Barack Obama has decided that his quest to become dictator and king for life has run into a snag. Apparently disagreeing with his holiness is still legal.
Unfortunately for democracy, dissent of the anointed one may not be permissible for long.
Barack Obama has decided to wage war on the Republican Jewish Coalition, whose only sin seems to be supporting republican candidates for office, including John McCain.
http://www.rjchq.org/Newsroom/newsdetail.aspx?id=5ee8a887-8e3e-45f9-a931-a7371977a61e
http://www.rjchq.org/Newsroom/newsdetail.aspx?id=ddb8ae31-c582-4b94-a605-f028705c2096
http://www.jewishjournal.com/elections/article/obama_campaign_halts_debates_with_rjc_20081015/
Before getting to this specific incident of left wing bullying, some brief contextual background is necessary.
Democrats are not the party of free speech, and the left is not about tolerance. Free speech and tolerance is for those that agree with them ideologically. Those that do not, aka conservatives, are subjected to ruthless ideological bigotry.
It is the left that removes lawn signs, and keys cars containing GOP bumper stickers. It was a democrat that ran over Secretary of State Katherine Harris with his car due to his being displeased at the 2000 Election. It is the left that feels the need in every GOP administration to find one bogeyman to hate. First it was Ronald Reagan. President George H.W. Bush was considered “moderate,” so Dan Quayle was savaged. When Clinton and Gore were in power, the left demonized Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Nobody went after Tom Foley in that manner.
In the beginning of the Presidency of George W. Bush, he and Vice President Cheney received some abuse, but not as much as now. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert was considered “moderate,” and therefore likable. The left had to go down the list to Attorney General John Ashcroft to find someone they could loudly detest. I do not remember a liberal Attorney General getting that treatment. When he left, the liberals had to search and search, and finally found John Bolton, the Ambassador to the United Nations. Does anybody remember who the last liberal U.N. Ambassador even was?
Now Sarah Palin is in the crossfire. The left wears t-shirts that say, “Abort Sarah Palin.” I guess they ran out of “Kill Bush,” and “Bush = Hitler” t-shirts.
The purpose of such rabid frothing at the mouth is to silence and intimidate those on the right. Conservatives disagree with liberals. Liberals despise conservatives. They want to take republicans and destroy them, rip their insides out, and grind them into dust.
Some will say that it is wrong to blame all liberals for a few million lunatics. Fair enough. However, when the leaders of an entire political party become hijacked by the basket cases, and start engaging in the same tactics, they must be called out.
Sarah Palin is hated on the left for being politically conservative and existing. That is it. A rally to condemn Iranian President Armageddonijad became political when Sarah Palin was disinvited. Disinvited? For what reason? Does she not have the right to be against a terrorist murderer, and proclaim loudly how awful Armageddonijad is? When did free speech only become allowable for those on the left?
This free speech angle is important, because there are so many chilling attempts by the left to simply ban the right of those on the right to voice their opinions.
Liberals lament about how the debate is “coarser” than it used to be. They blame talk radio, Fox News, and Rush Limbaugh in particular. What they are really lamenting is that the right has any voice at all. The left has ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, NPR, The Jayson Blair (New York) Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington (com)Post, and virtually all the cultural institutions in America ranging from public schools to libraries.
The left is angry that it can no longer get liberals elected by drumming up “Fake but Accurate” memos, or by breaking drunk driving “scandals,” just before an election.
This is why the left wants to bring back the Fairness Doctrine. There is nothing “fair” about it. What the Fairness Doctrine means is that for 30 minutes of conservative programming, there has to be 30 minutes of liberal programming to balance it. Whether or not the station makes any money is irrelevant. The reason conservative talk radio flourished was because the right had no voice at all until it existed. The marketplace had an opening. Additonally, Rush Limbaugh did not succeed because of his political views alone. He is genuinely entertaining.
Liberal talk radio fails because it is boring. Also, it is politically correct. Humor cannot succeed when virtually every constituency is off limits, or apologies have to be rendered after every joke. Also, liberals are terrible at making fun of themselves. Ronald Reagan was self deprecating. Liberals from Michael Dukakis to John Kerry never learned this.
Yet as awful as it is that the left is going after conservative institutions, they are getting more and more hateful. The left is now going after private citizens.
Joe the Plumber is the latest example. All this man did was ask a potential leader a question. Barack Obama, who has been very disciplined, slipped up. He said that we should “spread the wealth around.” That phrase breathed new energy into conservatives, and instead of analyzing Barack Obama, the left decided to provide scrutiny to Joe the Plumber. This is what they do. Anybody on the right knows that if they speak up, they can be destroyed. Being on the right is not even necessary. Challenging anyone on the left is enough to become a public enemy. Just ask Paula Jones, the only person I know making $35,000 per year that was audited by the IRS after speaking up about being sexually harrassed.
