July 11, 2004
SHTETL MENTALITY:
What's Right, What's Smart (The Forward, July 9, 2004)
The hot topic of discussion among Jewish political mavens right now is the Democratic primary contest in the Fourth Congressional District in Georgia, where former Rep. Cynthia McKinney is seeking to recapture the congressional seat she lost two years ago. McKinney, a five-term House veteran, had developed a national reputation as a defender of Palestinian rights and a critic of the administration's war on terrorism. Her record helped unleash a flood of support for her opponent, Denise Majette, who emerged victorious in a primary that was widely seen as driven by Jewish campaign money. Now Majette wants to move on up to the Senate, and McKinney has reemerged as the lead candidate for her old seat. Unless a surprise emerges, only a repeat of the nationwide stop-McKinney mobilization in 2002 will keep her out.That would be a mistake. A national anti-McKinney mobilization, particularly one seen as mounted by Jews to defend Israel, would cause a backlash of serious proportions. The last time she was defeated, the mobilization of Jewish political and financial clout to block an outspoken black politician gave rise to a wave of trash-talk from the left about Jews manipulating the political system for Israel's benefit. It would only be worse the next time.
The complaint, it must be noted, was largely unfair. [...]
Even if the prospect of McKinney's re-election does represent a significant threat to Jewish or Israeli political interests — and we doubt it does — the benefit of fighting it would not justify the long-term damage.
This kind of thinking greased the rails to the death camps. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 11, 2004 5:48 PM
This is the kind of thinking that has caused me to ask of some of my Jewish co-workers, "Does the jewish culture have some sort of suicide wish?"
Seems to me that they vote for and cozy up to the very political groups that will march them to the gas chambers.
I don't think that this is Jewish so much as leftist. Jews on the left are, I suspect, insecure about their place in the movement and don't want to rock the boat.
Posted by: David Cohen at July 11, 2004 8:02 PMCynthia McKinney is just an echo for her father, who was booted out of the GA House for the same nonsense ("It's the JEWS"). But very few black politicians will criticize her (or Daddy) because they are seen as taking on the establishment. Too bad - someone like John Lewis could ruin McKinney. She is a huckster like Michael Moore.
Posted by: jim hamlen at July 11, 2004 9:32 PMIt seems to me that Indians from the subcontinent worked at least as hard to see to it that this creature not be elected to anything more responsible than a Cornell professorship. Perhaps the Jews can outsource the job to the Indians again.
Posted by: Melissa at July 11, 2004 11:27 PMThat's exactly correct, Melissa. McKinney, during the last election campaign, made the mistake of supporting Moslem terror in Kashmir.
Which didn't go down all that well with the (East) Indian-American community. They mobilized against her candidacy and poured a lot of money into her opponent's campaign.
I doubt McKinney will make this mistake again. Besides, the India-Pakistan border seems to have quieted down significantly (at least in the mainstream media).
No, it's far more glamorous and edifying to attack Israel and its Jewish supporters.
To say it'll be ugly won't even begin to describe it; but it's hard to keep a woman with "principles" down.
Posted by: Barry Meislin at July 12, 2004 2:11 AM