GOP Rep. Webster: If We Cut Aid to Israel We 'Lose God's Hand

There are many conservatives who advocate for cutting all foreign aid as a means to trim the deficit. But what some might not realize is that doing so would also end another popular conservative staple -- aiding Israel, as it is one of the  top benefactors of U.S. foreign aid.

That's the point GOP Rep. Dan Webster (who beat out Alan Grayson in Florida last fall) was trying to make last weekend when he appeared on the local TV program “Good Life 45." But Webster went a step further. He said that discontinuing help to Israel would mean "we lose God’s hand and we’re in big time trouble:"

Here's the transcript:

WEBSTER: I believe God’s hand needs to be on this country.

HOST: That’s right.

WEBSTER: Some people have been talking about, every place I go, they bring up the issue foreign aid. I go, you can’t get rid of all foreign aid. Why? Because you ask them and they go, ‘yea we can’t do that.’ You take away the money from Israel? No. That’s something we can’t do. Do I like foreign aid? Sometimes, but not every time. Don’t like giving money to our enemies, but I love giving money to Israel. And so there’s a picture there that people realize that, we stop helping Israel, we lose God’s hand and we’re in big time trouble.

HOST: That’s right.

Webster's comments, which have riled up the left, make sense when you realize he served for years as a pastor. For him, then, supporting Israel is not just a conservative position, but it is a religious one. But one doesn't need to be religious to defend continued aid to Israel. For example, there are those who see Israel as a key ally in the Middle East, and it's existence guarantees a stable partner in a very unstable area.

What do you think?