Just got this one passed to me. It's an email from a Kirk supporter basically accusing anyone who does not support Kirk's pro-war position as anti-semitic. The writer then goes off on bloggers on Kos and picks out some of the more extreme examples trying to pass them off as the norm. As my readers know, I am Jewish, not at all anti-semitic, not at all self-hating and pretty fed up with people who presume to tell me and others what we are supposed to think with the threat of being marked anti-semitic for any disagreement. I am also fed up with the new spin on anti-semitism that leaves us vulnerable to real anti-semitism now unchecked in the new church merged with state country Bush wants for us, and supported by Mark Kirk who never says anything about its dangers.
The email goes further to insinuate that Jay Footlik and Dan Seals should not speak to anyone left of center and certainly not anyone who would use that pesky old free speech, a mere holdover from those Jefferson/Madison days.
The Bush/Cheney/Rove/Kirk mentality is that only a few far right wing extremely wealthy people really matter and no one else should have a say or even be allowed to listen. Remember that also means that you should not have the ear of a candidate:
if you support a reasonable health care system,
if you support investing in education and Americas infrastructure,
if you support a woman's right to choose,
if you support separate of church and state,
if you support clean, renewable energy over oil companies,
if you support dealing with the issue of global warming, and
if you want to see a reasonable and rational approach to foreign policy over entering into elective wars and then doing a really bad job once you send our young men and women to fight them.
See for yourself what Kirk supporters are emailing around to each other and then ask yourself if you agree that no one who supports any of the above should be able to speak to a candidate for U.S. Congress. Then, ask yourself: since Mark Kirk will not, does not and even runs away from people who believe in the above, should he be your U.S. Congressman?
Oh, and by the way, I know who sent the email. I just choose at this time not to print his name. I'd really like to see the person fess up himself.
Dear Friends,
While we may disagree on politics and policy sometimes, we all can agree to strongly condemn anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and the institutions that foment them.
I remain a stauch supporter of Congressman Mark Kirk who has co-chaired the congressional Task Force on Anti-Semitism, led the way on hate crimes legislation, continues to lead on opening the Holocaust archives in Bad Arolsen and remains the strongest voice in Congress for the U.S.-Israel strategic relationship.
I write to you today to make sure you know about an issue I find to be pivotal in the upcoming race for Congress in the 10th District. While the two Democrats vying to take on our friend Congressman Kirk next year claim to support our values, their actions to gain political support suggest they do not.
In an effort to appeal to their party's far-left, both candidates participated in this week's Kos Convention in Chicago--with Jay Footlik working the crowd and Dan Seals addressing the conference. Both expressed great pride and satisfaction in attending.
What's troubling is that Seals and Footlik speak to our community with one mouth and then run to a convention filled with anti-Semitic bloggers. DailyKos is a community of bloggers--thousands of people who write their own opinions online. The site's real attraction comes from the discussion that ensues.
Let's see a few examples of what the Kos Convention attendees are blogging--the very same people Seals and Footlik come running to for support. Many times posts are left up for weeks or months until watchdog groups raise concerns over anti-Semitism--at that point, Kos removes the blog pages. Fortunately, there are other savvy bloggers out there who keep archived copies.
- "Once we lock up a Majority, where we don't need Lieberman, I hope they will kick him to the curb like the dog he is." This post received 24 positive ratings and zero negative.
"He's [Lieberman] a much lower form of life than a dog" 8 plus/zero minus
"He's a snake in the grass." 4 plus/zero minus
"Don't insult dogs like that, Given a choice between my dog and Lieberman, I'd gas him without thinking twice." 4 plus/3 minus
http://www.netscape.com/...
- "because as everybody knows, jews ONLY care about the welfare of other jews"
http://www.dailykos.com/...
- "Israel is showing the entire world why the Iranian President was absolutely right to suggest that Israel cease being a sovereign state as is."
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/...
- "Zionism was and remains a racist ideology." A picture was included in that post showing an Israeli cabinet minister merging faces with Adolf Hitler, with a Star of David inside a skull.
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/...
- Another blog expressed sympathy and support for the Hamas takeover of Gaza.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Of course, I'm not surprised that Dan Seals attended. In his unsuccessful 2006 race, he made two comments caught on film that caused eruptions in the Jewish community.
The first, during an interview with 2004 candidate Lee Goodman, Seals said that if war ever broke out between Israel and Iran, he would come down on the side of peace: http://www.youtube.com/...
The second, during the height of the August 2006 war in Lebanon, Seals called on Israel to cease fire immediately and begin addressing the root causes of terrorism: http://www.youtube.com/...
But why did Jay Footlik attend? Is he that desparate that he runs to a community that slurs Jews and supports the Iranian President's dream of wiping Israel off the map?
