Five things we learned at the Republican Jewish Coalition meeting

The spring meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition — sometimes called the “Sheldon Adelson Primary,” because it’s held at his hotel on the Strip and features Republican candidates addressing his No. 1 issue, Israel — was packed this weekend.

According to David Flaum, the group’s chairman, more than 800 people attended the conference, which featured speeches from the likes of House Speaker John Boehner and former President George W. Bush. Those were closed to the press, however, although the New York Times got some insights about Bush’s remarks.

But the speeches of several other would-be candidates were wide open, and very educational. Here’s five things I learned at the Adelson Primary:

1. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was the best of the bunch: Relaxed, prepared and comfortable in front of the crowd, Cruz smoked the rest of the speakers (including the former governor of his home state, Rick Perry). He hit all the high notes, but then again, he told the crowd from the start that only a blithering idiot would come to the RJC and fail to express support for Israel.

Cruz, however, offered up examples of his own support: He authored legislation, unanimously approved by Congress, essentially banning Hamid Aboutalebi, a leader of the student group that took over the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979, from entering the country as Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations; he introduced legislation offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of those who murdered Israeli-American citizen Naftali Fraenkel in 2014; he called on John Kerry to resign as secretary of state after Kerry said Israel could become an “apartheid state” without a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict; he joined with New York Democratic Sen. Kristen Gillibrand to condemn Hamas during the 2014 conflict with Israel; and he condemned President Barack Obama for suspending civilian plane flights into war-torn Israel during the Hamas conflict.

The crowd seemed to appreciate that. The only time Cruz stumbled was when he was asked if he’d pardon Jonathan Pollard, who confessed in 1987 to passing American secrets to Israel. Cruz said he’d keep an “open mind” about the situation, but wanted to hear from U.S. intelligence agencies before deciding. (Oh, and of course, he’d have to be elected president in order to be in a position to pardon Pollard.) By the way, the correct answer to that question should be, “no.”

2. Rick Perry is still a “yell leader”: Perry was once a “yell leader” at Texas A&M University, and those early talents were on display during his speech. Perry yelled a few lines at the crowd designed to get applause, including “tyrants don’t abide by agreement,” “an American president should never make an empty promise. Never!,” “move the American embassy to west Jerusalem,” and, of course, “America needs leadership that protects our values, not apologizes for them.” The crowd seemed to like that.

3. Republicans want to spend a lot more on defense: Nearly every speaker on the stage Saturday used some version of the “peace through strength” line, whether it was Perry’s call for investing billions more in military spending to demonstrate “overwhelming and crushing force” when dealing with adversaries or U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, saying we lead by making sure our military power remains unmatched and thus avoid conflicts and wars or Indiana Gov. Mike Pence calling for a radical increase in defense spending, restoring our place as leader of the world and the arsenal of democracy.

Nobody bothered to mention that we’ve already got an unmatched military that can deliver overwhelming and crushing force, yet conflicts and wars abound, or that we already spend more than any other nation on defense, fully 20 percent of federal spending and more than the next seven nations combined.

4. Republicans hate the not-yet-completed Iran nuclear deal: Although a final deal between Iran and other nations ostensibly to avoid allowing Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb has yet to be commsumated, Republicans at the RJC meeting hate it anyway.

“We encourage you, President Obama, do a better deal,” Flaum said at the start of the meeting. Cruz pledged to do everything he could in the Senate to block the as-yet-unsigned bargain. Perry questioned how we could trust Iran when it was still a state sponsor of terrorism throughout the Middle East. Portman said the administration has done everything in its power to keep Congress out the dealmaking process, and that Iran represents an existential threat to Israel. And Pence said America should follow Israel’s lead when it comes to negotiations.

What if the final deal could actually function in keeping Iran from being able to build a nuclear weapon? The discussion never really got that far.

5. What was left unsaid: It would be politically unwise, maybe even suicidal, for a Republican to address the RJC with anything less than full-throated support for Israel, although I suspect that many in the crowd were savvy enough to know they were being pandered to throughout much of the proceedings. But I’ve always wondered what would happen if somebody came to the group and said some version of this:

“I believe in the fundamental right of Israel to exist, and to defend herself from the hostile neighbors that surround her. Many of those who hate Israel hate America, too. So I will stand with Israel, but only when Israel is right, and only when doing so is also in the strategic national interests of the United States. I am running to be president of the United States, after all, not prime minister of Israel. I imagine that we will be partners and friends most of the time. But if Israel does something wrong, if she acts unjustly toward her neighbors, if she initiates violence when it is not necessary or takes actions that harm the United States — including engaging in espionage against this country — then we won’t be friends and allies. So let’s work to ensure that our important relationship remains on good terms, shall we?”

Like I said, it would be a politically unwise thing to say, especially amidst since everybody else on stage would be making pledges of unquestioned loyalty, but I’d love to see the reaction anyway. Well, maybe next year…