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Solidarity on Standing Up To Iran? Not in the Obama Camp
A bi-partisan rally against Ahmedinejad's arrival in NY falls victim to politics.
The facts surrounding the New York City rally organized by the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, to protest the visit of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and demonstrate opposition to the Iranian government’s effort to acquire nuclear weapons, are slowly trickling out.
Governor Sarah Palin, on behalf of the Republican presidential ticket, was invited and accepted.
Senator Hillary Clinton was invited presumably to represent the Obama team but then withdrew in a fit of pique, we are told, upon learning that Palin would be there.
An effort was extended to Senator Joe Biden but he was otherwise occupied.
A group of liberal Jewish groups then prevailed on the rally organizers to disinvite Palin. What was to be a bipartisan show of support had collapsed. The McCain camp fired off a statement on Thursday:
Throughout my political career, I have sought to rise above partisanship on critical national issues. Nowhere is this truer than on important matters of national security. Earlier this year, Senator Clinton, Senator Obama and I issued a joint statement on the genocide in Darfur and pledged to support efforts to bring it to an end. Earlier this month, Senator Obama and I put the campaign aside to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our country and talk about the importance of national service.
“Next Monday, the day before Iranian President Ahmadinejad is to speak before the United Nations General Assembly, several organizations will sponsor an event to draw attention to the importance of halting Iran’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. Governor Palin and I share a strong belief that a nuclear armed Iran poses a grave threat to the security of Americans and to our allies. Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. The risk that Iran would provide terrorists with a nuclear weapon is too great for the world to ignore. Iranian President Ahmadinejad has denied the Holocaust occurred and called Israel a ’stinking corpse.’ A nuclear-armed Iran would destabilize the entire region.
Preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons should be a shared goal of every American, not another occasion for partisan posturing.
“Governor Palin was pleased to accept an invitation to address this rally and show her resolve on this grave national security issue, regrettably that invitation has since been withdrawn under pressure from Democratic partisans. We stand shoulder to shoulder with Republicans, Democrats and independents alike to oppose Ahmadinejad’s goal of a nuclear armed Iran. Senator Obama’s campaign had the opportunity to join us. Senator Obama chose politics rather than the national interest.
Thursday evening I spoke with Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, about the cancellation of the event next week. He said: “This is one of the saddest days for the Jewish community — to let a vocal minority of partisan folks hijack a bipartisan event.” “We should send a message to Iran and the rest of the world that Iran’s effort to acquire nuclear weapons is unacceptable,” he added. Brooks holds activist groups such as “J Street” (a group of Left wing activists attempting to style themselves as an alternative to AIPAC) responsible for “stirring the pot” and pressuring the event’s sponsors to withdraw the invitation to allow Palin to speak. He said, “At the end of the day all we can ask of community leaders is to invite both sides to attend.”
Many observers, regardless of political preference, would agree that this was a shameful episode.
Apparently, the Obama camp and its allies on the left have higher priorities than a showing of bipartisan solidarity on an issue they claim to care about. Whatever drama surrounds the Clintons had ripped through the Jewish community, dashed a showing of bipartisan support, and given Ahmadinejad a moral victory.
But Barack Obama may have been the biggest loser on a number of fronts.
Obama is after all struggling to overcome skepticism in the Jewish community. His past affiliation with Palestinian groups, his flip-flop on an “Undivided Jerusalem,” his coterie of advisors who have made troubling comments regarding Israel or America Jews have given pause to some Jews, the vast majority of whom have voted Democratic in presidential elections. The fact that partisan politics by Obama’s allies — and perhaps his own campaign — submarined an event in defense of both U.S. and Israeli interests will not go unnoticed. Many will ask: “Is bumping Palin off the stage more important than standing up to Ahmadinejad?” It seems so.
On a broader level, Obama’s claim to fame is his ability — how can we forget — to organize his community. His dismal failure here, indeed his role in wrecking a community protest, doesn’t speak well of his ability to bring people together for a common purpose.
And finally, to the extent this implicates Joe Biden, it adds fuel to the fire of burning discontent as to his selection as VP. This is not his only faux pas with Jewish organizations, it should be noted. Just last month he got into a row with AIPAC which had to be quickly patched up.
Bluntly put, this is a mess. The group’s organizers, the liberal Jewish groups who thought it more important to “dis” Palin than Ahmadinejad, and the Obama camp, all look amateurish and misguided. The others have a lifetime to live this down — Obama has less than fifty days before Election Day.
So the question remains: How’s he going to fix it?
Jennifer Rubin is PJM's Washington, DC, editor. She also blogs at Commentary’s Contentions.
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68 Comments
1. Robert Hurley:This article is a real stretch. Attributing some moral lapse on the part of Obama from the non attendence of CLinton? – Please give me some substance
Sep 19, 2008 - 7:56 am 2. Gary Ogletree:The Obama Democrats blunder once again–the amazing Karl Rove at work, of course. Lamentations echo from the royal court of The Dear Leader. But maybe Karl Rove gets too much credit for their troubles. After all, The Queen of England does not curtsy when she meets Karl Rove. Nor does the Arctic Ocean freeze up when Rove moves south. Most people don’t know this, but long before Sarah Palin played basketball, her dentist named her “Barracuda.”
Sep 19, 2008 - 8:44 am 3. Fred:The real reason Hillary and Biden would not appear with Palin is they were afraid to be upstaged. Who could blame them. One is a blow hard idiot, and the other’s greatest acheivement has been to ride the coat tails of hear husband.
Sep 19, 2008 - 9:01 am 4. Chuck Pelto:TO: Robert Hurley
RE: Substance?