Not all private citizens have the money or power to fight back. Students get bullied by leftist professors, although a well placed tape recorder gives them a slim fighting chance.
This brings me to the newest victims of Barack Obama’s attempts at censorship, the Republican Jewish Coalition.
(Full disclosure: I am a member of the RJC leadership. All this means is that I attend their events, and occasionally make donations. I am not employed by them, nor is my blog in any way affiliated by them. I do not take orders from them, but am proud to have many of their members as my friends. Any columns I write about them are solely my choice.)
The Republican Jewish Coalition is the preeminent organization in America for those that are politically right of center, as well as being of the Hebrew faith.
Jews are not monolithic, in the same way black people, women, and other minorities are not monolithic. One of the great traditions of Judaism is the notion of debate. For those that have ever sat at a Jewish dinner table, the discussions are lively. Senator Barbara Boxer, no friend of republicans, has publicly praised the notion of debate.
Given the election of 2008, several Synagogues have been holding Jewish debate forums. The left has been represented by Congressmen such as Adam Schiff and Howard Berman, former Congressman Mel Levine, and Andrew Lachmann, who heads up Democrats For Israel. The right has mainly been represented by the Republican Jewish Coalition. Larry Greenfield does most of the debates on the West Coast, while other RJC executives have done others on the East Coast. Richard Baehr, an RJC member who writes at American Thinker, crisscrosses America debating and making the case for the GOP. I have even recently gotten into the act myself, sparring with a democratic strategist.
These debates were lively, informative, and mostly civil. Then I noticed that something began to change. The competitors on the left began getting angry, snarky, and downright hostile towards the RJC. In one debate, Mel Levine attacked the RJC about 14 times.
I will put my personal inegrity on the line and say that I would never belong to an organization that traffics in hate speech. I would not sacrifice my principles for career advancement. I challenge anybody to find anything on the RJC website or in any RJC printed publication that crosses the line. Like other politically right of center organizations, we focus on policy distinctions, not personal attacks.
Mel Levine and Ira Forman began accusing the RJC of engaging in hate speech, lies and smears. When asked to produce one solid example, they failed to do so.
What really began to bother those on the left was that the younger Jewish community, not wed to FDR and JFK, was thinking for itself. The older Jewish community was also having doubts. Simply put, the normally 80% of the Jewish vote that votes on the left was being reduced to as little as 60%. It could reach parity in a decade. Some will say that it is because Obama is being smeared, but the truth is that many Jews privately like George W. Bush, supported Rudy Giuliani, and are very comfortable with John McCain. Joseph Lieberman has gravitas in the community, and that helps as well.
Because of this, the days when liberal Jewish politicians could walk into a Synagogue and automatically receive a standing ovation are gradually lessening. So instead of honest debate, the left tries bullying tactics. Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida has made comments about Sarah Palin that cannot be printed in a blog that abhors such language.
The bottom line is that Jewish audiences for the debates were no longer stacked against those on the right. The crowds were sharply divided. One recent forum I attended was actually majority republican!
The Obama campaign, which is basically trying to run out the clock on the election, saw that the strategy of debating the issues was not working in a Jewish community that is becoming less and less reflexively liberal. He therefore gave a directive BANNING his surrogates from engaging in any debates with anybody from the RJC.
The incredibly weak excuse his campaign proffered was that since his surrogates were “official”, they would only debate “official” surrogates from the McCain campaign.
This is nonsense. These are Jewish debates. The RJC is as every bit important to right of center Jews as the NAACP is to many blacks, and the Catholic League is to many Catholics. Will the Obama campaign ban debates about gay and lesbian issues from including anyone from the Log Cabin Republicans?
Mel Levine and others followed their marching orders, and pulled out of several debates at various Synagogues at the 11th hour. This was rude, abrasive, and dishonest. The goal of these boycotts was to force the Synagogues to cancel the events. After all, partisan events could jeapordize their tax exempt statuses. With nobody on the left, the speaker on the right could not debate, and the events would be canceled.
Yet Jewish republicans learned from what happened when John McCain recommended skipping a debate for noble reasons. Barack Obama threatened to show up alone. That is exactly what members of the RJC did. Thankfully, the Synagogues did not give into the blackmail. They excoriated the participants who canceled at the last minute. The Synagogues reiterated their non-partisan staus, but explained that canceling events would cost them money and anger their congregations. In some cases, last minute surrogates filled in.
