At the Republican Jewish Coalition Winter Leadership meeting in Las Vegas featured many compelling speakers, with one of them being Michael Medved.
I have met Mr. Medved before, and his book “Right Turns” is a journey into how he went from being a liberal political activist to a conservative republican author, radio host, columnist, and film critic. Yes, he is a vegetarian who lives in Seattle, but do not be fooled. He is a Jewish republican, and a kind human being. When he saw me said, “Hi Eric, how are you?” He meets many people, and probably treats them all just as nicely.
With that, below are comments by Michael Medved.
“Jews are political junkies. We are 5% of the vote, and only 1.7% of the population.”
“There is a deadlock at the Presidential level. We have had close elections for 50 years. In 8 of the last 12 elections, the winner won with 51% of the vote or less. Ronald Reagan in 1980 had only 51% of the vote. Jews voted for the Meshuganah (crazy person) John Anderson. Americans are reliably divided.”
“We should all pray for the health of Jimmy Carter, since the funeral will be excrutiating. Nobody will be truthful.”
“In 2008, New York could be in play. John McCain will campaign ferociously in California.”
“In 2004, President Bush did better in Florida, partly because Joe Lieberman was not on the ticket.”
“Barack Obama is suspect on Israel issues. He has said, ‘No people have suffered more than the Palestinians.’ Jewish people are mainly idiotic and self destructive, yet even we understand that suicide bombers don’t love us. McCain said he would not talk to Hamas. So then Obama did say today that Hamas is the one terrorist group he would not negotiate with. Yet he would negotiate with Iran’s Ahmadinewackjob. Jews are unbearably sentimental, and Obama has been masterful answering the Jewish issue.”
“Hillary is easier to run against in the Jewish community.”
I respectfully disagree with that point of view, but republican Jews, and republicans in general, are sharply divided on who would be the weaker democratic foe.
Mr. Medved then made a mistake, and to his credit, immediately retracted the comment to set the record straight.
“Envoy Dennis Ross is supporting Obama.”
The crowd seemed shocked by this, but one member of the very politically sophisticated RJC audience pointed out that Mr. Ross, appointed by the first President Bush and retained by Bill Clinton, had offered to share his advice with all of the candidates. Obama had simply taken Mr. Ross on that offer the most. Mr. Ross had not endorsed anybody, and wants whoever wins to succeed on the thorny issue of the Middle East Peace Process.
To his credit, Mr. Medved sincerely thanked the person that corrected him, and was glad the record was set straight.
Mr. Medved then continued discussing Barack Obama.
“Reestablishing the old Jewish-Black Alliance is a desire of Jews and Obama.”
He then waded into Jewish voting trends that are counter to Jewish interests.
“George McGovern made anti-Israel statements. He often spoke about an ‘internationally divided Jerusalem.’ President Richard Nixon was supplying Israel in 1973 with weapons to save Israel. McGovern was on the Senate floor speaking against this. McGovern still got 65% of the Jewish vote.”
“Jews do not vote based on Israel. President Bush is not playing an international chess game. He genuinely believes and loves Israel in his heart. 70% of Israelis backed President Bush over John Kerry.”
Mr. Medved then got to the heart of what is presentation of why the Jewish community votes against its own interests.
“Why are Jews liberal? Because they have a fear of Christianity. Woody Allen is not one of the great philosophers of all time. We have different attitudes towards Israel…and families. So what unites Conservative (politically) Jews and liberal Jews? We have only one thing in common. We do not believe Jesus is God. With liberal Jews, the only Jewish identity is a negative. Liberal Jews are allergic to Christianity. This is why they cannot support President Bush, despite his being the most Pro-Israel President ever. In a 1999 debate, he stated that his favorite philosopher was Jesus Christ. At that moment, he was done among liberal Jews. They recoiled.”
“Let freedom ring, and let victory prevail in the land of the free.”
One area of contention is that Israel is always asked to show restraint in the face of terror. They are told that their responses are “disproportionate.” Mr. Medved had his opinion.
“Israel should be proportionate. We should send rockets and kill schoolchildren. Those who claim to care about human rights do not care when Gaza rockets are aimed at Israel.”
Another questioner wanted to know how republican common sense could be used to infiltrate liberal Rabbis.
