Florida embarrassment, Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Corruption), made headlines when he disparaged Sarah Palin, saying, “anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks.”
Now Hastings is apologizing. But not to Palin. He’s apologizing to hunters.
“I regret the comments I made last Tuesday that were not smart and certainly not relevant to hunters or sportsmen,” Rep. Alcee Hastings said in a statement issued Monday.
Hastings did eventually apologize to Palin too, although he might not have needed to. He actually made a pretty good point, I think.
Last week, at a panel on the shared agenda of Jewish and African-American Democrats during the annual conference of the National Jewish Democratic Council, Hastings told attendees what he intended to tell his Jewish constituents about the importance of supporting Sen. Obama in November’s presidential election. “If Sarah Palin isn’t enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention,” Hastings said last week. “Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through,” he added.
Most of the offense taken by Hastings’ remark came from the Republican Jewish Coalition (who knew there was such a thing?). They are calling the comment, “the worst kind of divisive politics” while running ads that might actually earn that title.
“There should be no place in our country for this sort of political discourse. We can constructively disagree on the issues without denigrating others,” added [JRC Executive Director Matt] Brooks.
True, true, Matt. I can see you’re a stand-up guy. Very considerate and respectful and above personal attacks. So why are you “denigrating” Barack Obama?
The Jewish Republican Coalition has already launched its own series of election-related ads in Jewish newspapers throughout the country. The latest ad refers to some Obama’s advisers as “pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel, and even hostile to America” and states that “You can know a man by the company he keeps.”
Following is one of the ads. Nice.
Republican Jewish Coalition
JOIN US
Good lord, it sounds like a line from the movie “Evil Dead!”
I remember listening to comments (on NPR) from Orthodox Jews in New York during a previous presidential campaign. One said that although he thought Gore (or was it Kerry?) might be better for the US, Bush was better for Israel, and that’s how he was going to vote. I don’t want to sound unhinged, but placing the welfare of another country above the welfare of your own is a pretty good definition of treason, isn’t it?
I doubt 2 percent of American Jews feel this way, but, even so, only 2 percent of the US population is Jewish, so even if this attitude were rampant it would be statistically insignificant.
And that’s germane because…?
Even if the attitude of that one speaker on NPR was extrapolated out across the entire population of his entire co-religionists, the number of possibly treasonous Israel-supporters would not be large enough to affect a national election.
And that’s relevant to anything anyone said because…?
Obviously, I missed your point. If it wasn’t that an Orthodox Jew treasonously said that he would vote to support Israel not the US, and that his view may represent broad swathes of his co-religionists, what was it?
Just that it’s wrong to place the welfare of another country above your own, and still vote in your country. Nothing about numbers. This poster seems to be referring to the threat that Iran might pose to Israel, and while I think that threat should be taken seriously, I also think it’s wrong to encourage people to base their votes on this issue.