This is not an alleged conspiracy. Mel Levine and others have publicly stated that the Obama campaign will not let them debate the RJC. Mel Levine has debated with Larry Greenfield on several occasions. So have other surrogates on the left. For the Obama campaign to try to get these debate forums canceled is pure thuggery.
The Obama campaign has no right to decide who the other side chooses to offer as debate opponents. The only criteria should be if they are legitimate opponents. Mel Levine even sniveled that he did not want to debate Larry Greenfield again because he “did not want to elevate him in importance.”
I have a news flash for Mel Levine. He already debated Larry three times. Mel Levine is also somebody who was a Congressman back when “Dallas” was on television. He came in fourth place in a 1992 Senate race. I am not saying he is “unimportant,” but most people on the street would not recognize him.
Those on the left who are dropping out of these debates at the last minute are engaging in nothing but cowardice. They are also offending many Jewish people who gave up their evening, and in some cases money, to witness actual debates representing various points of view.
If Barack Obama were to win this election, is this how he would govern? Would he try to pressure Synagogues to ban RJC members from speaking at all?
If anybody thinks this is fear mongering, investigate Robert Wexler. He is the “Bully of Boca,” pressuring Synagogues into silencing his opponents. It is already happening.
This needs to be dealt with immediately. Barack Obama is going to learn one way or another that you cannot bully your opponents into submission in the United States of America. We may have a media that would rather investigate private citizens than a potential world leader, but private citizens are fighting back.
Republicans are tired of ideological bigotry. We demand an honest discussion of issues. We are not scared of foreign attackers, so we will certainly not be scared by leftist Jewish bullies taking their instructions from somebody who wants to silence those who point out his shaky credentials on Jewish issues.
It is these obscene tactics that only add to the many justified questions surrounding Barack Obama on Jewish…and non-Jewish…issues.
Senator Obama can bring the hammer down, but he cannot hit every nail. The questions will be asked, and Jewish Republicans will continue to speak out.
Senator Obama, you are out of line. You have some explaining to do.
We will get to the truth. We will be heard. This, and only this, is beyond any debate.
Hineni. Here I am. Republican, Jewish, and proud.
eric
All this vitriol because Obama doesn’t want the campaign debating with the RJC? And do you really believe when it comes to this “ideological bigotry” “it is the Left” that’s the sole offender? And this from a member of the RJC? And just avoiding the RJC is to “wage war” with them?
Thank you for reminding me why I’m not a partisan.
Here’s an interesting piece that should explain why Obama is avoiding the RJC: http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2008/10/18/news/local/elec1017.txt
Here’s the Sourcewatch on the RJC: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Republican_Jewish_Coalition
Why the Obama cmapaign or its surrogates would enjoin the RJC in debates is beyond me. It would be like a New York Giant standing in the middle of Lincoln Financial Field imploring the fans tobecome Big Blue fans. That would get ugly fast. It’s not as though any minds at the RJC are going to change… ever.
While the group makes no claims to be objective or nonpartisan, its attack ads are just too much. If I were a democrat, I’d avoid the RJC too. They are a partisan Republican group and make no bones about it. There’s no point in Democrats engaging them.
JMJ
Eric
I wanted to let you know that John McCain will be on Imus in the Morning tomorrow 77WABC and RFD TV. Imus has a huge rural demographic because of RFD TV, these are the folks, John McCain and Barack Obama need to reach.
http://imustimes.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/imus-what-should-i-ask-john-mccain/
The FACTS are that these debates were agreed to. Just because the left smears the RJC does not make those smears true. The link you sent has already been debunked.
It is rude and inappropriate to cancel out on promised commitments, and the Synagogues would be on the hook for the expenses related to the canceled debates.
The left is simply terrified of honest debate, especially in the Jewish community. They love to debate when the crowd agrees with them. They make excuses when they are losing.
Regardless of this election, the Jewish community is moving slowly to the right. The RJC issue is a smokescreen.
They are too gutless to debate. They are not debating ANYBODY.
ERIC
Oy gevalt!
As if the Republicans and their grass-root worker bees never savaged ANY Democrat. And through its policies, the current administration has done more to turn America into Amerika than Obama has ever mentioned. Besides, don’t we all know that candidates talk a big game, but rarely are able to deliver everything they’ve suggested? No American (except seemingly Republican Americans) is going to go for dictatorship, socialism, etc.
As far as Sarah Palin goes, even esteemed Republicans have admitted that she is not qualified for the job she’s applying for.
I’ll check out the links you have provided, as well as the link that purportedly will “explain why Obama is avoiding the RJC.”
And while I’m here, is it appropriate to say “good yontiff” or am I mixing up dates/days?
Who’s smearing the RJC? Mel Levine could have debated if he wanted, but he chose to take the advice of the Obama campaign and back out.
