Somebody might want to ask Kline about his views on a single-payer health-care system. Such a system is generally supported by folks on the left side of the aisle, but in July Kline actually joined 12 other Republicans in voting for an amendment brought forward by liberal Rep. Dennis Kucinich to allow individual states to set up single-payer systems. The strange bedfellows vote was flagged at the time by The Huffington Post’s Sam Stein.

“So why would 13 House Republicans, after bemoaning Democratic plans for public health care for months, attach their names to the provision?” Stein asked. “Depending on who you ask, it’s either a philosophical belief in states’ rights or childish political shenanigans.”

Whatever their motivations, the amendment passed by a 27-19 vote. That means it could be part of the final House bill.

Destruction from Israeli bombs in Gaza on Dec. 28. (Palestinian Centre for Human Rights)

As expected, the U.S. House of Representatives approved, by an overwhelming 390-5 bipartisan vote, a non-binding resolution “[r]ecognizing Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirming the United States’ strong support for Israel, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.” Aside from Reps. Keith Ellison and Betty McCollum, who voted “present,” Minnesota’s delegation, regardless of party affiliation, voted for the resolution.

In a floor statement, McCollum, who was among 22 legislators who refrained from voting, said the resolution “justifies Israel’s bombardment of the citizens of Gaza, sanctions the incursion of Israeli troops into Gaza to clear this occupied territory of Hamas fighters regardless of the human cost, and calls for ’supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process’ while innocent Palestinian women and children are being killed in Gaza. This resolution strongly and justifiably condemns Hamas, but the resolution’s intent and substance are void of any relation to the hellish reality that is being inflicted on the citizens of Gaza right now or the deprivation inflicted upon Gaza families by Israel’s harsh denial of food, medicine and fuel over the past year.”

Ellison acknowledged he was “torn” about voting: he supports Israel’s right to defend itself, but also lamented that the resolution “barely mentions the human suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza.”

Four Democrats (California’s Maxine Waters, Ohio’s Dennis Kucinich, Wisconsin’s Gwen Moore, West Virginia’s Nick Rahall) and one Republican (Ron Paul of Texas) voted against the resolution.

In her defense of the resolution, Republican Michele Bachmann said, “No one likes to see the destruction, the loss of life, the grief. But, Israel was pushed into a corner with no other option than to defend and protect its people. Now, it is time that Congress put its words into action and stand strong behind our most valuable ally, Israel.”

The vote, coming on the 14th day of Israel’s air and ground strikes on Gaza, which have killed nearly 800 Palestinians (including 257 children and 85 women), “expresses vigorous support and unwavering commitment to the welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure borders.” Near the end, the resolution adds that the U.S. House “expresses condolences to innocent Palestinian and Israeli victims and their families, and reiterates that humanitarian needs in Gaza should be addressed promptly and responsibly.”

In a break from the Senate version passed yesterday, the House resolution calls for “the immediate release of the kidnaped [sic] Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been illegally held in Gaza since June 2006″ and says Egypt must take measures to stop cross-border smuggling into Gaza.”

The Senate version was “passed unanimously,” according to Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s office, indicating she approved of the resolution.

Text of the resolution:

Recognizing Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirming the United States’ strong support for Israel, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. (Introduced in House)

HRES 34 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. RES. 34

Recognizing Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirming the United States’ strong support for Israel, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 8, 2009

Ms. PELOSI (for herself, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CANTOR, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. PENCE, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. MCCARTHY of California, Mr. BERMAN, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. ACKERMAN, and Mr. BURTON of Indiana) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

RESOLUTION

Recognizing Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirming the United States’ strong support for Israel, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Whereas Hamas was founded with the stated goal of destroying the State of Israel;

Whereas Hamas has been designated by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization;

Whereas Hamas has refused to comply with the Quartet’s (the United States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations) requirements that Hamas recognize Israel’s right to exist, renounce violence, and agree to accept previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians;

Whereas in June 2006, Hamas illegally crossed into Israel, attacked Israeli forces, and kidnaped Corporal Gilad Shalit, whom they continue to hold today;

Whereas Hamas has launched thousands of rockets and mortars against Israeli population centers since 2001, and has launched more than 6,000 such rockets and mortars since Israel withdrew its civilian population and its military from Gaza in 2005;

Whereas Hamas has increased the range and payload of its rockets, reportedly with support from Iran and others, putting hundreds of thousands of Israelis in danger of rocket attacks from Gaza;

Whereas Hamas locates elements of its terrorist infrastructure in civilian population centers, thus using innocent civilians as human shields;

Whereas Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement on December 27, 2008, that `We strongly condemn the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel and hold Hamas responsible for breaking the cease-fire and for the renewal of violence there’;

Whereas on December 27, 2008, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, ‘For approximately seven years, hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens in the south have been suffering from missiles being fired at them. . . . In such a situation we had no alternative but to respond. We do not rejoice in battle but neither will we be deterred from it. . . . The operation in the Gaza Strip is designed, first and foremost, to bring about an improvement in the security reality for the residents of the south of the country’;

Whereas the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including shortages of food, water, electricity, and adequate medical care, is becoming more acute;

