By Joe Briggs | In George Washington’s prescient farewell speech to the nation, he dedicated 11 paragraphs to warning us against ‘passionate attachments’ to other countries and “neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences.” He feared that we would take on that country’s enemies, fight their wars, and accept their values. Defenders of that country would be hailed as patriots whereas critics would be treated as traitors.
Woodall
Enter Georgia’s 7th District Congressman Bob Woodall. Almost every newsletter he sends out speaks more of what he has done for Israel than for Georgia. His December 14 newsletter crosses Washington’s line by announcing a cut to our First Amendment right of free speech in order to shield the Jewish state from criticism of its oppressive civil rights practices. Further, his prevarication of the contents misrepresents the bill in order to disguise a Trojan horse.
The bill in question is HR 644 “Conference Report to the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015,” which Woodall introduced as “HOLDING OUR TRADING PARTNERS ACCOUNTABLE.”The text of the bill contains an amendment titled “Bolsters U.S.-Israel Trade”. This falsely titled paragraph does nothing to advance US-Israeli trade. Instead it polices and punishes Americans for expressing their conscience in choosing not to do business in countries whose racist practices would not be allowed under our own Constitution.
The Supreme Court recently ruled that corporations are people when it comes to free speech, and as such, can make unlimited campaign donations. So how can free speech be limited when it comes to choosing who not to do business with?
The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, as called out by the text, is an effort to encourage companies and investors to apply our own Constitutional values of civil rights to their business decisions. This was the type of investment conscience that ended the apartheid government of South Africa. Who you choose to do business with is, and should be, protected free speech.
This is not a general policy. These are not wartime sanctions. It is a rule that benefits Israel only. The handcuffs are off when it comes to criticizing other countries. Woodall wants to limit your free speech at the point in which it offends Israel.
Such specificity does not belong in law or trade policy. It weakens us as a country as it leads to unenforceable chaos. What if China had the same influence as Israel and as such we had limits on our criticism of their human rights or environmental abuses? Our Constitutional rights trumps trade policy. Even if they open the door to criticizing Israel.
Rep. Woodall has gone too far in his support of Israel by attacking our rights. His misrepresentation of the bill as “keeping our partners accountable” is reprehensible and unforgivable. His first obligation is to the preservation of our Constitution, and he has failed it.
Woodall has, as George Washington feared, exchanged our values for theirs.
- To read the bill introduced by Congressman Kevin Brade of the 8th District of Texas, click here.
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