Max Rose, D-NY-11, who was one of the first Democrats to criticize Rep. Ilyan Omar for a careless tweet yesterday, makes a great statement to the press:
NEW: @MaxRose4NY says it’s time to move on from Rep. Omar’s latest comment on Israel & money. (He was one of the first to call her out)
He also said GOP can’t be “chickenshit” when it comes to anti-Semitism either pic.twitter.com/7UII4toPGK
— Bo Erickson (@BoKnowsNews) February 11, 2019
Rose’s Twitter feed is worth a look – it’s a good example of how to aggressively focus on mostly local issues to keep your seat that you’ve just taken from a Republican in a district that voted for Trump in 2016.
Looks like we need an open thread.
jeffreyw
When you’re hoping for a nice romantic dinner and a bunch of assholes show up.
Salty Sam
I am really encouraged to see this new Dem pushback on the media. Harris’ comments about not wasting her time on people who don’t understand her blackness (that’s a paraphrase, she said it much more eloquently), AOC’s running the game on social media, Omar’s apology “but still standing strong”, and now this. I used to cringe when old-school Dems would get in front of the microphones and grovel- NO MORE!
Sounds like the calls for “more and better Dems” has been heeded…
Betty Cracker
@jeffreyw: Hahaha! That’s so perfect!
Nicole
“Agents of the Republican Party.” I love it. Good for him calling the press out on not camping out after the GOP’s many blatantly anti-Semitic comments.
And of course, right after he finishes saying that, one of them chimes in with, “Have you spoken with the Congresswoman?” AUUUGGGHHHHHH.
Kraux Pas
News to them…
Dorothy A. Winsor
I like this guy.
OzarkHillbilly
@jeffreyw: How did I know that’s what the picture would be? Oh yeah, I have bird feeders too! The other day I counted 13 male cardinals and 11 females, I think the other 2 were hiding in one of our evergreens.
MattF
Media just isn’t interested in R hypocrisy, R lies. Old news, dog bites man.
zhena gogolia
@Nicole:
I KNOW! That’s what burned me! Talk about bots.
Kraux Pas
@MattF:
It’s even worse than you claim.
Immanentize
Good election news, maybe already covered?:
Ex-Astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of gun-victim Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, is running in 2020 against Republican Senator Martha McSally (who lost to Kyrsten Sinema last November but was appointed to an open seat by Governor Doug Ducey), to complete John McCain’s Senate term which will end in 2022.
I’m kinda proud of that sentence.
Chat Noir
@jeffreyw: Great picture and descriptor!
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@jeffreyw: Perfect caption for a wonderful picture. Thanks.
germy
Video:
https://boingboing.net/2019/02/12/trump-supporter-attacks-bbc-ca.html
Betty Cracker
@germy: I want to know if that MAGA thug has been arrested. None of the reports on the incident I’ve seen have said whether he was or not.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Immanentize: That is great news. I expect he’ll be a formidable opponent.
germy
@Betty Cracker: Good question. I’m guessing he was escorted out, like a catch and release salmon.
Immanentize
@Betty Cracker: in the video at Huffpo, he certainly was restrained/in custody.
Immanentize
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: probably the best the Democrats could have recruited.
germy
germy
lee
I didn’t really look into what Rep. Ilyan Omar said/tweeted/whatever. Was it really anti-semitic or was it just critical of Israel or its agents? I seem to think it was actually about AIPAC.
Gin & Tonic
@lee: You know that any criticism of Likud or AIPAC is by definition anti-Semitic, right?
rp
@lee: No — it was just a little tone deaf.
Kraux Pas
@lee: In fairness, the text of the tweet has been missing from all the reporting I’ve seen.
@News Media
lee
@Kraux Pas: The one I saw she replied to a tweet with ‘It’s all about the Benjamins’. I think the original tweet referenced AIPAC or something. I realized at that point I didn’t care at all and stopped reading.
OzarkHillbilly
@Betty Cracker: I was wondering that myself.