How about that politics is more important to Obama and company than is standing up against a monster?
Seems to me I saw a picture of Obama and McCain at the WTC site on 9-11. And yet, Hillary and Biden can’t be seen with Palin. Not a way to present a solid front against the latest iteration of genocidal mass-murder wannabes.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
[Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. -- Some Wag, around 2000 years ago]
P.S. It’s either we’re divided, as a nation, against the likes of Ahmy or the Democrats are divided against themselves for being in the vicinity of their functional counterparts on the Republican side.
Actually….now that I think about it, it’s BOTH…..
Sep 19, 2008 - 9:15 am 5. Gerber:Excellent article, Jennifer. Just another example of what Senator Lieberman warned of — Obama cannot reach across the aisle. Hey, this is the same man who sends his thugs to radio stations to suppress speech. And people think fascism comes from the Right? Fascist America is alive and well, and it’s radiating out of the Democratic party.
And to Gary above, dude, you’re a mental mess. Get some meds. You sound like a crazy, babbling fool.
Sep 19, 2008 - 9:16 am 6. Chris in Toronto:Brilliantly played by Ms Clinton for her 2012 strategy!
Sep 19, 2008 - 9:20 am 7. Self-hating boomer:Seems to me, the only party involved in this train wreck who acted in good faith was Sarah Palin. So here’s the question that all of the people who are deluded into thinking that the Obama ticket will be better for Israel and Jewish interests than the McCain ticket:
If the reaction to an invitation to protest against the Persian Hitler of our times on the part of BOTH Clinton and Obama is to play politics, what thread of evidence is there that they won’t just as cynically throw Israel to the wolves when the going gets tough?
When I look at the McCain campaign on this issue, I see good faith and transparency. When I look at the Democrats involved, all I see is buck passing.
Sep 19, 2008 - 9:49 am 8. Self-hating boomer:And Chris, I really do try to resist being too cynical, but that thought crossed my mind, too. By 2012, the Jews will have forgotten, and besides, Democrat means you never have to say you’re sorry.
Sep 19, 2008 - 9:53 am 9. Michael W. Perry:The McCain campaign has taken an excellent first step. Now they need to make a bold move that’ll set the Obama campaign on its heels.
Palin should express a willingness to meet with Obama, Hillary or Biden any place their travel schedules overlap. She should go still further and say something like:
“Obama and I will both be is X-city on Y-date. Our staffs can work on a common statement of support for Israel’s democratic state, and we can issue that statement in a joint appearance. Obama is free to name the place, and I will be happy to appear on a stage with him in this important, bipartisan matter.”
She might add that Obama claims a willingness to met with some of the world’s nastiest and most unrepentant thugs, so he should have no problem meeting “with me. After all, you can’t really find me more evil and more terrifying than they are can you?”
–Mike Perry, Seattle
Sep 19, 2008 - 9:54 am 10. Lilith:It is beyond my comprehension how any Jew can vote for Barak Obama.
He is surrounded by anti-Israel and anti-semitic friends and advisors.
He was an active member of Jeremiah Wright’s church when it awarded the “Jeremiah Wright” award to one of the most out-spoken anti-semites in the United States; Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam.
For 20 years of Sundays he listened while this same minister and proclaimed mentor, preached anti-Israeli rhetoric to an adoring membership.
He was raising his children in this church until the day it became politically impossible for him not to throw Wright under the bus.
McCain and Palin, on the other hand, are outspoken backers of Israel and the Jewish people. That is perfectly clear.
Wake up Jews of New York, et al…before you take that deciding vote, ask yourself if we are not about to repeat the same disastrous step German Jewish voters took in the ’30s…take off your blinders…anti-semitism and anti-Israeli sentiment is rampant on the radical far left…
Once again the tables have been turned on us.Once again another movement that owes a great deal to Jewish partipation – as did the Civil Rights movement…throws us to the wolves.
Are we too stupid (unlikely) or too frightened (very likely) to recognise it?
Do your children and grandchildren a favor – the left has turned on us – vote McCain/Palin.
Sep 19, 2008 - 9:54 am 11. Webutante:This is truly shameful.
Sep 19, 2008 - 10:02 am 12. misanthropicus:The eel’s ballade (continuing story)
RE: Robert Hurley: “This article is a real stretch. Attributing some moral lapse on the part of Obama from the non attendence of CLinton? – Please give me some substance..”
My dearest Hurley, what kind of substance you need more to see that the Obama campaign is grossly duplicitous, i.e. that it perfectly mirrors the manipulative and cynical nature of the Hope’n Change candidate? How many example you still need?
Here are two very recent Glibama gross duplicity case:
1) Don’t you remember last Monday’s New York Post describing how Obama while in his trip in Iraq tried privately to persuade Iraqi government officials to delay the agree-ment for reducing the number of American soldiers in Iraq? While at the same time publicly calling for an unilateral and speedy withdrawal?
2) As of today, vis-a-vis the Wall Street crisis (Yahoo News/Reuters):
*Obama supports U.S. economic recovery efforts* Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said on Friday he supported efforts by the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve to shore up confidence in the financial markets and said he would HOLD OFF FROM PRESENTING HIS OWN ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN [...]” (my caps)
So maestro Glibama is hedging again, waiting to see what would be the most convenient position to take – AFTER a reaction trend becomes clear.
Hurley, is it above your pay grade to come to a view regarding this eel?
Sep 19, 2008 - 10:02 am 13. mbabbitt:Hillary Clinton’s cancellation of her appearance at the Ahmedinejad protests tells you everything you need to know about her core values: vanity, power, bitterness above all else.
