Wexler Leaves Congress, Leaving Washington to Wonder Why

Ron Kampeas
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler

WASHINGTON

The "fire-breathing liberal" has sucked the air out of the room.

A soft-spoken retirement announcement by the usually outspoken U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) has left Democrats, Republicans, Jews and non-Jews expressing reactions that ranged from baffled to ... baffled.

What makes the move even more perplexing is that Wexler, who dubbed himself the "fire-breathing liberal" in his manifesto published last year, is ending a very public political career that has had a virtually unimpeded upward swing to become a think-tank diplomat -- the kind of figure who does his best work behind the scenes without taking credit.

Wexler, 48, will lead the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation, a group co-founded by S. Daniel Abraham, the Slim-Fast diet food magnate whom Wexler named in his book as a "close friend" and the funder of Wexler's Middle East travels in the past.

The group has existed since 1993, and was prominent during the heyday of the Oslo peace process launched that year, but it has been moribund since the death in 2002 of its co-founder, former Utah congressman Wayne Owens.

"Taking over as president of the Center for Middle East Peace offers me an unparalleled opportunity to work on behalf of Middle East peace for an important and influential nonprofit institute," Wexler said in a statement. "After much discussion with my family, I have decided that I cannot pass up on this opportunity."

The problem with his explanation is that the congressman is already in a position to exert considerable influence on Middle East policy.

As chairman of the Europe subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Wexler lobbied European nations to join in isolating Iran and helped sustain Israel's role as a NATO satellite country. He was also effective in bringing Turkey into the process as a Mideast broker.

Wexler was the first major Jewish political figure to join the Obama campaign, in 2007, just after the then-senator had declared his candidacy. Obama's political mastermind, David Axelrod -- now a senior White House adviser -- advised his candidate to woo Wexler as the iconoclast likeliest to break Hillary Rodham Clinton's then-stranglehold on Jewish support.

Wexler has commanded respect from Jewish liberals and centrists by combining support for robust U.S. diplomacy in pursuit of a two-state solution with a strong defense of Israel's response to Hamas rocket attacks, steering clear of criticizing Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, and arguing that Obama needs to do a better job of selling his policies directly to the Israeli public.

So why would he give up such political capital?

In the absence of a more detailed explanation, journalists and policymakers who thought they knew Wexler could only speculate: He was positioning himself for an Obama-administration peace-brokering role. After 14 years, he had tired of the congressional grind. The most common reason proffered was that he needs the money (the lawmaker has three children who attend a pricey Jewish day school).

Wexler, reached by The Associated Press, said nothing exciting was up. "I am not under any investigation. My marriage is intact. My health is good and, thank God, the health of my family is good," he said. "I am leaving to become the president of the Center for Middle East Peace. It may not be as sexy as some other things, but this is what I'm doing."