Friday Afternoon Roundup - The Man from Massachusetts

The Panel

Before I begin the roundup, I would like to mention the Islamists: Enemy Within panel that I participated at during the David Horowitz Freedom Center's Restoration Weekend, along with Robert Spencer, Raymond Ibrahim and Frank Gaffney and moderated by Jamie Glazov, it was a privilege to be part of the event, and there are now videos of the panel available here.

The Islamists Within Part 1

The Islamists Within Part 2



The Man from Massachusetts

He was a prominent politician from Massachusetts with great hair and all the visual qualities of a leader. There were some who accused him of flip flopping on important issues, but he always had a glib reply, except for the times when he got nervous and said something stupid. Like, "I voted for that 87 billion dollars before I voted against it."

Obviously I'm talking about John Kerry, but I could just as easily be talking about Mitt Romney, who seems to have some qualities in common with him. Granted Romney doesn't look like a horse that's been dead for several years and kept alive with shots of botox and shoe polish. But then Kerry had fewer awkward meltdowns on camera,

And if you think that's a new thing with Romney, let's flash back to 2008 and see if this looks familiar.

On the other side of the table, Gingrich has become the Anti-Romney without exactly being all that Anti. Some are suggesting that we should just give politicians a pass for any views that they recanted within the last two or three years, which I suppose covers the front runners in this race, and we might as well start ignoring immigration.

That's certainly one way to do it. The only real defense for that approach is that we have no real choice. Case in point, we've got a Ron Paul ad hitting Gingrich on hypocrisy, which is rich coming from a man who slips pork into bills and then makes a show of voting against them.

When candidates start arguing about hypocrisy, they end up running hypocrisy contests instead and the whole spectacle becomes nauseating. Bachmann and Santorum, the two candidates in the race who have stuck to a conservative line, have been pilloried and dismissed out of hand. And from there it's RINO city.

I like Gingrich well enough, he's good on some issues, bad on others. Unlike Perry he gains a certain amount of credibility on issues like immigration because he gives the impression that he actually thinks about them and is capable of changing his mind. But we're still talking about the author of "A Contract with the Earth." And that's the problem right there.

Gingrich offers intriguing ideas, but just because they're more complex than his opponents, doesn't mask their flaws. It's interesting to watch Gingrich rework environmentalism in this Salon interview, but it doesn't hide the basic problem that he's attempting to steal the left's thunder, but ends up adopting some of their worldview.

At least unlike Perry and Romney, Gingrich has avoided making an ass of himself during the debates, but considering how much he got pilloried for the orphanages line in the Clinton era, why in the world would he dive back into the Dickensian by talking about child labor laws. When you wear a permanent scowl on your face, the last thing you want to do is give your enemies a reason to put you in a stovepipe hat and with a whip in your hand.

Gingrich isn't wrong, but he managed to phrase enough of it in a way that gives the media the ammunition they needed. And he's going to have to learn to stop making those mistakes.

I suppose that I should also say something about Cain, but there's nothing to say. I liked Cain the man, but never had that much use for him as a candidate. Cain brought skills to the table that the other candidates needed, the ability to connect with audiences and market ideas in plain terms is something that Romney, Perry and Gingrich need to learn to do better. But Cain also lacked their basic skills and came with some unspoken baggage. I'm not here to pass judgement on other people's personal lives, nor do I claim to know what goes on behind closed doors, but it seems as if the boldness that Cain brought to the campaign had different aspects as well.



Paulling Around
 
Ron Paul supporters are throwing a hissy fit over their candidate being "excluded" from the Republican Jewish Coalition forum. As I recall the same thing happened in the last election. The RJC forum is not exactly a major event so this is just another tantrum from the tantrum candidate. Paul has nothing to say at the forum, except maybe to go on about how Gaza is a concentration camp.

Other candidates "excluded" from the RJC forum include Gary Johnson, Buddy Roemer and Jimmy McMillan who just as much serious candidates as Ron Paul. The invite does say, "Join the leading GOP Presidential Candidates as they outline their visions for the future."

