Friday Afternoon Roundup - As the Leaves Turn, So Do the Democrats

After the euphoria died down, the oceans sank and the confetti was gathered up, we're back to Democratic incumbents in conservative states running away from any association with liberalism, toting their rifles, putting holes in cap and trade, and mocking Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco hippies.

The magic is gone, and the Obama Umbrella is full of holes. Turning Obama into the messiah was supposed to provide unlimited cover for the left's agenda. But the charisma has faded, and as the leaves turn, so do the Democrats.

Suddenly Democratic incumbents are making commercials that look more right wing, than most Republican commercials. How many Republicans running for Congress are shooting Cap and Trade full of holes? How many are hippie bashing? Of course it's all fake. But what it reveals is that the country is more right, than it is left.

That despite Obama's rise to power, America is basically conservative. And without the bible and gun folk that Obama sneered at during his campaign, the Democrats are nothing but a rump party.

As much as the media projects a dysfunctional America, the real America is still there, and even Democrats find they have to pay tribute to it, as false as their tributes may be.

While some liberal candidates in endangered elections go for their guns, others go for their Jewishness.

Barney Frank who had announced that he was ashamed to be a Jew after Israeli soldiers defended themselves against Islamist flotilla thugs, is now marketing a book, "Barney Frank: The Story of America's Only Left-Handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman."

So apparently Barney Frank is only ashamed to be Jewish, when it's not an election. The Marblehead JCC has shown how non-partisan it is by inviting Frank to be the, and I'm quoting here, "the second headliner in the JCC’s prestigious literary series" for Jewish Book Month. This is the worst misuse of the words "prestigious literary" since they were applied to anything written by Barack Obama.

To be fair, the other author at the JCC's Jewish Book Month is Lou Gossett Jr with his own biography. Which is at least a fair argument that Marblehead JCC's Jewish Book Month should be probably be renamed to "Famous Non-Jewish people hawking biographies about themselves".

Meanwhile the New York Daily News has broken a major scandal. Republican candidate for Governor, Carl Paladino, is a hypocrite for not discriminating against gay people. That's right, Paladino took "gay cash", by which the newspaper means, that he rented property ten years ago in buildings he owned to two gay bars.

Let's put aside that had Paladino not rented space to gay bars, because of his opposition to homosexuality... he would have been breaking the law. Major newspapers are so deep in the pocket of the Cuomo campaign that they are running "exposes" that make absolutely no sense to anyone with a functioning brain.

Is the news that Paladino did business with gay people a scandal now? And if so how exactly is it a scandal? And what exactly do they propose that he should have done instead. Discriminated against them? Refused their checks and let them use his space for free? The Daily News and the other papers recirculating this nonsense have no rational answer. Because there isn't one.

This is what happens when you outsource your reporting to the Cuomo campaign.

Andrew Cuomo slimed Patterson out of the race, by playing the Iago game, sending his trolls to whisper in the media's ears. And the media is still playing the same game now. Once the Daily News outsourced its front page to the Cuomo campaign, it lost any and all pretense of credibility. And so we get stories about Paladino's "gay cash" (What is "gay cash" anyway?) as media outlets.

So far we've learned that Paladino rented space to gay bars, that his nephew is gay and that his son may have run a gay bar, that eventually became a regular bar, at one point. But does anyone of that remotely address anything meaningful? These aren't even scandals. They're just life.

Paladino has since made a statement in which he said, "The portrayal of me as anti-gay is inconsistent with my lifelong beliefs and actions and my prior history as a father, employer and friend to many in the gay and lesbian community." Obviously it's boilerplate stuff. But it also highlights media dysfunctionality, which has them trying to prove that Paladino has "gay associations", like some kind of bizarre reverse Marxism.

That doesn't make much sense from a reporting perspective. Paladino renting space to gay bars or having a gay nephew isn't proof of hypocrisy, but it is handy material for the Cuomo campaign, which is actually playing a whole other football game, by trying to tarnish Paladino with values voters. That flips over the media's coverage into the homophobic column (not exactly a first, considering the precedents with Larry Craig.) And so the leaves turn.

Meanwhile Greece's health care system is imploding.

This Saturday, one of Greece’s most respected newspapers, To Vima, reported that the nation’s largest government health insurance provider would no longer pay for special footwear for diabetes patients. Amputation is cheaper, says the Benefits Division of the state insurance provider.

Money has to be saved somewhere. Greece has been stumbling out of the nationalized health care game. Because there's no money.

And when there's no money, sooner or later the entitlements have to be cut. It'll take longer for it to happen here, but if we can imagine a static Obamaesque regime running for 20 years, we'd end up in the same place too.

With the upcoming election, some Jewish bloggers are looking at some of the more radically pro-terrorist and anti-Israel congressmen who are endangered.

Boker Tov Boulder has a list up at "Cleaning the House"

CA-47 Leans Dem. HC Loretta Sanchez was only up 2 at the end of Aug. Please support Van Tran.

CT-4 Leans Dem. HC Jim Hines was only up 2 in early Oct. Support Dan Debicella.

IA-1 Leans Dem. HC Bruce Braley was up 11 in Sept. polls, but Repub Ben Lange is an NRCC Young Gun and rising star; send money or go door to door if you live there.

KY-3 Leans Dem. HC John Yarmuth is on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which no doubt pleases HAMAS. Throw the bum out and replace him with National Guard Lt. Col. and UPS pilot, Todd Lally.

MA-6 Likely Dem. HC John Tierney's wife just pleaded guilty to tax fraud this week, so let's not be discouraged about this one. Send your support to Bill Hudak.