And while you think about this, I urge you to contrast the action of both men to the continued leadership of our dear friend, Congressman Mark Kirk. While his opponents run to anti-Semitic and anti-Israel bloggers, here's a sampling of Congressman Kirk's leadership on our core issues since the beginning of 2007 alone:
- Established the 10 th District Israel High School Forum for students in our community to learn more about the U.S.-Israel relationship葉he first of its kind in the nation.
- Authored an amendment which passed the House ( H.R. 1585) directing the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress with a plan to fully integrate the U.S. National Ballistic Missile Defense with the State of Israel.
- Authored appropriations language now in law ( H.R. 2206) requiring the Secretary of State to report to Congress on the Lebanese Government's progress in fulfilling its mandate under Section 14 of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.
- Authored appropriations language mandating a comprehensive review by the Government Accountability Office of Cash Assistance and Emergency Cash Assistance programs run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. The language was prompted by UNRWA reports that terrorist and families of suicide bombers may received emergency assistance.
- Authored appropriations language mandating a report by the Secretary of State on the feasibility of executing an international restriction on gasoline to Iran. Iran imports more than 40% of its refined petroleum預 unique economic weakness.
- Authored appropriations language earmarking $5 million for women's support programs in minority communities in Iran and $2 million for democracy programs in Syria.
- Introduced H.R . 2880, the bipartisan Iran Sanctions Enhancement Act of 2007, to extend current sanctions to companies that provide gasoline to Iran.
- Sponsored a bipartisan resolution ( H.Res.64) which passed the House calling on Bangladesh to drop all charges against journalist Shoaib Choudhury. Congressman Kirk previously negotiated Choudhury's release from prison following his arrest for attempting to visit Israel .
- Authored a bipartisan letter with 104 co-signers to Secretary Rice urging her to work within the Security Council to give UN Forces in Lebanon a new mandate to intercept arms coming across the Syrian border.
- Authored a bipartisan letter with 12 key foreign assistance leaders in the House calling on World Bank President Robert Zoellick to end disbursements to Iran immediately.
- Led a successful international effort to pressure European nations to open Holocaust archives in Germany. Co-authored a series of bipartisan letters to European Ambassadors and was the lead co-sponsor of the Hastings-Kirk resolution which passed the House (H.Res.240).
- Lead co-sponsor of the Conyers-Kirk Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act ( H.R. 1592), which provides federal resources to investigate and prosecute hate crimes.
- Ordered an Inspector General investigation into reports that more than $140,000 was provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development to the Hamas-controlled Islamic University in Gaza. In June, Congressman Kirk authored appropriations language tightening anti-terror vetting language to include institutions that have terrorist trustees葉hereby closing the funding loophole to Islamic University which boasts Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
- Authored a bipartisan letter to the Japanese government urging it not to open direct assistance to the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Authority. After receiving the letter, the Japanese government reversed its decision and upheld the Quartet conditions on assistance.
- Co-authored a letter to Secretary Rice urging her to fire the news director of Al-Hurra TV after airing an interview with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and sending reporters to cover the Iranian Holocaust Denial Conference. Congressman Kirk then co-authored appropriations language cutting Al-Hurra's funding and mandating 24/7 online video feeds of all broadcasts. Al-Hurra's news director resigned the following day.
- Co-authored a letter to the National Institutes of Health demanding a full investigation of reports of anti-Semitic conduct by it chief clergy.
- Delivered a special order address before the House detailing all the factual inaccuracies in President Carter's recent book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.
The time to show your support to this great leader is now. If you are as disgusted as I am by the actions of Dan Seals and Jay Footlik, I would urge you to call their campaigns and let them know you're making a contribution to Kirk for Congress because unlike them, he's fighting in Congress to combat global anti-Semitism, fight Holocaust denial, protect Israel and stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Specifically excluded in the grand list of Kirk's accomplishments is any reference to anything that protects separation of church and state and any reference to anything that might reduce tenisions in and around Israel. It is of course excluded because it doesn't exist. Kirk feeds off of the hate and divisiveness of the Bush administration and tensions in Israel and among its neighbors are his biggest selling point.
As I always say, "it is what it is" and the above email from Kirk's camp looks a lot to me like it's from someone who does not believe in the America of liberty and free speech I grew up in and in which I watched a post-WWII Jewish community thrive. To be sure there is some language on Kos that is not good, but that does not mean that thought and speech should be stifled and that no one on Kos should be talked to or listened to. We can have the liberty our founders intended for us, the one that gives everyone opportunity to live and work and prosper or the intellectual vacuum of one-sided, hateful thought police that Bill O'Reilly and Mark Kirk's supporter want and was never conducive to a thriving minority.
What America do you want?