NJDC's Blog

OUTRAGE: RON PAUL REFUSES TO RETURN WHITE SUPREMACIST CONTRIBUTION

In one of the most sad, cynical, and disgusting moments of the 2008 presidential campaign, the Associated Press is reporting that Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has refused to return a campaign contribution from Don Black, who runs a vicious White Supremacist website.

Rep. Paul's spokesman's pathetic excuse for keeping the money was that "If someone with small ideologies happens to contribute money to Ron, thinking he can influence Ron in any way, he's wasted his money," and that "Ron is going to take the money and try to spread the message of freedom." 

The spokesman, Jesse Benton also, pitifully noted, "And that's $500 less that this guy has to do whatever it is that he does." Even if Ron Paul had not recently set fundraising records, this excuse would still be an insult to the intelligence of voters.  Given his fundraising prowess, the excuse is doubly insulting.

If Rep. Paul refuses to stand up to hate-mongers like Don Black, it is fair to ask whether he is tacitly welcoming their support in a desperate attempt to gain traction in the Republican primary.  And, if the other Republican candidates do not condemn him for this, it will send a similar message as did their refusal to condemn Ann Coulter.

Un-Huckin' Believable!

According to a report in Newsweek, Mike Huckabee may have abused his power as Governor of Arkansas by hampering a State Police investigation and firing the State Police Director in (possible) political retaliation. Allegedly, Huckabee's Chief of Staff and Personal Attorney "leaned" on the Arkansas State Police Director in order to prevent an investigation involving the former Governor's son (who was accused of hanging and torturing a stray dog while working at a summer camp). 

The State Police Director, John Bailey, a career public servant, claims that he stood up to the Governor's people and was fired seven months later.  Huckabee claims that Bailey was fired for incompetence.  Both Huckabee's Chief of Staff and attorney admit to having met with Bailey, but imply that the nonpartisan State Police Director's investigation was politically motivated.

Why is this relevant?  Because in the Bush Administration we've seen several officials punished for putting loyalty to the public interest above loyalty to the President's political interests. 

Additionally, the Bush Administration has time and again put the search for political advantage above the search for scientific truth.  In July, for example, we blogged about former Surgeon General Richard Carmona, who told a congressional committee that "top officials in the Bush administration repeatedly tried to weaken or suppress important public health reports because of political considerations."

One of the major concerns for Jewish Democrats and everyone who cares about Church-State issues is whether the next President will have the courage to stand up to the special interests that help elect him or her to the White House.  These concerns are heightened with Huckabee, Romney, Thompson, McCain, and Giuliani because these candidates have all made efforts to appeal to the most extreme elements of the religious Republican base.  As the candidate of the religious right, Mike Huckabee would owe his election to social conservatives, should he find himself victorious in November 2008. 

Were this incident in Arkansas to be true -- and  Huckabee fired a career civil servant because he refused to serve the Governor's private interests -- it could be a chilling foreshadow to the way a Huckabee Administration would be run.  Another notorious incident from Huckabee's past -- in which he set up a gift registry while still in office -- raises similar concerns. 

In fairness to Huckabee, he denies improperly using his influence with the State Police to clear his son of animal cruelty.  As reporters continue to poor over Huckabee's Arkansas record, more information is likely to come out. 

Meanwhile, it is important to keep a keen eye on all the candidates in order to determine if any of them would make the same mistakes as the Bush Administration.

Is Rudy Already Paying Back Pat Robertson for His Endorsement?

After Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy Giuliani, the waiting game began for those of us who believe in a strong separation between church and state: just how will Rudy return the favor?  He's already pledged to appoint Supreme Court Justices like Scalia to the Court.  Now we also see him begin change his position on gay rights.  Is this a pay back to Robertson or just a simple kowtow to right wing voters? 

The answer is less relevant than what the question says about the modern day Republican party: it continues to be dominated by extremist elements in the religious right. 

OUT OF HUCK: More of Huckabee's Words Under Scrutiny

David Corn writes in Mother Jones:

In a 1998 book decrying American culture, Huckabee was no seeker of common ground. He drew stark lines, equating environmentalists with pornographers and homosexuality with pedophilia and necrophilia. He also declared that people who do not believe in God tend to be immoral and to engage in "destructive behavior." He drew a rather harsh picture of an American society starkly split between people of faith and those of a secular bent, with the latter being a direct and immediate threat to the nation.

"Huckacide"

In a piece entitled, "Huckacide," Rich Lowry of the ultra-conservative National Review, writes about how the Huckabee phenomenon in the Republican primary is a kowtow to the religious right that may lead the GOP off a cliff:

"... [Huckabee's] first TV ads in Iowa touted him as a 'Christian leader,'and his target audience of evangelicals has responded. But according to a Pew poll released in early December, only 1 in 7 nonevangelical Republicans support him in Iowa and 1 in 20 nonevangelicals in New Hampshire and South Carolina."

"Huckabee has declared that he doesn't believe in evolution. Even if there are many people in America who agree with him, his position would play into the image of Republicans as the anti-science party. This would tend to push away independents and upper-income Republicans. In short, Huckabee would take a strength of the GOP and, through overplaying it, make it a weakness.

"He'd do the same on taxes. In general, the public tends to support Democratic proposals for bigger government, which Republicans counter by saying that the proposals will require higher taxes. Huckabee will be equipped poorly to make this traditional Republican comeback, given his tax-raising history in Arkansas. Huckabee tries to compensate with a sales-tax scheme that allows him to say he supports eliminating the IRS, but is so wildly implausible that it would be a liability in a general election.