Whereas Israel has facilitated humanitarian aid to Gaza with hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian assistance and numerous ambulances entering the Gaza Strip since the current round of fighting began on December 27, 2008;

Whereas on January 6, 2009, before the United Nations Security Council, Secretary Rice stated that: ‘The situation before the current events in Gaza was clearly not sustainable. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis lived under the daily threat of rocket attack, and frankly, no country, none of our countries, would have been willing to tolerate such a circumstance. Moreover, the people of Gaza watched as insecurity and lawlessness increased and as their living conditions grew more dire because of Hamas’s actions which began with the illegal coup against the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. . . . A ceasefire that returns to those circumstances is unacceptable and it will not last’; and

Whereas the ultimate goal of the United States is a sustainable resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will ensure the welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure borders, and a viable, independent, and democratic Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the State of Israel: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives–

(1) expresses vigorous support and unwavering commitment to the welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure borders, and recognizes its right to act in self-defense to protect its citizens against Hamas’s unceasing aggression, as enshrined in the United Nations Charter;

(2) reiterates that Hamas must end the rocket and mortar attacks against Israel, recognize Israel’s right to exist, renounce violence, agree to accept previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians, and verifiably dismantle its terrorist infrastructure;

(3) encourages the Administration to work actively to support a durable and sustainable cease-fire in Gaza , as soon as possible, that prevents Hamas from retaining or rebuilding its terrorist infrastructure, including the capability to launch rockets and mortars against Israel, and thereby allowing for the long-term improvement of daily living conditions for the people of Gaza;

(4) believes strongly that the lives of innocent civilians must be protected to the maximum extent possible, expresses condolences to innocent Palestinian and Israeli victims and their families, and reiterates that humanitarian needs in Gaza should be addressed promptly and responsibly;

(5) calls on all nations–

(A) to condemn Hamas for deliberately embedding its fighters, leaders, and weapons in private homes, schools, mosques, hospitals, and otherwise using Palestinian civilians as human shields, while simultaneously targeting Israeli civilians; and

(B) to lay blame both for the breaking of the ‘calm’ and for subsequent civilian casualties in Gaza precisely where blame belongs, that is, on Hamas;

(6) supports and encourages efforts to diminish the appeal and influence of extremists in the Palestinian territories, and strengthen moderate Palestinians who are committed to a secure and lasting peace with Israel;

(7) calls on Egypt to intensify its efforts to halt smuggling between Gaza and Egypt and affirms the willingness of the United States to continue to assist Egypt in these efforts;

(8) calls for the immediate release of the kidnaped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been illegally held in Gaza since June 2006; and

(9) reiterates its strong support for a just and sustainable resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict achieved through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in order to ensure the welfare, security, and survival of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure borders, and a viable, independent, and democratic Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with the State of Israel.

Read statements on the resolution by Rep. Michele Bachmann and Rep. Betty McCollum.

More:
Ellison on Al Jazeera: ‘Not much sympathy’ by U.S. for Palestinians
Rep. McCollum speaks out on Gaza, Israel violence
Minnesota congressional delegaton mostly mum on Israel, Gaza

The Ohio Democrat took up the issue again in a floor speech this morning in the U.S. House of Representatives, challenging Israel’s contention that the offensive against an entity with no official military is an act of self defense and stating the the Bush administration “knows Israel is using US weapons, paid for by US taxpayers, with disproportionate force creating a collective punishment of Gazans, assuring an escalation of conflict, clear violations of the Arms Export Control Act.”

Read or watch his speech after the jump.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, floor speech on Gaza conflict, Jan. 7, 2009, 1:52

Text of Kucinich floor speech:

“We cannot truly celebrate a New Year, a new Congress and a new administration if all we see is the same old destruction in the Middle East with U.S. weapons being illegally used to kill children.

I oppose Hamas’ rocket attacks on Israel.  The rocket attacks, even to try to end the blockade, have no moral justification, are illegal and must stop.

But how can Israel claim self-defense when it bombs Gaza which has no army, no air force, no navy and has been under a constant blockade? How can Israel claim self-defense when its bombs destroy UN schools, killing children?

The children of Palestinians and the children of Israel both deserve life. But the lives of the children of Gaza are cynically discounted as “human shields.” Massacres are being rationalized. Israel’s “moral high ground” in Gaza, a growing pile of small bones in a graveyard.

The Administration knows Israel is using U.S. weapons, paid for by U.S. taxpayers, with disproportionate force creating a collective punishment of Gazans, assuring an escalation of conflict, clear violations of the Arms Export Control Act.

Israel was given U.S. weapons on condition they would not be used for aggression or escalation.  The outgoing Administration must finally stand for the rule of law, not the rule of force.”

Related: Ellison on Al Jazeera: ‘Not much sympathy’ by U.S. for Palestinians

Kucinich, who ran losing presidential bids in 2004 and 2008 and faced a stiff primary challenge earlier this year, drafted the legislation following a report in the Michigan Messenger that a Macomb County Republican Party official said he planned to gather lists of foreclosed homeowners to challenge their eligibility.

The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee have since filed a lawsuit in federal court over the reported plans.