Is Ron Paul a leading candidate in the mind of anyone who isn't one of his supporters? 


Last time the Paultards threw their hissy fit in 2007, the forum only featured McCain, Brownback, Romney, Thompson and Giuliani. Again it didn't feature every candidate in the race. 

I'm not involved with the RJC, but they have the right to invite candidates that align with their views. Are Catholic forums supposed to invite abortion supporters? Should gay Republican groups be forced to invite people who hate them? This is a non-argument blown up by idiots into the same predictable attacks and attention-mongering.

If Ron Paul was a serious contender, this argument might at least go somewhere, but he's not. The only reason for inviting him to a forum billed as a chance to hear from the next president is pity.

But all this is just an opportunity to revive the same old smears. No, Jewish conservatives don't have issues with Ron Paul because he opposes foreign aid. Most people could care less about his views on foreign aid or anything else. His frequently attacks on Israel are another matter. But more than that he's a proponent of the Al-Qaeda view of American history, in league with Bin Laden's favorite pundit, and the usual motley collection of 9/11 Truthers and conspiracy theorists.

And if you're going to pose for photos with Neo-Nazis and take their donations, why in the world would you whine about not being invited to the RJC forum? It's called making a choice.

Ron Paul chose the side of evil over and over again. Which is his choice. Unfortunately his supporters refuse to be honest about it. This is not about foreign aid, this is about Ron Paul repeatedly endorsing the terrorist worldview and putting the blame on the countries targeted by terrorists, whether it's America or Israel. 

As in 2007, cue the fake Jews for Ron Paul brigade, because the Campaign for Liberty is opposed to identity politics, except when it's their kind of plant identity politics. (The do anything you have to win style  makes a candidate about as attractive as any sociopath.)

That means multiple comments from "Orthodox Jews" supporting Ron Paul. A classic of the genre comes from the comments section of the Washington Jewish Week

I'm a Jew, I grew up in an orthodox househould, was educated in a yeshiva elementary and high school, and I'm a Republican. I also support Ron Paul.

If you want to ensure hatred/resentment for Jews and if you want to convey the message that we only talk with those who agree with us 100%... This is a PERFECT way to do it. Any non-Jew who sees that he's been excluded will get the picture that Jews are trying to stifle honest debate. Just saying.

Here's a way to make yourself and your candidate hated. Impersonate an ethnic/religious group's members and leave messages making threat against an entire ethnic\religious group using classic anti-semitic stereotypes.

And another authentically Jewish comment that in no way comes from a bigot using a fake Jewish identity.

How dare they pretend to speak for Jews and exclude the only candidate that can set this economy straight again. It looks to me like they are representing only the Jews that own the Federal Reserve, or on Wall Street, like the corrupt Bernie Madoff.

And just to keep the comedy going, here are some more gems from the comments section

What is totally lost on the RJC's spokesperson is that Gary Johnson and Ron Paul are the only two Republicans running for president. All the others are neocons which is a euphemism for "Democrats-lite." Perhaps the RJC should change its name to the: "Democrat-lite Jewish Coalition."

If Gary Johnson is the only other authentic Republican, then I guess legalizing drugs, abortion and opposing the death penalty... while supporting the Global Warming scam makes you an authentic Republican.

I guess the only real Republicans are Democrats.

"Misguided" and "extreme?" Who was the lone Republican who refused to condemn Israel's defensive strike against Iraq's Osirak nuclear plant in 1981?

Who is the lone Republican who condemns Israel every time it strikes at terrorism today even though it's not his country and his platform is non-interventionism? I can tell you it's not Gary Johnson.

Article comment by: Jonathan Taubes

As an orthodox Jew, I think it's disgusting that they didn't invite Ron Paul.

Especially because Ron Paul is THE single best candidate for zionists and pro-Israel people such as myself.