“Mona Charen once said that liberal Jews are basically ‘the democratic party with holidays.’ Every Jew is born an expert on politics. Reform Judaism has been hurt by its confusing religion with politics.”
Mr. Medved was then asked if there was a Jewish guilt factor regarding Obama.
“Yes, there is a Jewish guilt factor that goes back to the Civil Rights days. Yet if we truly want to honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream, we should judge Obama and McCain by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. Pigmentation as an item of religious favor is Unamerican.”
With regards to Mike Huckabee, Medved replied, “We all love Huckabee, but there’s a time Governor, there’s a time.”
With regards to illegal immigration, Mr. Medved holds a sensible position that President Bush and Senator McCain seem to understand.
“26% of children born today are Latino. 22% of illegals are Asian. They arrived in airports. 10% of illegals have college degrees. Until McCain, the GOP was headed towards a permanent train wreck. The Tom Tancredo wing of the party will leave the GOP doomed to permanent minority status, and will never win an election. The democratic playbook is banking on heavy support from Latinos. McCain won 70% of Latinos in Arizona, and by a 6:1 margin over Mitt Romney in Florida. 40% of illegals have a blood relative that is a U.S. citizen. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush had large Latino support.”
The night before Mr. Medved spoke, I had a chance to sit down with him and one other person for about 20 minutes. He spoke about the need to show compassion for all of God’s children,. whether black or white, gay or straight, religious or secular. Mr. Medved is simply a sincere person with honest convictions, and is able to express them with humor and likability. He is not afriad to take on those on the left or the right that allow vitriol to get in the way of what the ultimate goal is…to make the world a better place.
As always, it was a pleasure to see Michael Medved. His mind is sound and logical, and his heart is in the right place, with the emphasis on right.
eric
I used to listen to Michael Medved on my car radio in the mornings here in Hawaii.
Cant even find the station anymore. The islands are largely full of democrats.
I smell a conspiracy.
“We should all pray for the health of Jimmy Carter, since the funeral will be excrutiating. Nobody will be truthful.”
I’ve had this thought a few times myself. I can just see the line up for multiple uelogies. Every prick that hates America will be there
I though Medved was a Libertarian. No?
And what the heck did he mean by “We should all pray for the health of Jimmy Carter, since the funeral will be excrutiating. Nobody will be truthful.”??? That was just wierd, and rather uncoothe.
JMJ
I dont think there was anything weird about it at all.
People can hardly tell the truth about what a lousy president he was now
No, I think most people, right, left and center, see his presidency as a failure. I don’t think reasonable people would blame him for that entirely, but certainly it’s hard to put a happy face on that old corpse of a presidency. He did secure peace between Israel and Egypt. No president has come close to that sort of acheivement – let alone the current occupant. He did also work well with the Soviets and China and did his part to bring an end to the Cold War (and avoid another one). The oil crisis, inflation, unemployment, the Iranian revolution – these things were basically beyond his control, let alone his fault. On the other hand, opening up the SS “lock-box,” deregging the airlines, and couple of other big decisions were outright huge mistakes. On balance, though, I’d take his presidency over the current one anyday!
JMJ
Yea right.
Carter’s previous involvement with the Middle East is to say the least troublesome. It was Carter who brokered the screwed up Arab-israeli peace treaties. these agreements only bolsterd hatred from Israels Arab neighbors and caused more violence.
While he brags about peace between Egypt and Israel has supposedly held up to this day. Actually increased hostility in Egypt toward Israel and Jews has been the true legacy. All the treaty did was fester more hatred towards Israel.
Today he no doubt is fond of Hamas and its terrorist government. Hes delusional, he things they will eventually become ” non violent”
Should came as no surprise though. He was always kissing Arafats butt.
And these are the ones hes doing the same thing to today.
Castro, Chavez,Saddam when he was alive, that Yugoslav Tito, Romanian dictator Ceaucescu, Marcos, Kim jung Ill and his dad.
And he also blesses rigged elections in Haiti and Venezuela
Carter’s idiotic approach to foreign policy has put America in a really crappy position in the world. I look at some of the challenges facing our country today I cant help but thank Jimmy Carter for getting us off on the cluster****. Whether it’s the Middle East, Iran or North Korea, Carter’s track record as president is nothing to brag about and his meddling career as ex-president has been even worse.