Sep 19, 2008 - 10:45 am 14. trangbang68:Hillary declined to make a statement on behalf of looksism .Palin is a good looking middle aged wife and mother. Five kids later and she still is shapely. Hillary is an aging cow who will be shooed to the back of the pasture by Palin’s radiance.
Sep 19, 2008 - 10:55 am 15. Joe Buzz:Progressive Directives: Get in you independent and republican neighbor’s faces and argue…..Persian Tango Thug’s pass.
Sep 19, 2008 - 11:06 am 16. Self-hating boomer:You forgot fear. Hillary is petrified of Sarah. The outcome that she feared was being upstaged by a woman with some actual political talent.
Sep 19, 2008 - 11:21 am 17. Noga:I thought it was disgraceful behaviour, if for no other reason that it was boorish and disregarded basic “derech eretz” (good manners). How easily Jewish organizations can be manipulated and intimidated into doing the wrong thing! I’m quite aghast at the lack of thoughtfulness and enduring principle that such stupid confused decisions illustrate.
I blame it on the campaign of intimidation and silencing that has been going on in recent years against such Jewish organization by the likes of Jimmy Carter and Mearsheimer and Walt (probably dancing with joy over this). They certainly succeeded in rattling Jewish-American nerves to such a degree that they can no longer think correctly.
J-street is the “new Jewish Lobby”, hard at work at forcing American Jews to act against their interests, their common sense and ethical judgment.
This is a disaster, and not merely of a public relations type.
Sep 19, 2008 - 11:21 am 18. Citizen:And, the media continues to throw the race card in attempting to force Senator Obama’s selection as President.
It is time for people to respond en masse to let these media outlets know that we are tired of their manipulation of the news. If you are concerned, you can start by reading this article:
Washington Post Faults McCain For Relying On…Washington Post
http://corner.nationalreview.com/
and replying to Deborah Howell, the Ombudsman at The Washington Post, here:
ombudsman@washpost.com
If we all remain silent on this type of advocacy journalism and race-baiting we will get the President we deserve…a scary thought indeed.
Sep 19, 2008 - 11:30 am 19. kaba:Palin’s mere presence obviously instills bed-wetting fear among seasoned Dem pols. So will they now concede that she can hold her own when negotiating with foreign leaders?
Sep 19, 2008 - 11:55 am 20. Chuck Pelto:TO: Citizen
RE: Indeed
But not just that….
Disconnect from every form of mass-media that is offensive.
[1] Kill your television, unless you can dictate to your cable service which channels you want and have them transmit ONLY those channels. [Note: Yeah. I know. You can 'edit' which channels appear on the tube, BUT, that doesn't send the obvious message to the mass media.]
[2] Don’t subscribe to any magazine or newspaper that promotes such tripe in an unbalanced manner.
Hit them where it hurts….their bottom line….
Regards,
Chuck(le)
Sep 19, 2008 - 11:57 am 21. Chuck Pelto:[Television is educational. Everytime someone turns one on, I go read a good book. -- Groucho Marx]
TO: Citizen
RE: The Links
Followed the links. Send the e-mail.
RE: It’s Not Enough
But just telling the godless liars they’re “godless liars” isn’t going to be enough.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
Sep 19, 2008 - 12:07 pm 22. Believer:Barack Obama is an enemy to peace between men.
His is a history replete with examples of fostering division, not unity. This is but another.
Sep 19, 2008 - 12:46 pm 23. jerry:Obama intends to do a deal with Iran. He vetoed Clinton’s and Biden’s appearance because he feared that support for a protest against Iran’s nutjob President would be remembered in Iran come 2009. The deal he intends will lead to a regional nuclear war that will destroy Israel and its people in the process. Unfortunately, the Jewish community continues its infatuation with socialism despite the repeated lesson that socialism in any guise is bad for Jews. I think a plurality if not a majority of America’s Jewish community secretly wishes that Israel would go away so they can get back into the good graces of the socialist community
Sep 19, 2008 - 12:53 pm 24. Obama’s Unity Politics « Tai-Chi Policy:[...] Neither Hillary, nor Biden are willing to appear with Palin on a joint Anti-Nuclear-Iran rally coinciding with Ahmadinejad speaking at the U.N. A Democratic group of the Jewish organizers for the event then disinvited Palin. [...]
Sep 19, 2008 - 1:29 pm 25. Judy, NYC:lillith, you are right, and jerry, you are wrong. this episode with a pathological liar and anti-semite, barry obama, will end badly for jews is america. the leftists who drive the democratic party now are viscious enemies of the jews and of israel. it is sickening to know that we are reliving the past, watching this monstrous thing take root here in america. it’s unbelievable. yet, that is exactly what german jews thought. they were so assimilated as germans, so much a part of german society in every aspect of life and in the military and in the government, they were so very german, they couldn’t take seriously the ravings of a madman or understand the depth of the envy and hatred directed at them. having said that, despite what jerry states, no american jew wishes israel would go away. ironically, no one should wish that. israeli scientists are the leading scientists in the world and israel has developed technology that is far beyond anywhere or anyone else. the whole world looks to israel for scientific and technological advancements. but the world is a funny place.
Sep 19, 2008 - 1:41 pm 26. Saltherring:Lilith says, “It is beyond my comprehension how any Jew can vote for Barak Obama.”
I agree and wonder why this is? Obama wrote in one of his books that in a conflict between Muslims and Israel, he would favor Muslims. American Jews voting for Obama in 2008 would be eerily similar to 1932 German Jews supporting Hitler after reading Mein Kampf. Could it really be the “old money”, “limousine liberals” fascination with socialism?
