Hebrews and Shebrews* Mit Mitt

A Shondeh
August 12, 2012

(*With apologies to Seth MacFarlane)

Its been a long-running Amercian Tradition that candidates for high (and not so high) office must pander, as they say or rather "kiss ass" as Mitt's handlers like to say, to Jewish voters

A Fringe of Blue
Oil on canvas by Jacqueline Jolles

who are conveniently located in certain large metropolitan centers from coast to coast and so are able to make their numbers and- now wait for it - influence perhaps more than they would appear to be given the size of the Jewish population in Amercia. Is it 3% or .03% or .003% of the total population ? Jews vote in large percentages in Amercia because for all its shortcomings Amercia has always been the Democratic ideal ( Judge Brandeis would take exception to the word ideal in this instance because "among Jews," he once wrote, "democracy was not an ideal merely. It was a practice-a practice made possible by the existence among them of certain conditions essential to successful democracy,")  to the millions of Jewish immigrants who have found refuge here (I'm waxing nostalgic but.._) and they in turn "have been proud of the privilege of exercising the right belonging to members of a free people and eager to further the common interests of the entire country". (One of those essential conditions Brandeis named was a developed sense of community.) Curious phrase now, "common interests". But at one time in the not too long ago it was a sort of unifying exposition of what it meant to be a responsible Amercian. That's how the Foreign Language Division of the Democratic National Committee

 would express the Democratic principles they were striving for during the Franklin Roosevelt campaigns all through the thirties. In looking to encourage and expand their voting support they had their campaign literature printed in all the languages of (seemingly) all the immigrants in the country (I think the effort was supervised by a Teamster official and he had a lot of great help). Remember this was during the time of the Great Depression and all those New Deal programs that for the last 30 years(at least) the Republicans have been trying to unceremoniously repeal and denigrate.  

(And as if on cue the Republican controlled House Judiciary Committee is holding hearings -today! Aug 2, 2012! - on a Bill to make English the only Official language of Amercia.)

Even in this Imperfect Union of a country back then there was an effort to gain the support of African-Americans, get them to change political parties - a majority at the time were Republican-and to a large extent the Roosevelt campaigns succeeded. I guess their "colored Advisory Division" played a role (although I'm just being a smart-ass now). The inspiring words of this literature and public utterances of their representatives at that time make the current and more recent campaigns of our time shamelessly shallow, certainly not worthy of our more nobly stated values, which is not to say that there was a time in our history when civility and noblesse defined our public discourse but there has been a diminuendo over time of the language of discourse itself- a cheapening if you will-rendering a candidate's words and phrases unintelligible and quite dumb and obviously quite acceptable to the current Amercian voters. Palinesque, in a word. Of course I'm not suggesting that there has been no technological advances in communications these past 75 years or so, which has everything today under a constant media watch 24 hours a day-relentlessly feeding the corporate outlets for the voting consumer. Still, with the luxury of hindsight and google(sometimes) it does make for a melancholy contrast and a plaintive plea for the printed word and support of public education. Nevertheless it was a time of noble sentiments and immigrant aspiration (isn't that what Amercia is? ok, with the exception of Arizona):

B.G. Richards: Speaker and Writer

"Citizens of immigrant origin coming from different lands and voicing their aspirations in many different languages have always sought to join their interests with and share the hopes of the native sons and daughters of Amercia. And a hundred years of Amercian history testifies to the splendid contributions which citizens of alien origin have made to the progress, the material as well as spiritual enrichment of the country." (The quote is from a radio address specifically aimed at the large immigrant population (read: jewish) in New York City on the eve of the 1936 election on WEVD) "We all vote as Amercians. But it is also our privilege and duty to study, to interpret, to seek a better understanding of Amercia's destiny and future and within the bounds of absolute loyalty to give form and meaning to a new sense and higher obligation of our evolving democracy." 

'Within the bounds of absolute loyalty' was always the fulcrum, the framing disposition of whatever attended the Jewish aspiration and hope in Amercia. There should never be any doubt and no one should dare overstep their bounds in this their new home, this democratic paradise, this land of freedom. Whatever they did and however they did it the Jewish Amercian did it as a loyal Amercian. In expounding on "the Jewish Community Sense", Louis Brandeis would quote from Ahad Ha-Am ("One of the People"), a much revered figure among "cultural zionists" who in his time advocated a Palestine that was more a spiritual center than political for Jews and always with an equal accommodationist policy in dealing with the Arab residents of the area. In this conception the individual and the community is  strengthened by the social feeling in the individual," by not isolating himself or herself with an existence bounded by birth and death but being part of a larger whole, as a limb of the social body. The center of gravity,