Carter’s dumping of the shah in 1977 helped lead to the Islamic revolution. His screwed up approach to the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979 motivated Islamic terrorists all over the world and contributing to or culminating 911.
The guy sucked ! Big time !
Carter facilitated the Israel/Egypt Camp David accords. No president has done more to facilitate peace for Israel than Jimmy Carter. Period. Anyone who says otherwise is either lying or ignorant of the facts.
JMJ
There was nothing Carter could have done about the Iranian revolution, especially considering how fresh the failure of Vietnam was in the American mind. Iran collapsed because of our sleazy actions in 1953, not anything Carter did or didn’t do.
JMJ
JMJ;
“Carter facilitated the Israel/Egypt Camp David accords. No president has done more to facilitate peace for Israel than Jimmy Carter. Period. Anyone who says otherwise is either lying or ignorant of the facts.”
Yea right, heres the facts. That deal worked out real well.
“Ninety-two percent of respondents in a recent poll of one thousand Egyptians over 18 years of age called Israel an enemy state. In contrast, a meager 2% saw Israel as “a friend to Egypt.”
Carters actions in the middle east and Iran only made things worse jersey, its documented fact that when he got done with the Shah and that whole mess no one could be anyting but pissed with him. Especially the Islamic revotion that was just a fledgling at the time.
Part of the reason Sadat went to Jerusalem was because Carter ignorantly wanted to convene an international peace conference including the Soviets… the Egyptians had moved away from the Soviets in the early seventies ( around 1971) and had no interest whatsoever in including them in any peace process…
Carter spent a great deal of time during Camp David undermining Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin…including misleading Mr. Begin and others…Carter was not and is not an honest man…
He is given far more credit than he deserves…he essentially bailed the broke Egyptians out…
His acumen for foreign policy is a myth…just go down the line…there’s no excuse for how he handled Iran, the Soviets, The Syrians etc…no excuses whatsoever…he was an incompetent man who actually continues to learn the wrong lessons on the International scene…
The reality he’s now essentially bought off by the Saudis ought to wake some of you guys up…the Bushes may do business with the Saudis, but they’re not owned by them…
Medved’s comments illicit many a nod from those of us who recognize Mr. Carter and his failed Presidency…
Right on Brian.
Carters mindset today is remenecent and reflective of his actions during his presidency.
the guy hasnt changed at all.
The Shah’s fall was due to Mr. Carter’s absolute incompetence…each administration since his disastrous one has learned the lesson his stupidity taught them…stick with our allies…criticize them, chide them, pressure them, but stick with them…
Many of us can find a great deal to criticize about the Egyptians, Saudis, Jordanians, Gulf States etc…but we wouldn’t dare suggest in this day in age ceasing to support these allies…the same can be said for Pakistan…
Micky, he’s gotten worse…he’s more self righteous than ever…
Whole lot of revisionist history going on here…
JMJ
hah ! We cant blame Carter or any middle eastern countries for any failings in the middle east, ever .
But its O.K. to saddle Bush 1&2 and Reagan with the blame ROTF, give me a break.
It’s well and fine to critique Carter, but just to flat out lie or pretend that he didn’t do the things that he did is sleazy.
JMJ
No one is pretending anything.
He was practically useless in helping end the cold war.
And his treaty with Eygpt and Israel which you praise so highly has failed. As I mentioned. So what does that leave him ?
From the Sun Times;
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/4146
“These hostile sentiments express themselves in many ways, including a popular song titled “I Hate Israel,” venomously antisemitic political cartoons, bizarre conspiracy theories, and terrorist attacks against visiting Israelis. Egypt’s leading democracy movement, Kifaya, recently launched an initiative to collect a million signatures on a petition demanding the annulment of the March 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty.
Also, the Egyptian government has permitted large quantities of weapons to be smuggled into Gaza to use against Israeli border towns. Yuval Steinitz, an Israeli legislator specializing in Egypt-Israel relations, estimates that fully 90% of PLO and Hamas explosives come from Egypt.