Sep 19, 2008 - 1:44 pm 27. St Michael Traveler:Palin gets Neocons education: said Patrick Buchanan
Will the neocons who tutored George W. Bush in the ideology he pursued to the ruin of his presidency do the same for Sarah Palin?
Should they succeed, they will destroy her. Yet, they are moving even now to capture this princess of the right and hope of the party.
In St. Paul, Palin was told to cancel a meeting with Phyllis Schlafly and pro-life conservatives. McCain’s operatives said Palin had to rest for her Wednesday convention speech.
Yet, on Tuesday, Palin was behind closed doors with Joe Lieberman and officials of the Israeli lobby AIPAC. There, according to The Washington Post, Palin took and passed her oral exams.
“Palin assured the group of her strong support for Israel, of her desire to see the United States move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and of her opposition to Iran’s aspirations to become a nuclear power, according to sources familiar with the meeting.”
AIPAC’s mission, like that of Likud, is to goad America into launching air and missile strikes on any and all Iranian nuclear facilities. AIPAC went away happy. Purred spokesman Josh Block, “We were pleased that Gov. Palin expressed her deep personal commitment to the safety and well-being of Israel.”
Heading home to Alaska to prepare for her interview with Charlie Gibson, Palin was escorted by Randy Scheunemann, McCain’s foreign policy guru and, until March, a hired agent of the Tbilisi regime.
Scheunemann’s lobbying assignment: Bring Georgia into NATO, so U.S. troops, like 19-year-old Track Palin, will be required to fight Russia to defend a Saakashvili regime that has paid Randy and his partner $730,000.
Reportedly, a phone conversation was held between Saakashvili and Palin, in which Palin committed herself to the territorial integrity of Georgia, though South Ossetia and Abkhazia have declared independence and been recognized by Moscow, which now has troops in both.
Also on Palin’s plane was Steve Biegun, formerly of Bush’s National Security Council, and Scheunemann’s choice to tutor her. Of Biegun, Steven Clemens of the New American Foundation says, “He will turn her into an advocate of Cheney-ism and Cheney’s view of national security issues.”
During her interview with Gibson, Palin often took a neocon line. Three times she said that, should Israel decide to attack Iran, the United States should not “second guess” Israel’s decision or interfere.
This contradicts U.S. policy. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs, has warned Israel not to attack Iran, as the United States does not want a “third front.” And the Pentagon is withholding crucial weapons the Israelis want and need to carry out any such attack.
One ex-White House aide at American Enterprise Institute, asked by Tim Shipman of the Daily Telegraph if AEI sees Palin as a “project,” replied: “Your word, not mine. … But I wouldn’t disagree with the sentiment. … She’s bright, and she’s a blank page. She’s going places, and it’s worth going there with her.”
In fairness to Palin, on issues like NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia, her answers reflect the views of the man who chose her. She has no option at present but to follow the line laid down by Scheunemann.
But make no mistake. Sarah Palin is no neocon. She did not come by her beliefs by studying Leo Strauss. She is a traditionalist whose values are those of family, faith, community and country, not some utopian ideology.
Wasilla, Alaska, is not a natural habitat of neoconservatives.
Palin may disappoint many conservatives in the next seven weeks by having to parrot the McCain-neocon line on NATO expansion, NAFTA and a “path to citizenship” for illegal aliens. But the battle for Sarah’s soul is not over.
For, again, the lady is no neocon. Nor is the husband Todd, First Dude of Alaska and former member of the “Alaska First” Independence Party.
Should she have been selected for the Vice-President position? She is just AIPAC-neocons project!”
Sep 19, 2008 - 2:18 pm 28. david levavi:It is not in the Jewish tradition to blame others for our own failures. The fault here lies with the Jewish community and its pathetic excuse for leaders.
The presidents of major Jewish organizations are an insult to American Jewry. Preening imbeciles, absent courage, absent character. And overly subscribed to the Democratic Party.
This lifelong Democrat who finds himself crossing party lines in election after election is celebrating Jewish New Year 5769 by doing an act of tshuvah. I’m getting honest and registering Republican.
Sep 19, 2008 - 2:38 pm 29. exDemocrat:H*ll, I’m more pro-Israel than American Jews are, and I’m not even Jewish.
The vast majority of American Jews are leftist morons first and “Jewish”, maybe, fifth. Truly Jewicidal in the face of the Iranian hitler wannabe.
If Israel disappears it will be because of these people (probably descendants of nazi collaborators).
What a disgusting lot of tossers.
Sep 19, 2008 - 3:04 pm 30. exDemocrat:“Will the neocons who tutored George W. Bush in the ideology he pursued to the ruin of his presidency do the same for Sarah Palin?”
Kicking the shite out of the Isslamofascists and beating the blame-America-first leftists like a drum was “ruin?”
Well, LET’S RUIN SOME MORE. Go George. A few more months to kick more arse.
Sep 19, 2008 - 3:14 pm 31. Chuck Pelto:TO: All
RE: Like exDemocrat Said
Let’s BEAT THE DRUM! We should form a DRUM corps.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
Sep 19, 2008 - 3:55 pm 32. Chuck Pelto:[The BEATINGS will continue until morale[s] improve.]
TO: AIPAC
RE: Soooo….
….do YOU people REALLY think that Ahmy, once he gets his nukes, will stop with merely destroying Israel?
I don’t. I think, given the right spineless president [think Obama], he’ll threaten New York and Miami.