if you will, shifts from the individual to the community, "and with this the problem of life becomes not of individual but of social life. I live for the sake of the perpetuation and happiness of the community of which I am a member." Brandeis saw this as the very essence of a triumphant twentieth century democracy! And it was written and published for all to read before he was confirmed as the first Jew to be named to the Supreme Court in 1916. For over 40 years ( we're being contemporaneous with the radio address so we're talking since the great East European immigration years) and perhaps since before the common era the menacing charge of dual loyalty was used by the enemies of the Jews first as a Denigration of their religious practices and later as a political wedge to wrest whatever civil and national rights they  once had; always the foreigner in the midst. And although these charges through the years were always rejected and disproved they were forever present. Even during the 1936 Campaign the Enemies of the Jews, the right-wing extremists in Amercia, who would up until and even after Pearl Harbor placate and defend the Nazis -  took to calling FDR a Sephardic Jew ( much like the right-wing-Corporately financed TeaParty-ers and others refer to President Obama as a Muslim or "foreign" or go listen at their closed doors - that's right I made the analogy, calling a racist a racist) All through these pre-War years there was a strong isolationism prevailing in Amercia and a whole lot of ill-feelings toward (usually) Jews who were agitating for a fight with Hitler. "On Capital Hill in Washington," one of these Right-wing pamphlets read, "we have a Congress made up predominantly of Gentiles. Scarcely a day passes that the Hebrew bloc does not find some way to bring a vast "nazi" scare to its attention." The tract continues, "How many conscientious congressmen are aware of this ensuing preponderance of Jews in our present Federal Government - that it amounts to their taking orders from the Kingdom of Israel in our midst instead of from the good Amercians who brought about their election?" There were thousands of these printed up too by any number of right-wing Christian Patriots ( as a matter of fact that was the name of one of their political organizations- the "Christian Party" - even the Koch boys are not that salient.) 

I imagine it were those "common interests" that made over 90% of the eligible Jews vote for Roosevelt in each of his elections. I'm sure if you're like me (and who isn't?) your parents and grandparents were enamoured of FDR and only much later became - if at all- a little disillusioned when more and more information squeezed out about his policy and dealings with assorted efforts to 1.) help save the Jews during the war and 2.) his less than tepid stance as to the promise of a Jewish state later. But there was nothing but a huge majority support for his domestic programs and overall leadership during a most trying time. The radio continues:

"Without forfeiting the rights of any class, without restricting the opportunity of any of the more fortunate elements, without diminishing any of the extravagant luxuries, in which the more wealthy continue to revel, the Roosevelt Administration has brought benefit, welfare, health and, above all, hope and encouragement to millions of our people."

Wha the f__!! I couldn't help but boldface that given the state of our own disfunctional governance today (another easy mark -like Podhoretz). Even with some of the worst people elected to Congress in those years and I mean downright mean and racist ( now remember kids this is Amercia in the years oh say between 1936 and just before Amercia goes to war in 1941) like a John Rankin, Democrat from Mississippi,    

Rep. John E. Rankin, Mississippi

Someone  called him an equal opportunity bigot

who was an Outspoken Anti-Semite AND Racist bigot of the first degree - and yet, voted for most of the New Deal legislation . This guy later even accused Albert Einstein of being a Communist Agitator! In 1944 there was an enormous Explosion at a California port where the navy was loading Munitions, A horrific fireball killed over 320 Sailors. (google Port Chicago, near San Francisco) When the Navy asked Congress for $5000 for the victims families Rankin convulsed when he learned that most of the sailors were Black- he had them lower the amount (to about half). Can you imagine? On June 5, 1941 a few weeks after the Jewish citizens of Paris started to be hunted down and "rounded up" and just over two weeks before the Nazis invaded Russia , there was a particularly rancorous exchange on the floor of the House of Representatives between a congressman from New York named Morris Edelstein and the aforementioned John Rankin. It seems Rankin had loudly proclaimed ( there was no mincing back them -you said what you said and you said what you thought-what you always thought and if you were a cracker from Mississippi well..no one had to guess what you really thought) from the floor that "Wall street bankers and International Jewry were dragging the country into war." Rep. Edelstein was himself an immigrant from Poland and at age 55 or so had been suffering from an ailing heart.

Rep. Morris Edelstein, New York

He replied heatedly to Rankin, " I deplore the idea that any time anything happens, whether it be for a war policy or against a war policy, men in this House and outside this House attempt to use the Jews as a scapegoat. I say it is unfair and I say it is Un-Amercian." He then left the House chamber and collapsed in the cloakroom and died. Rankin refused to release the text of his remarks to the press until after he was able to revise them. It was reported, by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, that he did not give any outward evidence of being "perturbed" by Edelstein's death. Politics is life and death. http://archive.org/stream/congressionalrec87bunit#page/n604/mode/1up

The radio  address continues:

"If all conditions effecting our lives and all ideals animating our strivings are to be interpreted anew in every generation in the light of the changes brought by time and tide, then the aims and purposes of Amercia may also be re-examined and reviewed in the light of new needs and new demands imposed upon us by an advancing era."