After the ads the RJC ran against Obama, how can you blame the campaign from recoiling? If I ran an ad saying your were a freind of terrorists and a threat to Israel, would you debate me?
And you are certainly not an objective perspective, nor should you be. I don;t fault you for that. I assume you’re a member of the Northern Californian RJC leadership. What you see as “debunked” an objective observer might see as debatable. I certainly found the RJC ads highly dubious. And I find using Israel as an American partisan wedge issue highly irresponsible. There has always been bipartisan support for Israel. Why the RJC would risk that is beyond me.
Jewish voters have moved to the right in recent years, from about 10% to about a quarter now call themselves conservatives or republicans. Catholics have moved much the same way. This isn’t a religious or uniquely cultural phenomena, but rather a typical political shift that comes with changing demograhics. As the Jewish population, much as the Catholic population, becomes more and more suburban and exurban and mainstream, moving out of the cities and trade jobs and into the burbs and white collar jobs, they become more Republican. But there is a ceiling here. There’s only so many Jews that will become Republican, just as there are only so many Cathiolics that will do so. The ceiling appears to have been reached. Obama is getting almost twice the Jewish votes McCain is getting. It looks like Jews, like all other Americans, will never become more than around 1/3 to 2/5 Republican.
JMJ
Mark,
The “both sides do it” defense does not wash. When democrats break the rules or the law, they try to find somebody in the Reagan administration who knew somebody who met somebody who may have done the same thing.
As for Palin, the “esteemed republicans” I know love her.
Thank you for the good yontiff wishes. That is always appreciated.
eric
Never say never. The old FDR Jews are being replaced by grandchildren that could care less about the New Deal or Camelot. Blacks once voted totally republican. Life evolves.
Again, when somebody gives their word and makes a commitment, they should keep it. It is one thing to refuse to debate in the future, but it is another to make promises and back out of them due to fear of losing.
Sooner or later Obama will have to answer questions. He cannot hide forever. He can blame the RJC, Joe the Plumber, the Butcher, Baker, and Candlestick Maker…he needs to answer questions.
eric
The left has consistantly made this mistake before.
They get to a position where they believe they hold the lead and they want to stop everything around them debates, interviews etc… thinking it will preserve that lead.
Believeing that this tactic works is partial reason why so many fail to show at the polls come election day because the last thing they saw were favorable polls.
Thena again it could just be the mentality expects someone else to do everything for them. They have faith that their fellow collectivists are out there voting so they dont need to. As long as they’re under the impression that someone else is carrying the load, everythings cool.
“the current administration has done more to turn America into Amerika than Obama has ever mentioned”
I guess you have never heard of Yuri Brezmenov?
From Jerusalem Post Oct 7th 2008: by MATT ZALEN; SHANI ROSENFELDER
“It’s not only misleading, it was an interview about what the next president was going to have to deal with,” [Uzi Dayan] told The Jerusalem Post, “and to know that they used this interview and took [only] five seconds [of it], and put me in a list of people praising [Barack Obama]… “I don’t want other people to interfere in our elections, and I must not interfere with the elections in the United States,” he said, adding that to do so would be neither “ethical nor smart.”
I guess overseas tricks don’t get the press here?
Given the current state of the economy, I wouldn’t be surprised if ol’ FDR becomes quite popular again! ;)
Just the same, I would put the onus on Levine, not Obama and the Democrats. Levine’s his own man. No one forced him to do, or not do, anything. It was his word that was broken, not Obama’s.
Obama has been answering all the questions he’s been asked, no more or less directly than any other pol, Republican or Democratic. Come one out of that glass house, my friend, things can get pretty sharp in there.
JMJ
Infidel308: Have you got a link to the article you quote? I’d be interested to read it. Thanks.
As for “esteemed republicans” : George Will, David Brooks
See, also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama_endorsements for a list of other endorsers …
Please feel free to stop by for your “fair share of abuse”, or to dish it out, at http://huntingsittingducks.blogspot.com/!
I would also like to reassert my position that what the RJC is doing – using Israel as an American partisan wedge issue – is extremely dangerous and irresponsible. Israel has always had a friend in America – on both sides of the aisle. God forbid Israel ever becomes just one party’s cause, because if that happens, Israel will no longer have a consistant friend in America. I think you guys are shooting the cow for milk.
JMJ
Dang Jersey,
I need my EYES checked. Or shorter arms so I can sit closer.
Please try in the future not to use the word ‘onus’.
“It is these obscene tactics that only add to the many justified questions surrounding Barack Obama on Jewish…and non-Jewish…issues.
Senator Obama can bring the hammer down, but he cannot hit every nail. The questions will be asked, and Jewish Republicans will continue to speak out.
