http://hotair.com/archives/2015/03/18/netanyahus-landslide-victory-is-the-sourest-of-grapes-for-the-left/?utm_source=thfbp&utm_medium=fbpage&utm_campaign=thupdateSour grapes on the left over Netanyahu’s landslide victory
POSTED AT 10:01 AM ON MARCH 18, 2015 BY NOAH ROTHMAN
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The polls were clear. Benjamin Netanyahu and his party should have lost in a walk. Sources were telling Israeli media outlets just two weeks ago that it was not only possible but likely that the prime minister’s Likud party would win only 18 seats in the Knesset. This was supposed to be a landslide, and it was… for Likud.
Ed already composed a great post acknowledging the scope of the upset Netanyahu’s party pulled off last night, and the challenges ahead for him as he cobbles together a governing coalition. But the tasks ahead of Netanyahu are nothing compared to the trial faced by those on the left as they come to terms with the death of their dreams for Israel’s future.
“Deep Wounds and Lingering Questions After Israel’s Bitter Race,” read a headline from The New York Times. And, no, it’s not an editorial.
The Times noted the myriad ways in which Netanyahu frustrated the President of the United States, although the paper made no note of the fact that this condition was likely mutual. It quoted liberal after liberal who eagerly sought to rob Netanyahu of his victory by condemning the scorched earth methods he used to overcome a massive gap in the polls. In the end, The Times appeared to ask if this historic victory is even worth it.
The campaign for the Parliament was divisive, exposing the fault lines in Israeli society, between the religious and the secular, the left and the right. It exposed a fatigue with a man who is seeking to serve a fourth term as prime minister and a fear over Israel’s place in the international community. Much was driven by the tenor of the campaigns, which became personal and bitter.
None more so than Mr. Netanyahu’s campaign.
Many Israelis called it the “gevalt campaign,” using a Yiddish expression for alarm. In the final days of a closely fought election race, Mr. Netanyahu threw all political and diplomatic niceties to the wind.
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