MI-5 Leans Dem. We could actually get rid of HC John Dingell. I don't know why RCP has this as "leans Dem." Republican challenger (with his own white coat) DR. Rob Steele is up 4 in the latest poll.

MN-8 Likely Dem. HC Jim Oberstar is up against another NRCC Young Gun, Chip Cravaack. GOP polling shows a close race (see the Minnesota Independent).

NJ-12 Leans Dem, but HC Rush Holt is only up 5 in Oct 9-12 polling, v. Republican Scott Sipprelle.

NY-22 (Likely Dem) is getting a lot of attention, since Bill Clinton campaigned for HC Maurice Hinchy ... and Ed Koch endorsed the Republican challenger George Phillips. NB: Phillips apparently worked as a congressional staffer on efforts to purge support for terrorism and antisemitism at the UN.

NC-4 Likely Dem. HC David Price could easily be defeated by William Lawson; September internal polling showed the race in a virtual dead heat (see UnitedLiberty.org), and Lawson has been endorsed by Freedom Works.

OH-15 is already likely GOP but still worth your attention. George Soros BFF and HC-Dem Mary Jo Kilroy must go. According to The Hill, the Republican Steve Stivers is up 9. Might be because of the efforts of "Kristol's Hawkish Pro-Israel Group." If so, kol hakavod to them!

OR-4 Likely Dem. HC Peter DeFazio is being challenged by Chemistry professor, "brilliant scientist" (see the Daily Caller) and President, Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, Art Robinson.

VA-2 Leans GOP HC Glenn Nye is down; Scott Rigell is up 6 (The Hill).

WA-9 Leans Dem. HC Adam Smith was only up 3 as of mid-September. Support Dick Muri.

And last but not least, there's the race nearest and dearest to my heart: Congress's No. 1 Recipient of contributions from CAIR, HC Nick Joe Rahall, v. Spike Maynard in WV's Third District.

Go to her site for a links enabled version.

Jerrold Sobel has assembled his own list, forward by Ted Belman of Israpundit and available at the JewishIndy site...

Finally Americans For a Safe Israel has issued a press release on Gary Ackerman's misdeeds. Most damning...

2. He has agreed with the President that it is the constitutional right for a mosque to be built on hallowed ground without even discussing the fact that although it may be a constitutional right, the wisdom and moral decision of such a monument to triumphalism is a bad idea. He totally overlooks the feelings of the vast majority of 911 victims and their families and, in essence, the overwhelming protest of a major portion of Americans. This clearly shows us that he is out of touch with not only his constituents, but most Americans. What is even more offensive is that he refuses to investigate the questionable ties the Imam Rauf has had and refuses to follow the dots to the Perdana Project that Rauf has founded in Indonesia. The Perdana Project was one of the participants in the Flotilla that was against our ally Israel. This is an Imam who has refused to denounce the terrorist organization Hamas whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel. Yet Gary Ackerman would have no problem allowing this Imam build a mosque and continue to encourage a Shariah compliant America.

3. Fallout of anti-Goldstone Resolution - Instead of being around to vote for the resolution in the House opposing the Goldstone Report, which disproportionately and incorrectly put the burden on Israel of war crimes in the war with Lebanon, he instead decided to support his J Street friends by writing a letter to the Jewish Community in South Africa, insisting that they allow this self hating Jewish South African judge to attend his grandson's Bar Mitzvah. It turns out that Ackerman’s letter was misdirected and that it was not the community that refused Goldstone an invite. The questions our Jewish Community has are: Why would he get involved in this family problem to begin with? Is that what he calls being a great supporter of Israel?

Instead AFSI endorses Ackerman's Republican opponent

The Jewish Community recognizes that in Dr. James Milano, the Republican running against Ackerman, they will have a representative who understands that Israel is more than a symbol of freedom for Jews everywhere. Additionally, Israel is our greatest American ally and can be compared to having an American Super Carrier on station in the Mediterranean 24/7. The community recognizes that, with Dr. Milano, they will have a representative who will proudly stand with Peter King when he stands up for Israel and America.

The Jewish Press has a piece by Shamir's son on what his father's legacy can teach Netanyahu.

Shmuel Katz had his own take on the subject back in 1992. (PDF file)

Meanwhile Howard Jacobson who just won the Booker Prize has a resonant turn of phrase on the left's hostility toward Israel

Instead of saying the Holocaust didn’t happen, the modern sophisticated denier accepts the event in all its terrible enormity, only to accuse the Jews of trying to profit from it, either in the form of moral blackmail or downright territorial theft. According to this thinking, the Jews have betrayed the Holocaust and become unworthy of it, the true heirs to their suffering being the Palestinians. Thus, here and there throughout the world this year, Holocaust day was temporarily annulled or boycotted on account of Gaza, dead Jews being found guilty of the sins of live ones.

Camera has more quotes

Real Americans defend Israel has an explanation of why moving the negotiations ahead is like pulling teeth.

And via Solomonia, also from CAMERA a challenge to the propaganda campaign by Survivor of England, Hedy Epstein.

Finally Israel and Greece are conducting joint military exercises, 

Taking part are 16 Apache and Black Hawk UH-60 assault helicopters - eight Israeli and eight Greek. Over the weekend, the Israeli choppers flew directly from home base to the big Greek Suda air complex on the island of Crete. They were refueled in flight  by the Israel air force as part of the exercise.
....
The helicopters are practicing tactics designed for large expanses of water, island groups - the Argo-Saronic Islands east of the Peloponnese and the Ionian Islands to its west - and high coastal peaks with deep canyons and gorges. This sort of terrain resembles Persian Gulf shores, including the coastal strips enclosing the strategic Strait of Hormuz and the western and southern shores of Iran where key Revolutionary Guards Corps bases are grouped.

Enjoy the weekend.