"Then, there's national security, the Republican trump card during the Cold War and after 9/11. Huckabee not only has zero national-security credentials, he basically has no foreign-policy advisers either, as a New York Times Magazine piece this Sunday makes clear. ...

"... None of this is a winning formula. Huckabee has been running his campaign out of his back pocket, and has done it extremely well. There's a reason, though, that serious candidates surround themselves with policy experts. It's necessary to running a campaign based on more than sound bites. Wherever you scratch Huckabee on policy, he seems an inch deep. Do Republicans really want to enter what is already a tough political year with a candidate apparently allergic to preparation, and who has shown no predilection for organizing or fundraising, when he can do cable TV appearances instead?"

AJC & ADL Criticize Romney

Dan Wasserman cartoon from the Boston Globe's website, Boston.com

From The Forward:

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney gave a much publicized speech this week on religion, politics and his Mormon faith, and Jewish groups wasted little time in criticizing it.

... both the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee raised concerns about parts of the speech seemingly designed to help sell the former Massachusetts governor to conservative Christian voters who do not accept Mormonism as a legitimate expression of their faith.

...

"When Gov. Romney stated that ‘freedom requires religion’ he unfortunately was giving voice to a divide along religious lines that has no place in our body politic," wrote Jeffrey Sinensky, the AJCommittee’s director of domestic policy, in a statement released to the press. ...

** HUCKABEE BOMBSHELL **

From ThinkProgress:

Huckabee: wives should ‘graciously submit’ to husbands.

In June 1998, the Southern Baptist Convention issued a "statement on the family" that asserted, "A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ." Two months later, then-governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee was one of 131 signatories to a full-page ad in USA Today specifically endorsing the Convention’s view on marriage:

You are right because you called wives to graciously submit to their husband’s sacrificial leadership.

As Andrew Sullivan notes, "The group did not back away from the ad after a media firestorm. It seems to me that Huckabee should be asked if he still stands by that. And if he thinks it applies to Senator Clinton."

New Poll: Jews are increasingly identifying as Democrats

NJDC put out the following press release today:

NEW POLL: DEMOCRATIC IDENTIFICATION UP 10% AMONG JEWISH AMERICANS SINCE 2002 AJC
Finds that Democrats Gained 4% in Last Year Alone

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 11, 2007

Washington, D.C. -- Today, a new American Jewish Committee (AJC) poll found that 58% of Jewish Americans self-identify as Democrats – this represents an increase of ten percentage points from 2002 and four percentage points in the last year alone. Jews self-identified as Democrats by 48% in 2002, 54% in 2004 and 54% in 2006. Republican self-identification among Jews remains at 15%, down three points since 2002 when 18% of Jews self-identified as Republican.

“As a Jewish Democrat I am encouraged by this news, but not surprised,”said NJDC Executive Director Ira N. Forman. “The new Democratic Congress has been great on Israel, and American Jews side with the Democratic agenda on all major domestic priorities. Simply put, the Democratic party’s values are Jewish values.”

Among the various issues in the AJC poll where Jewish Americans side with the Democratic agenda:

- 82% of Jews say energy independence is very important, and a whopping 99% say it is at least somewhat important.

- 69% of Jews say that developing alternative energy sources is the best way for America to address its energy needs.

- 67% of Jews say we should have stayed out of Iraq. - 68% of Jews say the surge in Iraq has had either no impact or made things worse.

- 61% of Jews trust Democrats more on Iraq, compared with only 21% who trust Republicans.

- A plurality of Jews (43%) lean at least slightly to the left, while 74% identify as either moderate or liberal. Only 25% are at least slightly conservative.

- 62% of Jews trust Democrats more on the economy, compared with only 26% who trust Republicans.

The AJC survey is available online at http://www.ajc.org/atf/cf/%7B42D75369-D582-4380-8395-D25925B85EAF%7D/SurveyJewish07.PDF

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NY Jewish Week Blog Covers Huckabee Voting Controversy

From The New York Jewish Week Blog:

Taking Aim at Huckabee / James Besser in Washington

You can tell former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is rising like a rocket in the polls: Democratic strategists who once largely ignored him as a nonentity in the 2008 presidential race, are frantically digging for political ammunition to use against him.

The latest example: Democratic operatives are calling Jewish reporters to make sure everybody knows that Huckabee’s "Secure America Plan," a nine-point strategy for "immigration enforcement and border security," could impact thousands of Americans with dual Israel citizenship.

Huckabee Takes a Stand Against Dual Citizenship

Huckabee released his immigration platform yesterday, and item number 8 is quite problematic: "Discourage Dual Citizenship." This position ignores settled law and would clearly adversely affect Israelis who hold dual American citizenship.

8. Discourage Dual Citizenship

• Inform foreign governments when their former citizens become naturalized U.S. citizens.

• Impose civil and/or criminal penalties on American citizens who illegitimately use their dual status (e.g., using a foreign passport, voting in elections in both a foreign country and the U.S.).

By staking out this position, Huckabee rejects the 1967 Supreme Court ruling in Afroyim v. Rusk which explicitly stated that a citizen of the US did not lose their citizenship by voting in an Israeli election. Congress ratified the Supreme Court ruling in 1978.