THEN watch a REALLY real estate crisis as everyone moves outta town.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
Sep 19, 2008 - 3:58 pm 33. Alex Bensky:[Yeah. It's all fun and games, until someone sets off a nuke in New York City.]
I’m a former Democrat, not likely to become a Republican, but will be voting for McCain. I hardly needed this reason to do so, but it doesn’t hurt.
So much for the claim that the Democrats, too, put country above party.And so much for the insistence among Jewish Democrats that they put Jewish interests above partisanship.
Sep 19, 2008 - 5:57 pm 34. Ben:The theory I have heard is this. Clinton bowed out only after recieving pressure from Obama’s campaign. Even though this would make things tough for Obama with jewish voters, she simply did what she was told to do. Only following orders from the party boss. Thereby giving Obama a loss come November. And setting herself up as the “I told you so” candidate in ‘12
Obama keeps playing to his base, and encouraging tactics that will alienate him with the independent/undecided. Maybe Obama is trying to lose this one as well.
Sep 19, 2008 - 6:05 pm 35. Ogre:Blaming Obama is a stretch. Let’s place the blame where it properly belongs. On Hillary. She’s such a vindictive and selfish bitch that she simply can’t stand the thought of sharing the spotlight with another alpha woman.
Sep 19, 2008 - 6:31 pm 36. Glenn Kenny:What’s with all you hippies, getting so uptight over who’s gonna come to your dinky protest rally and who’s not? Like that Republican delegate who got robbed of about a hundred grand at the convention said, you demonstrators need to get jobs.
Sep 19, 2008 - 6:51 pm 37. Len Frankel:The organizers of the anti-Iran rally didn’t need much “pressure” to withdraw Palin’s invitation. They are the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the direct descendants of the court Jews who opted to protect their seats at court during the Holocaust rather than extend themselves one inch to save European Jewry – and instead actively opposed rescue efforts by other Jewish Americans – and they are still in the same cowardly, cringing mode. And if you go down the list, they are almost without exception liberal Democrats who support Obama. Little wonder that a Democrat who embraced Suha Arafat is kosher but a powerful Republican ally of Israel, and hopefully the next Vice President of the United States, is unkosher.
Sep 19, 2008 - 6:56 pm 38. JMS2008:Looks like Hillary’s ego rivals NObama’s. He couldn’t choose her as his running mate because her position as VP would be just as historic as his as president. Now we are seeing Hillary’s ego in full force. She can’t be seen with the young, energetic, superstar who is an actual Governor (and don’t tell me Hillary doesn’t appreciate the difference between the executive branch and the legislative branch). I’m not sure this was Obama’s call, but if it wasn’t then Hillary is way more insecure than I originally thought.
Sep 19, 2008 - 7:57 pm 39. Elementary Teacher:Snort. There are JEWS who actually expect Obama to save them from Mahmoud? What kind of fantasy world do they inhabit?
Sep 19, 2008 - 9:15 pm 40. Judy, NYC:len frankel: i did send an email to them, saying almost exactly that they are court jews. spineless and cowardly, and blind. their problem is that they cannot see themselves as non-jews see them. which is simply, as jews. jewish “leaders” must believe themselves as somehow abstracted from a group, and viewed as individuals. position and influence, or what they consider the privelege of being on someone’s guest list they must imagine makes them different in the minds of those who are jew haters. as if jew hating and anti-zionism and support for islamic fascists is something logical or reasoned.
Sep 19, 2008 - 11:05 pm 41. Bogdan of Australia:if you listen to american jewish leftists expound on ww11, your head would explode. they echo pat buchanan’s sage wisdom that we should not have gotten into an “unprovoked” war with hitler, that ww11 was not “a just war”, and “killing is bad”. very soon now, i expect to hear that “real americans” are jews who don’t take a position on israel’s defense. the plain truth is, any jew who votes the democratic party in this election is psychotically anti-semitic (their lack of insight is what proves the psychosis), but it won’t matter when the bad times come if this islamist obama is elected. they will be tossed in the same pot with the rest of us, and left on boil. for the first time in my adult life i will vote republican, moreover, happily. and, hillary clinton, who had my support, can go kiss my ass.
As always, out of all enemies a traitor is the most sinister one…
Sep 20, 2008 - 3:11 am 42. Ed Wallis:…and some said Zerobama didn’t have “the fight” in him…
http://www.thenoseonyourface.com/conservative-satire/barack-obama-in-veggie-burger-hill/
heh.
Sep 20, 2008 - 4:28 am 43. SAF:We are showing the solidarity against Iran that we really have, which is to say none.
Many on the left think Ahmadinejad’s tirades against Israel are just words. Perhaps when Iran nukes Tel Aviv they’ll get the message although that isn’t clear to me that they would. Certainly destruction of the World Trade Towers wasn’t enough of a wake up call to defend America, so why should anyone care if Ahmadinejad speaks at the UN?
Sep 20, 2008 - 5:06 am 44. Jabba the Tutt:Lilith wrote: “Are we too stupid (unlikely) or too frightened (very likely) to recognise it?”
There’s a third option: too blinded. Jewish Democrats have been fed and have believed propaganda for decades as to who and what Republicans are and what Republicans believe. Perhaps, if you go back to the 20’s and 30’s, anti-semitism from the Country Clubbers imposed quotas on Jews going to the elite colleges. That ended decades ago. Ah, where do quotas come from today that limit Jewish entry to the elite schools? It comes from the Democrats thru affirmative action. Where does anti-semitism originate from today? It comes from the “Progressives” in their insane third-worldism. Who is the threat to a tolerant, peaceful, prosperous and open United States? Where does the division come from in our society? Why are Jewish Democrats too blind to even ask themselves these questions?