Senator Obama, you are out of line. You have some explaining to do.”
Obama is “declaring war” on the RJC? Do you think the RJC occupies his thoughts much?
Gee whiz, seems a tad over the top and grandiose to me and I imagine others. Does the campaign lie in the balance because of your inflated view of the importance of the RJC?
I have a solution for you: the RJC should debate the DJC and rep’s from the Obama campaign should debate rep’s from the McCain campaign. Why should Obama’s people debate folks who don’t represent the actual views of his opponent and aren’t accountable to McCain?
Mark,
Yes, I couldn’t find it earlier:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017470356&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
David Brooks works for the Jayson Blair Times. Scratch him.
George Will and David Brooks have a history of attacking their own. George Will is “respected” by the MSM because he goes after republicans, dating back to the first President Bush.
The RJC does occupy Obama’s thoughts, otherwise he would not have instituted the ban.
The RJC is the best representative of McCain’s message in the Jewish community. We are as legitimate as any other civil rights organization.
AGAIN…by forcing surrogates to pull out at the last minute, the goal was to shut the events down. That is trying to stifle speech.
As for the RJC not representing McCain, tell that to the RJC leadership. We were just on the telephone with him Sunday morning. I was on the call myself.
I am not going to divulge the conference call details, but I can assure anybody that we have the authority and legitimacy from the top.
The Synagogues were angry, and their correspondence is private as well. I have seen it. They do not like being poltiical pawns in Obama’s chess game.
eric
LOL, Infidel! I have the same problem with the word “Heinous.” Seems I’m near-heared.
I think the RJC/DJC debate would be a great idea!
JMJ
What about David Frum, Tygrrrr? He’s an RJC director, isn’t he?
http://www.nationalpost.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=756704
So this is the future of the Republican party you are looking at: a future in which national security has bumped down the list of priorities behind abortion politics, gender politics, and energy politics. Ms. Palin is a bold pick, and probably a shrewd one. It’s not nearly so clear that she is a responsible pick, or a wise one.
JMJ
Jersey, I have met David Frum more than once. He has attended RJC meetings, same as I have, no more, no less. His book “The Right Man” is quite good.
However, he is not a conservative. His advice in his most recent book and in speeches is for the GOP to move leftward and coopt the democrats’ rhetoric.
That is not conservative. He is a triangulator.
You can keep cherry picking, but the bottom line is that if you want to talk to republican Jews in America, you go through the RJC.
There are plenty of people who would prefer not to deal with the hyperpartisan NAACP, but they are the oldest and most well known.
The Obama campaign is going after the RJC because they are a threat to him. His heavy handed tactics have backfired. Synagogues that are even sympathetic to those left of center are angry at being used.
He needs to back off, because the RJC is not backing down.
I know I won’t.
I don’t understand. What exactly should Obama “back off” from? How is the camapign “going after” the RJC? And what about the RJC? Aren’t they the ones “going after” Obama? Have you read this – http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/110798.html
Perhaps the RJC speaks well for a lot of republican Jews, but as for Jews in general… well, let’s just say that I think you guys would be considered way out there in Right field, so to speak.
JMJ
Jersey.
By not engaging the RJC the Obama camp is basically shutting the process that allows the people to view the positions of candidates that we want to know more about.
I think the best example would be Obamas reluctance to debate McCain in no more than three out of the ten debates he was invited to.
He just wants to get up in front of people like a rock star and do his little mesmerizing shtick screaming hope and change without any real clarification as to how that comes about.
So far, the best answer to anything has been his support of socialism.
Right now he doesnt want any community to confront him as to why his own running partnet seemingly has less faith iin hin than his own followers.
I want to hear him explain away his endorsement by Powell, Biden saying in the primary that “Obama is not fit to lead” and then theres this recent gaffe that Biden thinks Obama is so weak he will be tested by an intentional crisis.
It seems like at this point Obama will just as soon leave everything as it is til the 4th.
And he will do his best to leave the impression his base has the way it is as long as possible.
He wants everybody to stand still now.
I’m willing to bet “mark my words” that for the next two weeks he will not doing very many appearances that hold any potential to be contrary to him in the slightest.
I think the NAACP and NOW are out in left field. I am neither a woman nor black, so I do not get to decide that.
You don’t get to decide how Jewish republicans organize. We decide that.
This is about integrity. Obama’s surrogates broke their word. They violated their integrity. They publicly claimed they were doing this at the bequest of Obama. That’s it.
Barack Obama is trying to shut down debates. He knew what the RJC was ages ago. He is educated. Waiting until the last minute when it would be tough to find replacements is disgusting, and the RJC will not be censored.
Further discussion of this is useless since your mind is usually made up before my columns are even written.
