol.com points out:
***
Just in time for his former boss' entry into Trump Tower today, Republican strategist and fundraiser Eric Tanenblatt points out the similarities between Gov. Sonny Perdue and President-elect Donald Trump. From his column at the Saporta Report:
Both men weathered the sharp apprehension of elites in business and media, a disquiet they sometimes made louder for their own faults. Neither had real ties to their party or had long championed ideological causes.
With his election in 2002, Perdue became the first Republican governor of Georgia since Reconstruction. Tanenblatt was Perdue’s first chief of staff.
One commonality between Trump and Perdue that Tanenblatt doesn’t mention: Like Trump, Perdue tapped the angst of white rural Georgians, playing to their outrage over the 2001 removal of the Confederate battle emblem from its dominant spot on the state flag by Gov. Roy Barnes.
***
In a Washington Post op-ed column this morning, U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, advises his newly empowered Republican colleagues to indulge in generosity:
Republicans erred when we allowed our friends across the aisle to hijack the narrative of hope and inclusion. Not only must Congress and the incoming administration put constructive policies in place, but, together, we must tell the story of how a limited government actually reduces limitations on the economic and creative success of every American.
***
The Tampa Tribune has a piece on the Atlanta Braves decision to send political cash into Florida. It includes this paragraph:
Earlier this month, the Braves gave $1,000 to a political committee run by new Senate Appropriations chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater. That is just months after the team sent $1,000 donations each to new Senate President Joe Negron and Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, who will run the Senate Rules Committee.
One likely reason: The ball club is shopping for a new spring training venue in the state.
***
A Libertarian candidate has thrown his hat into the already-crowded contest to replace Tom Price in the House of Representatives.
A political unknown named Chase Oliver announced plans to run on Facebook yesterday, along with a corresponding page on the crowdfunding site CROWDPAC.
Oliver is the first non-Republican to announce a run for the 6th District seat, which includes portions of Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton counties. No Democrats have yet expressed any public interest.
***
U.S. Rep. Jody Hice will play a more prominent role in the House Freedom Caucus in the new year.
Roll Call reports that the Monroe Republican was tapped to join the board of the group of conservative rabble-rousers Tuesday night.
Speaking of appointments, Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger, was picked yesterday for another term on the powerful House panel that determines GOP committee assignments.
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