Rankin and Edelstein were members of the same political party. It certainly was a different dynamic in the long ago and I don't think it stresses the imagination to project Rankin on the Republicans today and I'm so mean-spirited as to imagine that if that good ol' boy ran today in his home state he'd probably be elected - again.

This time he'd be greeted in the House by that young gun himself, Eric Cantor, the lone Jewish republican in that chamber. Funny thing ( to me, at least) is that Rankin, given his horrific existence - I mean this cracker would continuously and unabashedly use the n-word on the floor of the House without any censure ( I guess he wasn't the only one) or fear of impeachment; he was on record for saying he would refuse to sit next to Rep. Adam Clayton Powell; once called columnist Walter Winchell, not exactly a flaming liberal himself, "the little kike"; hated the UN; was a ranking member of the odious HUAC and so never investigated the kkk because he considered it an old Amercian tradition and yet, was a strong supporter of Roosevelt's New deal programs, an advocate for government economic intervention, especially for poor rural communities (for poor Blacks, too?), and was a chief sponsor of the GI BILL. As far as I know,  Eric Cantor has never uttered the n-word on the floor of the House; has never said that he would refuse to sit next to Barbara Lee or Nancy Pelosi for that matter; has never called a columnist a little kike; and yet, as Majority leader in The House (the first Jew so honored? Hey, Rankin, suck on that) at a time of such economic

the Majority Leader-a
bar-mitzvah portrait

distress and military conflicts unresolved over seas he has helped preside over a legislative process that has done next to nothing to help the "common interests" of most of the people in this country and has tried everything to unhinge, if you will, and undo everything that this country has instituted to help the more needful and unfortunate amongst us, which basically includes about 90% of everybody else. He has been the leader in obstructing and blocking and stalling everything the Obama Administration has attempted to do to try to alleviate the economic distress that has faced this nation for the past 4 (& longer) years and then has the chutzpah to blame the failure on Obama alone; a southern boy himself he has thought nothing of misinforming and covering up his own reasons for not being more of a mentsch when it comes to governance and the role of government - like the rest of his party he doesn't believe in doing anything for the people of this country at all; he is of a mind to rather short his own portfolio's  U.S. treasury bonds during the market's downturn; he tried to give a $46 BILLION gift to the much heralded 1% when he proposed a bill that would have granted businesses with fewer than 500 employees a 20% tax break ( businesses such as hedge funds and pro sports teams like the NYYankees); he travels with his good buddies on the various Energy and commerce committees to the "besieged" coal and oil industries and rails about regulations and safety laws intended for the workers of these companies; Eric Cantor is one of the wealthiest members of Congress - his worth is estimated at anywhere between 5 and 9 Million, not bad for a guy whose salary , according to congressional guidelines is $193,400 per ( his wife is a former Goldman, Sachs V.P. so they're very comfortable). According to Ron Kampeas in a JTA article Cantor has never attended any formal White House Jewish function while Obama has been President and then lies about it and says he has been to these affairs ( and yes he has been invited -to those Chanukah parties and various Jewish Heritage month events). Is he afraid he would have to sit next to...nah. He did not attend the big dinner for Shimon Peres ( THE President of ISRAEL !) because he says he had to attend his son's High school graduation. The graduation as has been pointed out was a morning affair -in Richmond, Cantor's home, a 90 minute car ride to his office in D.C..

Mitt Romney is honored to have the support of many of the Jewish Community's Leading thinkers, diplomats, and political leaders and so he has started his Jews for Romney Coalition co-chaired

Jews for Romney

by none other than our boy, Eric Cantor. Like most Jews I know Eric must be taken by the Mitt's generous humanitarian quality, his honest hopes for the betterment of the Amercian people, his excellent record on healthcare, his pronouncements on the world stage, his command of public speaking as he had shown on a recent trip to Israel:

"One, I recognize the hand of providence in selecting this place. I’m told in a Sunday school class I attended — my son Tagg was teaching the class. He’s not here. I look around to see. Of course he’s not here. He was in London. He taught a class in which he was describing the concern on the part of some of the Jews that left Egypt to come to the promised land, that in the promised land was down the River Nile, which would provide the essential water they had enjoyed in Egypt. They came here recognizing they must be relied upon, themselves and the arm of God to provide rain from the sky. And this therefore represented a sign of faith and a show of faith to come here. That this is a people that has long recognized the purpose in this place and in their lives that is greater than themselves and their own particular interests, but a purpose of accomplishing and caring and building and serving." 

Does he listen to himself?