Cairo may have no apparent enemies, but the impoverished Egyptian state sinks massive resources into a military build up. According to the Congressional Research Service, it purchased $6.5 billion worth of foreign weapons in the years 2001-04, more than any other state in the Middle East. In contrast, the Israeli government bought only $4.4 billion worth during that period and the Saudi one $3.8 billion.
Egypt ranked as the third largest purchaser of arms in the entire developing world, following only population giants China and India. It has the tenth largest standing army in the world, well over twice the size of Israel’s.
Egyptian president Anwar El-Sadat, U.S. president Jimmy Carter, and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin in a good mood at the Egypt-Israel treaty signing ceremony, March 26, 1979.
This long, ugly record of hostility exists despite a peace treaty with Israel, hailed at the time by both Egypt’s president Anwar El-Sadat and Israel’s prime minister Menachem Begin as a “historic turning point.” U.S. president Jimmy Carter hoped it would begin a new era when “violence no longer dominates the Middle East.” I too shared in this enthusiasm.
With the benefit of retrospect, however, we see that the treaty did palpable harm in at least two ways. First, it opened the American arsenal and provided American funding to purchase the latest in weaponry. As a result, for the first time in the Arab-Israeli conflict, an Arab armed force may have reached parity with its Israeli counterpart.
Second, it spurred anti-Zionism. I lived for nearly three years in Egypt in the 1970s, before Sadat’s dramatic trip to Jerusalem in late 1977, and I recall the relatively low interest in Israel at that time. Israel was plastered all over the news but it hardly figured in conversations. Egyptians seemed happy to delegate this issue to their government. Only after the treaty, which many Egyptians saw as a betrayal, did they themselves take direct interest. The result was the emergence of a more personal, intense, and bitter form of anti-Zionism.
The same pattern was replicated in Jordan, where the 1994 treaty with Israel soured popular attitudes. To a lesser extent, the 1993 Palestinian accords and even the aborted 1983 Lebanon treaty prompted similar responses. In all four of these cases, diplomatic agreements prompted a surge in hostility toward Israel.
Defenders of the “peace process” answer that, however hostile Egyptians’ attitudes and however large their arsenal, the treaty has held; Cairo has in fact not made war on Israel since 1979. However frigid the peace, peace it has been.
To which I reply: if the mere absence of active warfare counts as peace, then peace has also prevailed between Syria and Israel for decades, despite their formal state of war. Damascus lacks a treaty with Jerusalem, but it also lacks modern American weaponry. Does an antique signature on a piece of paper offset Egypt’s Abrams tanks, F-16 fighter jets, and Apache attack helicopters?
I think not. In retrospect, it becomes apparent that multiple fallacies and wishful predictions fueled Arab-Israeli diplomacy:
Once signed, agreements signed by unelected Arab leaders would convince the masses to give up their ambitions to eliminate Israel.
These agreements would be permanent, with no backsliding, much less duplicity.
Other Arab states would inevitably follow suit.
War can be concluded through negotiations rather than by one side giving up.
The time has come to recognize the Egypt-Israel treaty – usually portrayed as the glory and ornament of Arab-Israel diplomacy – as the failure it has been, and to draw the appropriate lessons in order not to repeat its mistakes.
This is not made up opinion like so many that suffer from BDS.
This is historical fact
If any president ever came close to being a complete failure it was Carter.
I wouldnt say he was a ” complete ” failure. But he comes damn close.
Micky,
If any president ever came close to being a complete failure it was Carter.
I wouldnt say he was a ” complete ” failure.
Just why wouldn’t you say he was a complete failure? I was alive when he was in office, and can’t think of one thing he did that wasn’t an abject failure. Maybe that’s colored by my increasing disgust, that his more recent behavior deserves. Some of his activities may be soon forgotten (not by me) but he wrote a book that will hang around forever and reveal him for the filthy antiSemite that he is. He can whine about being misunderstood and misinterpreted till judgement day, but his own words will remain to haunt him and his sorry legacy.
I will be praying for his continued good health, since I don’t think I can listen to the eulogies without vomiting. The level of hypocrisy should be absolutely astounding.
As for the wonderful treaty between Isreal and Egypt – a few more like that and the Isrealis will have to start buying boats.
“No one is pretending anything.