The tactic is a version of a practice known as “caging,” which allows political opponents to identify voters who might not meet the proper residency requirements. Democrats and voting-rights activists argue that
victims of foreclosure may still live in their homes, and that the tactic disproportionately affects poor and African-American voters. Republicans argue that the practice preserves the integrity of the ballot.

Kucinich’s bill is unlikely to get a hearing or consideration on the House floor, as Congress races to pass a $700 billion rescue package for Wall Street banks before recessing until after the election.

Jonathan E. Kaplan is Washington correspondent for the Center for Independent Media’s network of online news sites.

Here’s the transcript:

It’s Election Day 2008. We Democrats are giving America a wake-up call. Wake up, America. In 2001, the oil companies, the war contractors and the neocon artists seized the economy and have added 4 trillion dollars of unproductive spending to the national debt. We now pay four times more for defense, three times more for gasoline and home heating oil and twice what we paid for health care.

Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, their homes, their health care, their pensions. Trillions of dollars for an unnecessary war paid with borrowed money. Tens of billions of dollars in cash and weapons disappeared into thin air, at the cost of the lives of our troops and innocent Iraqis, while all the president’s oilmen are maneuvering to grab Iraq’s oil.

Borrowed money to bomb bridges in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. No money to rebuild bridges in America. Money to start a hot war with Iran. Now we have another cold war with Russia, while the American economy has become a game of Russian roulette.

If there was an Olympics for misleading, mismanaging and misappropriating, this administration would take the gold. World records for violations of national and international laws. They want another four-year term to continue to alienate our allies, spend our children’s inheritance and hollow out our economy.

We can’t afford another Republican administration. Wake up, America. The insurance companies took over health care. Wake up, America. The pharmaceutical companies took over drug pricing.

Wake up, America. The speculators took over Wall Street. Wake up, America. They want to take your Social Security. Wake up, America. Multinational corporations took over our trade policies, factories are closing, good paying jobs lost.

Wake up, America. We went into Iraq for oil. The oil companies want more. War against Iran will mean $10-a-gallon gasoline. The oil administration wants to drill more, into your wallet. Wake up, America. Weapons contractors want more. An Iran war will cost $5-10 trillion.

This administration can tap our phones. They can’t tap our creative spirit. They can open our mail. They can’t open economic opportunities. They can track our every move. They lost track of the economy while the cost of food, gasoline and electricity skyrockets. They skillfully played our post-9/11 fears and allowed the few to profit at the expense of the many. Every day we get the color orange, while the oil companies, the insurance companies, the speculators, the war contractors get the color green.

Wake up, America. This is not a call for you to take a new direction from right to left. This is call for you to go from down to up. Up with the rights of workers. Up with wages. Up with fair trade. Up with creating millions of good paying jobs, rebuilding our bridges, ports and water systems. Up with creating millions of sustainable energy jobs to lower the cost of energy, lower carbon emissions and protect the environment.

Up with health care for all. Up with education for all. Up with home ownership. Up with guaranteed retirement benefits. Up with peace. Up with prosperity. Up with the Democratic Party. Up with Obama-Biden.

Wake up, America. Wake up, America. Wake up, America.

With approximately 80 percent of precincts reporting, Romney had won 53 percent of a Republican straw ballot.  Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, was in second place with 13 percent of the vote, just 21 votes ahead of Arizona Sen. John McCain.  Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee were in a virtual tie for fourth with 8 percent of the vote, while former Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York City trailed badly with just 4 percent of the vote.

The Democratic caucuses were much closer.  With about 90 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton had won 51 percent of delegates to Nevada’s state convention, with Obama close behind with 45 percent.  Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards was a distant third with 4 percent of the vote, while Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, was in fifth place, trailing uncommitted delegates, with less than 1 percent of the vote.The wins in Nevada were important to both Clinton and Romney, both of whom are looking for momentum going forward.  Romney needed the win in the delegate-rich Nevada caucuses to offset a near-certain loss in today’s South Carolina primary.  With the win, Romney appears likely to stretch his overall lead in delegates. In a statement, Romney said, “Whether it is reforming health care, making America energy independent or securing the border, the American people have been promised much and are now ready for change.”

Clinton, meanwhile, wins her second consecutive contest, and prevents Obama from building up steam going into next week’s South Carolina primary, where Obama holds a significant lead, according to polling.  In a statement, the Clinton campaign called the victory “a huge victory by overcoming institutional hurdles and one of the worst negative ads in recent memory.”  Clinton had decried Spanish-language ads run by allies of Obama, which called Clinton “shameless.”

The results in Nevada were a crushing blow to the faltering campaign of John Edwards, who has yet to finish higher than second in a primary or caucus.  Edwards had been rising in the polls in the last week, but ultimately faded, and will receive minimal support.  He will go into South Carolina desperately needing a win before the Super Duper Tuesday primaries and caucuses on Feb. 5.

Kucinich and his wife were delayed in Austin, Texas, due to mechanical problems with their flight. 

Kucinich was to make a presentation before the sixth district DFL, and was scheduled later to meet with supporters at a restaurant in Minneapolis.

The events have not been rescheduled at this time.