It is beyond me, really, to fully understand why a fellow Jew, younger than I, with an education to die for,  someone obviously ambitious, comfortable, in a position of some power to effect the lives of millions of his fellow citizens - for the good, finds the crass and insulting candidacy of Mitt Romney the better choice for Amercia. I should rather say how is it that he finds a home in today's Republican party. Is it a matter of nem de gelt or is it a matter of being of a same mind with such craven hypocrites and racists? The Jewish vote is certainly not worth all of anyone's time, really, its in the deep pockets and activism of some of its community; according to a recent AP article 60% (!) of the Democratic Party coffers come from Jewish contributors. Does Sheldon Adelson contribute such huge sums to the Republicans because he can't stand the thought of poor people receiving healthcare or medicaid or the fact that there's a Schvatze in the White House - OR - is he afraid that the Democratic Dept of Justice will finish their investigation and indict him for bribing foreign officials so he could save his gambling business? Even Roy Cohn was a Democrat. Brandeis was still wary that " a single though inconspicuous instance of dishonorable conduct on the part of a Jew in any trade or profession has far-reaching evil effects extending to the many innocent members of the community ( actually he used the word race - remember it was 1915). Large as this country is,no Jew can behave badly without injuring each of us in the end."  The old what- will- the- goyim- think still applies but obviously not as much. Adelson is only an embarrassment to Jews and only to Democratic-voting ones at that. He doesn't care a fig about Amercia's economic plight or the fact that the party he gives hundreds of millions(!) to wants to take away healthcare from the poor and aging. He's got his and wants to keep it. The radio address echoes:

"While the Republican party continues to seek the greatest good of the smallest number, the Democratic party and all forward looking citizens have under the leadership of President Roosevelt, reached out and striven for the benefit, welfare and social advancement of the great bulk, of the largest numbers of the people..The mute, inarticulate masses, the underprivileged, the forgotten, the neglected, the groping discouraged men and women, who lives have become dislocated by rapidly changing and upsetting new age - all these have at last found their voice in the great eloquence and humanitarian fervor of ...

For the great cause of humanity, of freedom, of democracy and of a larger Amercian destiny is essentially one, and when President Roosevelt speaks for Amercian welfare and wider opportunities for the average man he also affirms our faith in humanity and human freedom throughout the world."

Please, don't tell me what happens next.....

Mitt Romney launches new Jewish American coalition - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper.

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from Aug. 7, 2012 

ROMNEY JUST DOESN'T GET IT

WASHINGTON (JTA) — America is not a kibbutz, Mitt Romney said, in a bid to underscore his commitment to individual liberties.

“It’s individuals and their entrepreneurship which have driven America,” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said at a Chicago fundraiser Tuesday, in remarks first reported by BuzzFeed. “What America is not (is) a collective where we all work in a kibbutz or we’re all in some little entity, instead it’s individuals pursuing their dreams and building successful enterprises which employ others and they become inspired as they see what has happened in the place they work and go off and start their own enterprises.”

Romney just returned from a visit to Israel last week where he praised the country’s culture as a critical element in boosting its economy.

Kibbutzim, although internally adhering to varying degrees of collective principles, long ago adjusted to interacting with Israel’s free-market economy.

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http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/08/a-return-of-the-days-of-f-the-jews/

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More than two-times the number of rabbis join grassroots election effort targeting Jewish voters than did in 2008.

via 600 rabbis throw their ... JPost - 2012: The US Presidential race.

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ECONOMY

House Republican Leader Unable To Say What GOP Is ‘Willing To Give’ To Avoid Fiscal Cliff

By Annie-Rose Strasser posted from ThinkProgress Economy on Sep 11, 2012 at 5:23 pm

Republicans fault President Obama’s supposed “lack of leadership” for the coming fiscal cliff, but during an interview on CNBC Tuesday afternoon, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) could not say where the GOP was willing to compromise to avoid half a trillion dollars of military cuts or the wave of expiring tax breaks.

Pressed by host Maria Bartiromo, Cantor was unable to detail even one possible area where Republicans were willing to negotiate with Democrats:

BARTIROMO: So what are you willing to give on, Congressman? When you look at what the two sides are basically sticking to their guns, can it really be realistic to say taxes can never go up, that, you know, taxes should stay where they are forever in any environment? What are you willing to give on?

CANTOR: First of all, raising taxes is not the answer. We all know that. This problem is too large to think we can tax our way out of it. What we really need to be focused on is how big do we want the government to be, and begin to assess our priorities so we can manage down the deficit. That’s clearly how it is. Once we get a plan in place where, in fact, we’ve got a solution to the overspending, you know, we can begin to tell people their tax revenues will go to be paying off the deficit. But the problem is, Maria, there’s been an unwillingness to face up to the hard facts that there are obligations that have been assumed by the taxpayers, frankly, and there’s not enough money to satisfy those obligations. That’s what we have to sit down, iron out the differences, and go forward.

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http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/09/14/house-majority-leader-eric-cantors-shocking-tweet-he-tells-the-truth/