Why? Paul wants to end foreign aid to Israel. When we give foreign aid to Israel they become our slave. We can make them do whatever we want. In 2005 when Israel wanted to bomb a nuclear facility in Saudi Arabia we said no and forced them not to. Ron Paul says stop making them dependent on us and give them their sovereignty back. The less foreign aid we give Israel, the more free THEY are to follow THEIR agenda, not ours.

Ron Paul thinks we should let Israel be fully sovereign and independent. He DOESN'T think we should be dictating its policies from Washington.

Every other candidate does, though, which is a big reason for my support of Paul, as an orthodox, pro-Israel Jew.

In case anyone missed that, Jonathan Taubes is a zionist orthodox pro-Israel Jew, which he repeated a bunch of times in a way that doesn't resemble talking points distributed on Ron Paul forums.

Now oddly enough I am a zionist orthodox pro-Israel Jew and yet I don't announce that in my comments or every time I walk into a room. I just am. Like most people who simply are things, I see no need for asserting an identity.


And if this is the same guy, his defense of Ron Paul is a classic.

Its not cuz Paul is anti-semitic (he obviously isnt). Its cuz he opposes foreign aid/doesnt think our kids should die for Israel.

or 

@somemuslim If you support Ron Paul & want him elected, publicly calling Jews "zionist fools" is seriously counter-productive to that goal.

Enough said. Or maybe not.

Aight. I'm an anarchist 2 & while Paul isn't perfect, his vision is THE closest to a voluntary society we'll ever see in our lives.

So apparently he's an Orthodox Jewish anarchist. And he's totally a Republican. Deeply committed.

I'm gonna do it. Never voted b4 & I doubt I will vote Republican ever again. Only to bring troops home & restore civil liberty.

And he is a totally 100 percent Orthodox Jew

Just fyi, I'm a socially liberal, pro-choice atheist. I think women have the right 2 their bodies. I also support Ron Paul.

And he is a Zionist too.

Ever hear of AIPAC? The tremendous power it wields over our govt? How it influences our foreign policy? Want a reading list?

Okay maybe he's an Anti-Zionist Atheist Anarchist\Liberarian who was also a Liberal Democrat?

Same here. I was a liberal Democrat b4 I checked Paul out. Hes an intellectual,his answers r always based on history/philosophy.

There could conceivably be two different fanatical Ron Paul supporters named Jonathan Taubes or the one on Twitter could be two different people too. But I've seen this before.

The Ron Paul campaign is like a strange Peter Sellers movie, the people drawn to it are extremists who behave in a cultlike way and commonly misrepresent themselves as different people to promote him.

I dived into the cesspool with Jews for Ron Paul back in the last election. It was an education in dementia. Even aside from anything Ron Paul has said or done, anyone whose campaign is surrounded by this type of behavior would be a troubling individual.

It's like a creepy amateurish con game, repetitive talking points worked out in forums, people hiding their extremist politics to pretend to be something they're not.

Back during the last election, Jews for Ron Paul rolled out its protest in response to Ron Paul being excluded from the RJC forum. Jews for Ron Paul was led by a gay Unitarian pagan who claimed to be an Orthodox Jew.

Expect a rerun of the same stuff again.

Ron Paul and his supporters have the right to oppose Israel and support terrorists. What they do not have the right to do is pass off themselves as something they are not.



THE ROUNDUP

Where is the economy headed? Think low. Very, very low.

There will be no virgins left in Saudi Arabia when women get driver's licenses says Islamic science. The best proof for that is that men are allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia and there are no male virgins left there.

Remember All-American Muslim. Remember Homeland? Guess which one is beating the other.

The legacy of Mohammed's abuse and exploitation of women continues in... England.

My name is Bosch and I'm a recovering Muslim.

Here lies the man who wanted to destroy Israel, but got blown to demon virgin paradise instead.

Presence of Malice in the Man from Chicago

By and by we'll all be eating sugar pie

When women operate Trams in Holland, no Muslims will ride the train

Ein Europe Uber Alles with arms exports for all.

Win Muslim hearts and minds with unidirectional urination

CAIR trying to shut down free speech just like in Iran and Saudi Arabia.