I’m surprised that people are surprised that the Obama campaign puts its own pursuit of power and politics over having a unified front against a terrorist regime, that’s seeking to murder millions of people. Why the surprise?
That’s what the Democrat Party Leadership has been doing in this country, since 9/11. They’ve been trying to undermine the policies of the US Government to defeat Islamic Terrorism. “The WAR is lost”. Harry Reid. American soldiers are terrorists, John Kerry. Marines are cold-blooded murderers, Murtha. American planes bomb civilians, Barry Obama. Then, I could go through a long list, the attack on Bush for wiretapping terrorists, making Abu Ghraib out to be the worst atrocity in the history of history, when it was at the level of fraternity hazing. Sabotaging the SWIFT program to track terrorist financing. General Betrayus. And on, and on, and on. Oh, let me add, attempt to undermine our economy by stopping all new drilling for oil. They want Americans to suffer. And believe you me, they want Jews to suffer. It their eyes, it’s worth it to have them in power.
This is what the Democrat Leaders do, sacrifice anyone, everyone for the pursuit of their own power. And what do they do with that power, when they get it? Let’s see, put their cronies into cushy jobs to rake off millions, get blow jobs from interns, subvert the law by using it for partisan attacks on Republicans. Just ask leading Republicans and Republican organizations about IRS audits during the Clinton years.
Obama, Hillary, Dean, Reid, Pelosi, the entire gang is simply twisted. Gore, Kerry, Edwards, they are all people with profound character flaws and malignant narcissism. Why don’t people see this? They’re too blinded about Republicans, conservatives, Christians by decades of propaganda. But with every incident, like this anti-Ahmadinejad rally, the scales fall from a few more eyes. A lot of Hillary supporters had the scales ripped from their eyes during the primaries and see their new view confirmed by the attacks on Sarah Palin.
Faster, please.
Sep 20, 2008 - 6:22 am 45. Inafunk:This is an irredeemable, unmitigated, shameful blot; I daresay credit Obama advisors Brezinzski, McPeak, et. al. Poor pity our own National Security — let alone Israel’s existence — if the outcome of this election puts freedom’s fate in the hands of this lot — especially including the “Jewish leaders” ultimately responsible for this particularly nasty mess. Time, my co-religionists, to recognize FDR is no longer on the ballot and vote what’s best for America in today’s world…
Sep 20, 2008 - 8:04 am 46. 888:Does anyone really think Obama cares about the Jews and the plight of Israel? One should always judge a man by the company he keeps. So remember who his pastor was for 20 years — that America-hating, Farrakhan-loving, anti-semitic racist. Obama will go out of his way to go to fundraising events hosted by powerful Jews, like Steven Spielberg and Barbra Streisand, because he needs them and I guess they don’t mind being used. When will the Jewish community learn this guy is only for self? He’s ruthless, and he’s not going to do anything for you. Look at Chicago’s south side, Obama’s home turf, and his first claim to fame (”community organizer”). It’s still as dangerous and poor as when he was representing the community and organizing God knows what there.
http://zipline.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/obama-the-south-side-surge-chicago-mayhem/
Sep 20, 2008 - 8:48 am 47. St Michael Traveler:Israeli Lobby to Destroy Iran Now
The event is being organized once more by a coalition of American Jewish organizations, under the umbrella group the National Coalition to Stop Iran Now, or more appropriately, “Israeli Lobby to Destroy Iran Now”. The same type of rally was created last year when the President of Iran addressed the United Nations.
Sep 20, 2008 - 9:31 am 48. Richard of Oregon:These Israeli Lobby organizations are good at inciting fear, stirring up false hysteria. They used the same techniques prior to inciting Bush Administration to attack Iraq. They are using the same technique once more to create the illusion of fear from Iran.
“Vice President Esfandiar Rahim Mashai said Iranians were friends of all people in the world – even Israelis published” reported by Haaretz.com, September 19, 2008. Further, it reported: “On Thursday, Ahmadinejad stood by Mashai again, saying Iran is not against Israelis, though he stopped short of calling them friends. We don’t have a problem with people. But in no way do we recognize the Zionist regime, he said.”
Why Israeli Lobby would not worry about USA and create a rally in front of the USA Congress about the issues affecting this nation? I don’t find Iran to be the issue at this time. The issues for USA are poor economy, broken infrastructure, exported professional jobs, lack of medical insurance for many Americans, homelessness, and over burdened borrowing from other nations.
So how many Jewish voters are going to grow trunks because of this little item? Some. If Hillary or Joe had showed up at this event, how many votes would Sarah take from the Dems because she upstages the Democrat representive? Probably more. Obama’s campaign had a lose-lose here. They probably chose the smaller loss for them. Pity..
Sep 20, 2008 - 9:33 am 49. Chuck Pelto:TO: Richard of Oregon
RE: Pity, Indeed
The point being, they’ve got their priorities bass-ackward. And, as I’ve witnessed so many times in the 58 years of this sojourn, if you’ve got your priorities fouled up, nothing goes right. And in this case, we’re talking nukes in Tel Aviv and New York City.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
Sep 20, 2008 - 10:07 am 50. Chuck Pelto:[You can serve only one master; righteousness or political-correctness. -- Some Wag (paraphrased)]
TO: All
RE: By the Way….
….I posted an item on Phyllis’ similar topical thread, down the hall from here, it became ‘disappeared’ for some reason.
The point of that comment was similar in nature to my initial comment in this thread…..that ‘a house divided against itself would not stand’.