He was practically useless in helping end the cold war.
And his treaty with Eygpt and Israel which you praise so highly has failed.”
All three of those points are untrue.
I don’t recall any great call to action against Iran from anyone in the US at that time, in ’79 and on. There was no way to deal with Iran for PRECISELY the same reason we can’t deal with them now – we’d previously gotten involved in misbegotten war. The Persians play us like a hegemonic harp. It’s really kinda’ pathetic.
And the treaty between Begin and Sadat remains to this day is the closest thing to peace in that region since “God” knows when. There’s no denying that.
JMJ
I can deny it all I want with the facts I produced. And since you dont believe in God I find your statement curious at the least.
Reagan got the Iran hostages released just by his precense in office for one day.
They knew he wasnt going to tolerate their crap.
I agree with you Charley.
But unlike some moonbats I am not willing to commit any man to copmplete failure as quickly as they are. In the sense that I think Carter is basically a man who means well, but has produced no well means.
The guy is no doubt a a Palestinian and Radical muslim sympathizer on top of his compassion for other dictators and socialist pigs across the world.
The main reason for that quote was mostly because Jersey has consistantly called Bush a “complete” failure. And I have proven this a lie by showing a list of verifiable positive achievments executed by our president.
That agreement between Sadat and Begin is closer to war than it has ever been Jersey. It has been aged and beaten far from what it was intended to do,and id hardly worth the paper it was written on any more.
If you go to the link supplied with the article their are over a hundred sub links confirming everything the author and I are saying.
Its not just some hateful rhetoric pulled out of thin air.
Carter was a looser. The overwhelimg amount of professionals who agree to this far outweighs those who feel that he was some kind of saint.
It was you Jersey who said not but a few weeks ago that “Carter was the finest man to ever be in the White House”
Please, dont insult anyones intelligence by even beginning to expect us to swallow that line of crap
Charly, I did the gas lines and rationing in the 70s also. I also got to witness what butcherd excuse for a presidency looked like.
I actually at one time had to leave my car at work because it was an “odd” day and my tags ended with an”even” number.
Bush and the GOP had 6 years to address the looming oil crisis we have now. Oil costs more now than ever before.
The peace between Israel and Egypt is the only lasting peace between Israel and it’s enemies.
The timing of the hostage release and Reagan’s inauguration were unrelated. The Algiers accord negated any fear the hostage-takers had of Reagan anyway.
Carter was a better president, by far, than Bush.
You guys just can’t face that fact.
JMJ
Stats are facts.
You’re in love
I do think that Carter may well have been the finest human being to set foot in the White House – I also firmly believe that is why is presidency was on balance a failure. He was an outsider and exremely ineffective for it. Bush, on the other hand, is a puppet. His administration will be remembered as a faliure because it was crooked and malevolent, inept and incompetent.
JMJ
Jersey,
You can bring Bush into this all you want. It doesny distract from the overwhelming evidence that Carter sucked harder than president in our history.
Oil has always cost more than before in any presidency.
He was also responsable for ushering in bio fuels based on false fers driven by ignorance. And we are paying for it today, dearly.
You may want to blame Bush for todays oil prices.But thats a bunch of crap. You and I both know that opec runs that show.
Whereas Carters push for bio fuels is hurting us today at the market big time.
Even you agreed that ethanol was a mistake.
JMJ;
“He was an outsider and exremely ineffective for it. ”
It is not for the world to understand one man. But instead for that man to understand the world.
He had no business in office if he was such an outsider. For the sake of his country he should of had the humility and decency to realize this. He was not smart enough to realize his place. This flaw is overwhelmingly represented by his actions today.
The guy is an idiot for sticking his nose into matter he knows little about.
You can kick and scream all you want , the facts and history and popular opinion say he sucked.
My criticism of Carter is in no way shape or form “sleazy”, nor is it “revisionist.”
JMJ- you don’t seem to know what you are writing about…reading your comments is like speaking with a college freshman taking a Poly sci course…get a clue…
Brian, try making an argument. I really don’t care what you personally think of me or my style.
By the way, I was a history major, Brian. You should be able to tell that. Perhaps you were the poly sci freshman. ;)
JMJ
History major? That’s a laugh!!!