I normally do not enter the debate, preferring to be the moderator. I had to enter today so disinformation does not get disseminated.
eric
Also.
I would love to hear Obama explain why Jesse Jackson feels that with an Obama presidency Israel will be tossed under the bus and should be weary of any support or lack of coming from that cabinet.
“I am neither a woman nor black”
But you ARE the blacktygrrrr
If you want respect, you have to earn it. You don;t just get it because you said you should have it. I saw those RJC ads. Very disrespectful. If I was Barack, I wouldn’t engage them either. I’m not Bracak, and no one’s come after me, so I personally have no problem with the RJC. But I will also add this – I think it is responsible of Barack to avoid a group that is using Israel as an American partisan wedge issue, which I find extremely irresponsible and self-defeating.
I wish an RJC member would address that.
JMJ
Micky-
I don’t think Obama wants socialism. He just want’s higher taxes on businesses. Sure this will force them to increase prices or lay off workers, but the revenue will help pay the now-unemployed. Spread the wealth around. I am already planning on getting out of the military and living off of suckers like you for the 16 year’s of Obama’s Presidency (he will amend the constitution) that he will need to clean up Bush’s mess. I’m sure the BDS’ers will be blaming him for years.
And Biden, well, blind devotion is all Obama really asks of any of us. In return, he annointest us with hope, change, and free health care until our cup runneth over.
Remember:
“the kind of help he’s gonna need is, he’s gonna need you, to help him – we’re gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it’s not gonna be apparent initially, it’s not gonna be apparent that we’re right.” “Because I promise you, you all are gonna be sitting here a year from now going, ‘Oh my God, why are they there in the polls? Why is the polling so down? Why is this thing so tough?’ We’re gonna have to make some incredibly tough decisions in the first two years. So I’m asking you now, I’m asking you now, be prepared to stick with us.”
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/10/biden-to-suppor.html
So lets give him the same support that Democrats have given Bush the last few years.
It’s very simple.
Virulent anti-semitism in this country is coming from the left. It is on college campuses among other places. These anti-Semites have taken the Democratic Party hostage.
Barack Obama will not stand up to them because he needs them to get elected. In many cases, they are advisers to his campaign.
Israel is not a “wedge” issue. It is the very essence of the Jewish people. Try telling black Americans not to be concerned about Africa even though they live here.
Republicans have every right to point out that the Democratic Party of Scoop Jackson is dead. 90% of republicans want a strong U.S./Israel relationship. Only 50% of democrats want this.
We have every right to warn Jews that half of the Democratic Party does not care about Israel.
If the democrats want to argue that Israel is not an issue that Jews should use to decide who to vote for, then say that and let’s argue that point. However, saying they support Israel with the same loyalty that republicans do is an out and out lie. The RJC has a moral obligation to point this out.
eric
I never understood how any Jew could be a liberal.
Any more than I can understand how a catholic could be a liberal.
Is it just me or is my mind boggled at the massive dissconnect for a good reason ?
[…] last, but not least – Ideological Bigotry Part XVII–Obama attacks the Republican Jewish Coalition Barack Obama has decided to wage war on the Republican Jewish Coalition, whose only sin seems to be […]
Tygrrr, with all due respect, and knowing that you are a kind, decent, intelligent man, please take this seriously: You are being paranoid.
There’s NO substantial “virulent anti-semitism” among the vast, vast, vast majority of the left – or the right or the middle – in America, and most of the world. It is extremely insulting to this particular card-carrying member of the “Left” that you say otherwise, and to be honest, it’s disturbing to think that anyone would believe such an outrageously untrue thing. And that it’s coming from someone who believes there’s very little racism in America, who lives in one of the most liberal and socially advanced parts of the nation, who is the progeny of those who truly have suffered from truly “virulent anti-semitism,” and who takes exception to “identity politics,” is insanely disconcerting.
I don’t know if you feel some kind of guilt for your good fortune of being an affluent, happy American while your ancestors were so horribly massacred, or if the ghosts of that past have somehow been too deeply imbued in your psyche, but you’re seeing things that simply are not there – and you’re putting all your eggs in one basket in a country that needs two to carry it’s eggs.
If the RJC and their ilk are successful at making Israel a partisan matter, with one side pro and the other anti, then they will have succeeded only in destroying the one true alliance Israel has in the whole world – with America. Is that what you want?
JMJ
If all that is true then why would an informed man like Jackson say what he said ?
I feel zero guilt. Jewish liberals feel guilt. I wish I had more of everything.
I feel contempt for those that believe one can engage in diplomacy with murderers while my people burn.
I feel contempt for the world that sat by and allowed the Holocaust, and for appeasers like Neville Chamberlain.