However, on her thread, I mentioned a certain group not recognizing the warning given to them by Someone around 2000 years ago. And how that groups failure to recognize the information and their treatment of the Messanger as well as the message, ultimately lead to their nation being destroyed, a mere 3.5 decades later.
Oddly enough…..that comment didn’t seem to be ‘appreciated’ and became one of the ‘disappeared’.
The warning still holds true….
…If you people can’t get (1) your act together and (2) your priorities properly aligned….
….you’re ‘history’.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
Sep 20, 2008 - 12:59 pm 51. Don:[If you want to know what the future looks like, appreciate your history. -- CBPelto]
Well, I have just spent a greazst deal of time reviewingg this pathetic article and many of the comments from the far right conservatives who wil try to take a shot at Obama for any reason. Obama was never a principal in this event.
This is a NEW YORK event for NEW YORKERS, not a politcal stage for oneupsmanship. It is very clear that both McCain AND Obama cannot tolerate the leader of the extremist far right Iranian group and where he is trying to take his country and the radical world. Doesn’t everyone get it that EITHER of the candidates cannot stand for the Islamists and BOTH understand the importance of Israel. Israel is the ONLY democracy in the mid east and is fundemental to the US. The neo-cons trying to call Iraq a democracy is a joke.
Sep 20, 2008 - 3:36 pm 52. 888:No, Don, it is NOT “very clear” that Obama “cannot tolerate the leader of the extremist far right Iranian group”. There is nothing very clear about Obama. Everything that comes out of Obama’s mouth is rhetoric — no specifics — no substance — all dreams and wishful thinking for hope and change, if it isn’t bashing McCain, Palin and Bush and distorting facts. Obama is spineless and ruthless, and half of America is being fooled by this twirp.
The protest event against Iran was not just a “New York” event — that’s totally naive thinking. The event was supposed to show solidarity among all terrorist-hating Americans, against a Head of State that has openly wished Israel ill and would obliterate the country in a heartbeat if his nuclear ambitions are allowed to progress. This is a national security issue, Don. If Obama can attend his fundraising events hosted by prominent and wealthy Jews, he can also spend one afternoon showing his muscle and his courage to speak out against a madman bent on destroying the people who are giving millions to his campaign. What is very clear is that Obama lacks the judgment and courage to make tough decisions. Just imagine if he was in that Hanoi prison and was given the chance to be set free…Do you think he would’ve stayed? Or, now knowing how resourceful he is…how he, without blinking, used people like that racist reverend, the terrorist Ayers and so many other questionable characters to get ahead…the answer would undoubtedly be No way would this guy stay with the other POWs. He only thinks of himself. That’s the tragedy of this man.
Sep 20, 2008 - 5:38 pm 53. SAF:Don:
Its only clear to you. Obama pays lip service to this to get the Jewish vote.
Sep 20, 2008 - 5:38 pm 54. 888:St. Michael Traveler, there will be many, many more “exported professional jobs” if Obama is President. That’s because he’s already pledged time and again that he will raise corporate taxes. What do you think that will mean to corporations trying to raise capital, trying to build and grow or stay afloat, trying to hire new professionals and promote existing ones? It means the corporations will go offshore where they’re not being heavily taxed and where they will find cheaper professionals to do the job that should have (would have) stayed in the United States. Obama’s plan to raise corporate taxes will slow economic growth and will be disastrous for the US and global economy.
Sep 20, 2008 - 6:14 pm 55. Steve Markom:That’s it?
“Thursday evening I spoke with Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, about the cancellation of the event next week. He said: “This is one of the saddest days for the Jewish community — to let a vocal minority of partisan folks hijack a bipartisan event.”
This is the best Republican Jews can do? And we wonder why Jews still primarily support Democrats – even anti-Semitic Democrats like Carter and Obama?
This was not just some liberal Jewish activist groups who perpetrated this. This was the Obama campaign. This should have been a clarion moment for Republican Jews to assault Obama once and for all over his deceit.
Sep 20, 2008 - 6:17 pm 56. RV:President Ammy would have to get a hell of a lot more support if he even pushed to have a nuclear device detonated somewhere within Israel. Ignoring that they are years away from even just 1 nuclear weapon, do you really think the people of Iran would stand for one of their leaders committing national suicide? If Iran brings about 1 nuclear attack on Israel, Iran will be utterly destroyed. There will be almost no one left. Israel’s nuclear arsenal, which is considerably a hell of a lot more than 1, will see Iran erased from Earth.
Sep 20, 2008 - 7:37 pm 57. Helen:This is part of Obama’s modus operandi. He always tries to get out of his way those whom he perceives as being a threat to him. Even if he were not on the stage with Palin a comparison would be drawn because Palin’s presence demonstrates the seriousness with which the GOP takes Iran—the veep candidate is sent. Obama sent Hillary who is not on his ticket and who has questionable Israel creds. His veep candidate is no better. Worse yet, behind the scenes, Obama maneuvers to have Palin disinvited so she does not have a forum to speak and the text of her speech appear in ads that might riff negatively on him. By his actions, Obama, though having taught Const. Law, reveals his disdain for the Constitution and his distaste for debate and the free exchange of ideas. But we already knew that; after all, Obama would not freely debate McCain and depends on thug tactics to force his way into the presidency.
Sep 20, 2008 - 8:01 pm 58. Bigben:Jews may like to play ostrich, but they are not stupid.
Sep 20, 2008 - 8:05 pm 59. thegr8_1:The Siena poll of New York State voters on 9/15/08 had McCain ahead of Obama with Jewish voters 54-32; add the Bradley effect and McCain is ahead by 2 to 1.
