The Republican campaign within the Jewish community in 2004 was often... well, to put it mildly, they didn't necessarily see themselves as bounded by reality.
Consider, as a telling example, this ubiquitous and false slur [ http://njdc.org/... ] against Theresa Heinz Kerry.
But most relevant to today's news is this indefensible piece of direct mail [ http://njdc.org/... ] sent out by the Florida and Ohio Republican parties to likely Jewish households.
In 2004, the Republicans had the gall to accuse [
http://njdc.org/... ] John Kerry of an alliance with Mahathir, a vicious anti-Semite... when we now learn that, "Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Monday that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to organize his 2002 meeting with President Bush, but denied the money came from the Malaysian government." [
http://www.sfgate.com/... ]
Let's get this straight -- Republican superstar lobbyist Jack Abramoff works his mojo successfully with the Bush Administration on behalf of vicious anti-Semite Mahathir... and Karl Rove and his minions sent out this libelous piece of mail to Jewish voters? [ http://njdc.org/... ]
For more on why Mahathir's access to the Bush Administration was so good, consider this recent LA Times article [ http://www.latimes.com/... ]:
"One such GOP outreach featured Mahathir pictured beside Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John F. Kerry and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat above a Kerry quote in which he said "foreign leaders" wanted him to win the election. The campaign mailer suggested Mahathir and Arafat, "renowned for their hatred of the Jewish people," supported Kerry.
On one occasion, Abramoff -- an orthodox Jew and a supporter of Israel -- was asked whether he was comfortable representing a country led by a man known for anti-Semitic comments.
Abramoff responded, "They pay their bills on time.""
And for more on late in the election Republican dirty tricks in Florida, please read this piece from the Miami Herald the day before the 2004 elections. [ http://tinyurl.com/... ]