I feel contempt for the left today that adopts Chamberlain’s rhetoric of surrender.
I support those that use overwhelming brute force to win wars. I support those that want to use military force on terrorist entities such as Iran and Syria.
I have contempt for those that want to dialogue with people who will not accept my right to exist.
I am contempt for leftist Jews that enable the death of their own people, and good people everywhere.
Later this week I will be describing in graphic detail what the Holocaust actually was. Only then will some of these leftist Jews wake up and understand what I mean when I say…
NEVER…AGAIN!
eric
Surrender to who? Appease who? What are you talking about?
Eric, please. Take it easy man. This ain’t 1939.
JMJ
I have been bullied and intimidated by my Jewish family for my political and religious opinions for about 30 years now (former liberal atheist). Attacked personally instead of being able to discuss issues rationally, I’ve tried to figure it out from a psychological POV – at least now half this country seems to be in my shoes. Is it the fear of being wrong? Is it about being control freaks (who, of course, feel out of control), is it misplaced ideology instead of belief in G-d? Is it cultural snobbery and fear of social rejection? What makes intelligent Jews follow a fool? What makes some Jews self-defeating by attacking those who wish them well (Christian bashing). And what is WRONG with Jewish women these days? Not the warm, nurturing idealized Jewish women I remember from childhood. Many in the media are foulmouthed shrews, frankly, who I find embarassing. I guess it’s an old story, Moses saw us with the golden idols when he came down from Mt Sinai and threw those tablets to the ground in disgust.
I asked my 87-year-old Mother why she’d vote for someone who walked in the million man march w/ Louis Farrakahn and she said, “well, he must not have known who he was!” How can you argue with that?
Eric…..I wish all Jewish people felt the same way you do! Regardless of Obama’s anti-Jewish/anti-Israel stance, the majority of Jews are supporting him in this election (2/3 of them, according to the latest statistics). Although I’m a Christian, I live in a neighborhood that is predominantly Jewish, so most of my friends and neighbors are Jewish. The support Obama receives from them are evident in the signs on their lawns and the bumper stickers on their cars. In my “real life” (meaning offline) I do not discuss politics with anyone (especially friends and family), so I have no insight as to why my friends would vote for a man who openly supports Palestinians and — at best — flip-flops on Israel.
“The RJC does occupy Obama’s thoughts, otherwise he would not have instituted the ban. ”
I surrender. Anyone who thinks that a presidential candidate has the time or the energy to enact bans to prevent his surrogates from speaking to snarky fringe groups doesn’t have a clue as to how presidential campaigns work. Of course he’s ultimately responsible but I assure you Eric, Obama has never ever heard of the RJC let alone set a course to evade its grasp.
As a jew I am offended by your willingness to reflexively throw the anti-semitism card into any discussion in which someone disagrees with you on principle.
Eric,
I fear, as I have stated in my blog, that the election of Obama spells the
end of Israel!
They are tough, spunky people. But without U.S. support, I think that it
just a matter of time.
I honestly relieve that the Obama/Pelosi/Reid team intend an over throw of Capitalism!
Watch Dog
The Morning Scramble (Part 1) – 10/22/2008…
Yes, it’s back for a very-limited engagement (unless I can figure out how to keep this from taking all day).
That doesn’t mean it’s a short-stack. I can’t do that to you.
The ObamiNation In Your Face Violence……
Eric; This suppression of the RJC is really shocking to me, but it seems there is a new development every day.
Last week the night of the last debate, goons interfered with the Live Chat on Team Sarah for hours completely disrupting the free exchange of ideas.
Now there is an alert out to all bloggers, MySpace and Facebook members, etc:
http://texashillblog.wordpress.com/2008/10/21/alert-pumajustsaynodeal-co-founder-will-bower-has-facebook-acct-deleted/
http://sarah-palin-2008.blogspot.com
John McCain responds.
McCain on Imus in the Morning this morning discusses Rev Jeremiah Wright and ACORN. There is a link to the podcast for the interview.
http://imustimes.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/imus-mccain-talks-wright-and-palin/
POLITICO Double Covers McCain’s Appearance from above link.
“Of course he’s ultimately responsible but I assure you Eric, Obama has never ever heard of the RJC let alone set a course to evade its grasp.”
Hmmm….
Sensiblecenter.
Do you have some special insight into the workings of Obamas mind ?
You’re guessing about Erics temperment and physical status are actually wrong. I’ve known him for more than a year now and can say without guessing that hes one of the most decent people you’ll ever meet.
I wish I could see more Jews out there like him that vow to never ever let anything happen again like what happened to his family and mine.