The leaders of the Jewish groups organizing the rally, with the exception of Malcom Hoenlein, are assimilated Jews who will be in the Democrat camp even in they ran Che or Mao. Its the other two-thirds of the Jews who are in play, and they will be voting McCain on Novenber 4th, even if they deny it as the Jewish Plutcrats and their controlled media are already floating the racist card against any Jew who does not like Obama (See the Federation tabloid New York Jewish Week’s last issue).
Barack why don’t you join the protest against the President of Iran?
Or would you rather take him on a couple of your campaign rallies? No worse than taking Bill Ayers or Reverend Wright.
Sep 20, 2008 - 8:06 pm 60. Jesey, Ca.:There is something even mre sinister in this episode – it is an example of what occurs recently – where Palin is ruled out as a LEGITIMATE candidate. If one political party would feel it is within their right to exclude candidates nominated by, not a fringe but a major party then we are approaching a breakdown in the government system.
We have seen Bush being an illegitimate president (”Bush stolen the election”). Now also Palin where not even an excuse is given for that fate. Is McCain next?
This episode is a shame for the Jewish organizations that in a dire situation for Israel haev been willing to slap a powerful friend to play internal politics. And it is even more shameful of the Democratic party that allows itself to take the position of boycotting an nominated candidate of the other party.
What do the democrats think? That they have in their right to decide which candidate would the Republican nominate?
Jesey
Sep 20, 2008 - 10:09 pm 61. Matt, Esq.:Personally, I don’t think anyone who supports Israel as a Jewish state can possibly vote for Obama. Its like dropping a big bomb smack dab in the middle of Tel Aviv- you may as well push the plunger for Palestinians.
Sep 20, 2008 - 11:58 pm 62. progressoverpeace:Inviting Shrillary Clinton to anything that has to do with fighting terrorism and the threat posed to us by the arab/persian/muslim enemies is incredibly ridiculous, to start with. Her hubby, while he wasn’t groping every entry-level female worker around him, was entertaining the originator of modern international terrorism – yasser arafat. And Shrillary just couldn’t contain her love for yasser’s wife, suha.
Most of us would have been willing to totally forget the Clintons’ (and Clinton White House’s) love of arab terrorists, for the duration of the protest, to concentrate on the threat of Iran. But neither the Clintons nor anyone on the left seems able to put their feelings aside to address a serious problem. Despicable and pathetic.
Sep 21, 2008 - 1:49 am 63. David P:Obama will allow the whole Middle East to go nuclear, he doesn’t have a clue.
Sep 21, 2008 - 4:26 am 64. Pajamas Media » Palin Snub Rocks Jewish Community - and the Presidential Race:[...] decision last week by organizers of the anti-Iran rally – the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations – in New York City to disinvite [...]
Sep 22, 2008 - 12:16 am 65. DonnaFromFlorida:To Judy in Ny and all my Jewish friends. At 51 and a woman who once dated an a gentleman from Isreal, you have got to speak to your kinsfolk. This man is a wolf in sheeps clothing. He will do NOTHING to defend Isreal. What’s worse is that I am frightened that he will expedite its demise.
Sep 22, 2008 - 5:01 pm 66. Mike:I don[t get it. Time after Time the left has done nothing to help the cause. They have more often than not, voted against their help. Lieberman is right on. He gets it. I watched 9/11 and somehow knew in 1999 that it was going to happen. I can’t bear the thought of waking up someday to Isreal burning to the ground. I workship a Jew. I love him. I love his people. It is us on the right on vigorously defend Isreal. I wouldn’t be caught dead kissing Arafats wife’s face. I wouln’t have declined to demonstrate at the UN. McCain and Palin,to the core, believe in the defense of Isreal. Today and forever. Never again. Never again. Lord, please bring your people to their senses.
Gerber: You are correct, the Dems are the Fascists. And it’s more than a little ironic that Jewish Democrats will essentially push their own children into the gas chambers, stoked by the muslims. Anti Semites world wide must be laughing their asses off at these foolish Jews whose Bush hatred will facilitate their own extermination. The only thing that can save the Jews now from world wide extinction is the equally hated and derided Southern and Mid Western farm boys in military service.
Sep 22, 2008 - 7:20 pm 67. Brian:I sent emails to Hillery,Obama and Mccains camps about the rally on thursday against the Iranian leader.Now i wait for their PUBLIC response.Its time for republicans to act like republicans without the lies,doublespeak and backstabbing.The founding fathers warned us of partisan politics.Time to listen to that advice.
Sep 24, 2008 - 3:31 pm 68. Marc Malone:St. Michael Traveler, you are quite the propogandist, aren’t you? The Libs always say they want to talk about “the issues”. Iran’s not a threat. It’s fear-mongering. We should be concerned about the economy. Blah, blah blah. It’s never about right and wrong; it’s about “the issues”. Right and wrong mean nothing to them.
Obama is the next Hitler. Read his books. See how disturbed he is. He’s just like Hitler. He writes a biography before he ever actually has done anything. Hitler’s was Mein Kampf (My Struggle/Fight/War). He’s bitter, narcissistic, has no sense of humor, charismatic, a great speaker, intolerant, power-hungry. He’s more subtle than Hitler, but it’s clear what his ideas for the future are. Jews are helping, once again, to build their own ovens.
Gods, but these idiots deserve the fate coming their way! They don’t understand that the world will say, “Good riddance!” afterwards.
Sep 25, 2008 - 9:52 pmGod save them.