House liberal breaks with Obama on UN vote

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Friday that Obama is “wrong” to oppose the vote for Palestinian statehood at the United Nations.

“The key issue of statehood is something that we can do now, that we should do now,” Ellison said on the progressive Bill Press radio show. “I think it will bring great stability to the region.”

Ellison said Obama is missing an opportunity to get the Palestinian state he has previously said he wanted. Ellison’s position represents a break with top House Democrats, who have agreed with Obama on the possible U.N. vote.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) sided with Obama last week in a letter sent to 40 European heads of state urging them not to support the Palestinian bid.

Their reason was the same as that of the Obama administration, which has argued that a unilateral attempt to achieve statehood through the U.N. undermines the peace process and could trigger renewed violence in the region.

Not being a recognized state “puts [the Palestinians] at a considerable disadvantage when they try to bargain with Israel,” Ellison argued. “The move we should be making is welcoming Palestinians … as a sovereign nation.”

Our opposition “will have a negative impact on our already hurting credibility,” Ellison said.

Obama said the U.S. is on the side of people who want democracy, but “our position is so opposite to our stated goals when it comes to Palestine,” Elllison said.

Indications Friday are that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas intends to submit his application for statehood to the U.N. Security Council despite U.S. resistance.

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