My mother and Grandmother were Danish and yet they still became victims of hatred, ignorance, rape and violence by the Nazis in WW2. They had the tattoos to prove it.
When there is little doubt as to which party would support Jews and Israels interest the best it still boggles my mind how any Jew could vote for anyone in the democratic party as it is evident that republicans have always held a higher regard for Israel and Jews interests.
When a black man like Jesse Jackson whos interests run parallel to many of Obamas says that Jews should be concerned about an Obama presidency its time to open your eyes.
You as a Jew should be thankful that guys like Eric are out there keeping up awareness so that history does not repeat itself.
Consequently, maybe even saving your life one day.
If him and those like him have not already done so
Thank you Micky.
I deleted the personal attacks on me. Most people know I am a happy 36 year old guy in great health with a great job and a lovely girlfriend and great friends.
Also, Obama’s surrogates themselves have explicitly stated that the Obama campaign wants them to stop debating the RJC. This is on the record fact, and can be verified.
eric
The lack of exposure in certain venues lately, not only the RJC debates, makes it evident.
Like I said above Obama will probably only be doing his rock star stage appearances from now on and try to stay away from any in depth engagement.
I’ll bet my huevos that he does not want to be confronted in public on any of the latest questions that deserve to be answered…
that we deserve an answer to.
I think that if you left those personal attacks up it would only help to bolster your point.
Yes/No ?
You are close but incorrect on the fairness doctrine. The FCC abolished it in June 1987 (I attended that FCC meeting in DC that evening) because it was a relic of the old days of three major broadcasters. The advent of multi-channel cable providers left the FD as no longer necessary since more and more voices were being added to television (although still a sorry few major owners of the media). You are also incorrect in that the FD did not provide for equal time (30-minutes one side vs. 30-minutes the other), it mandated that both sides of a controversial topic had to be represented. Not equally, but somewhat fairly. The FD was loosely based on the standards of journalism at the time (which Fox News obviously has no clue about)
Your comments about why right-wing nutcase radio (which saved AM radio from extinction) is popular while left-wing radio is “boring” also misses the mark. You only need to look at booksales of Rush’s “way things ought to be” book (ghost written) which was replaced on the bestseller’s lists by sales of Al Frankin’s “Rush is a big fat idiot” book.
Your psyc 101 class would have told you that people prefer to hear information that confirms or supports their beliefs. Fox News took this fact of human nature to new lows in jouralistic practice in order to take on CNN in the ratings war and eventually was victorious – to the detriment of everyone.
By their nature, conservatives are more attracted to right-wing talk radio because they are less inclined to be open to new ideas (i.e. right-wing radio is a safe place to be) Reactionaries are the extreme of this type of personality. Liberals, by their nature, are more open to new experiences and ideas (except right-wing dogma) such as their general acceptance of different ideas and lifestyles (same-sex marriage okay with me). So left-wing nutjob talk radio does not have the attraction as left-wing news radio (can you say NPR) which is slightly less partisan and more likely to provide different points of view to at least some extent.
Thanks Eric it worked this time. Sure enjoyed your writing too:-) I have been blogging and trying to get a good soapbox to shout from, but sometimes the sheer apathy and ignorance I encounter from liberals ( and even many so-called conservatives) is simply appalling. It seems that most people have forgotten how to think critically and use judgment in what sources of information to trust, and even more importantly, how to act on that information. We live in an age where rhetoric, the craft of making evil appear good, is the highest art, and the profane man becomes sacred…, or the One, as Obama is called. We are seeing the worst of Chicago machine politics being played out on the national stage, and it being called a campaign of hope and change. One of the most overtly racist candidates in recent memory, whose minister should give every patriotic American of whatever color pause, gets to brand all disagreement and criticism of him as racially motivated, to the point we dare not criticize anything about him lest we be thrown in jail or beaten up. You hit it on the head about free speech, Eric, as that is what the Left fears most: Citizens making informed, uncoerced choices of who they want as their leaders. I look for a return of the alien and seditions act in the first few months of an Obama reign, because I think the fairness doctrine is not enough to satisfy the liberals. They do not want to silence dissent, they want to destroy, preferably after a public disembowlment, any who dare raise their eyes from the dust and oppose divinity. After all, “they are who they have been waiting for”. Funny, isn’t it, how the Son of the Morning, even lucifer, had the same game plan, and attitude to those who opposed his plan. Even more worrying that Ayers dedicated his book to lucifer, “the first radical”, and might become Obama’s Education Secretary. How can we as a nation have sunk so low that a man like Obama can be considered fit for any public office, let alone on the verge of the Presidency, is beyond me. When I consider Jefferson’s words about the justice of God, I too, tremble at the wrath that awaits us. Thanks for fighting the good fight! Brian