Immanentize
@lee: I understand how any relating of Jews and money is, because of history, potentially viewed as anti-Jewish.
But am I the only one that found “all about the Benjamin(s)” to be kinda clever if one consider’s Netanyahu’s overt anti-Obama Pro-Republican actions?
OzarkHillbilly
@Kraux Pas: @lee: In her apology she talks about the “problem of lobbyists in our politics”, and refers directly to AIPAC, the NRA and the “fossil fuels industry.”
The Moar You Know
@Betty Cracker: He was not.
lee
@Immanentize: Yeah I got the impression it was tone deaf. She was actually referring to lobbyists…so it really is all about the money.
meh….whatever. AIPAC probably did more PR harm to itself crying ‘anti-Semitism’ than harm it did to her.
rp
I think it’s appropriate (and accurate) to talk about AIPAC’s outsized influence on US politics. It’s a problem when people start saying that AIPAC “controls” Congress or the government or whatever.
Israel is also an interesting example of the horseshoe theory at work. You see similar language on the far left and far right about Israel’s influence along with other stuff about globalization, the elites, etc.
Mike in DC
Pushing the idea that Jewish people “own” the media, banks or politicians IS anti-Semitic. That being said, it is indisputable that AIPAC is a highly organized, highly funded lobbying organization that has a significant influence on American foreign policy, particularly regarding our policy in the Middle East/Near Asia region.
germy
The inability to criticize AIPAC or Likud without being accused of anti-semitism reminds me of how we couldn’t criticize George W or his war in 2004 without accusations of being anti-American.
Betty Cracker
@The Moar You Know: I guess assault is okay if the assailant is whipped into a frenzy by the POTUS then. Duly noted.
tobie
This likely won’t get much coverage but it’s so perverse that it’s worth mentioning. Wealthy trophy hunters for an endangered Himalayan goat in Pakistan are now claiming they contribute to conservation efforts since the $110,000 fee they pay for the right to hunt this goat means the locals no longer need to help poachers to support themselves. The notoriously corrupt Pakistani government is fine with this.
Here’s the quote from the Post article:
Frankensteinbeck
@Kraux Pas:
Pointing it out opens up reporters and pundits to recognizing that they, themselves, are ignorant bigots.
@germy:
Too many Jews believe that the conflict between Jews and Muslims is existential, and if you criticize Israel’s right to take any action against Muslims, no matter how extreme, you are siding with genocide against Jews. Throw in the vastly greater number of evangelicals who believe the only purpose of Jews is to war against Muslims, and it’s a big cultural problem.
germy
Looks like I’ll be skipping Find Your Roots tonight:
Yarrow
@Betty Cracker: From the BBC article about the attack:
A blogger! Okay, which one of you frontpagers were at the rally?
dr. bloor
@germy: All three descended from a mutation in the bilge water on the Mayflower.
Yarrow
@germy: Ooh! A treason trifecta.
zhena gogolia
@germy:
I saw that, blech! It’s like Skip Gates was told he’d better do a wingnut edition.
zhena gogolia
@Yarrow:
Midnight Lurker was there. But outside.
ETA: Sorry, didn’t see “frontpager.”
geg6
@germy:
I know! I am pissed at Henry Louis Gates! Throw us at least one bone, mmkay? I mean, that’s a lot of crap there in one episode.
Joey Maloney
@Frankensteinbeck:
Too many Israelis, maybe. American Jews continue to prefer the Democratic party by roughly 70-30.
Yarrow
@zhena gogolia: @geg6: On the plus side all the traitors are in one episode, which makes it easy to skip.
The Moar You Know
@Betty Cracker: Yep.
WH statement was assailant was “drunk” – the worst sin in Trump’s eyes.
Yarrow
From a NY Post article about the incident:
You can hear the boos and the “Let him go” chants on the video.
Immanentize
@Joey Maloney:
Maybe 73-27?
Frankensteinbeck
@Joey Maloney:
Too many American Jews. 30% is a lot, and it’s all of them and a few Democratic Jews who merely think Democrats can be swayed while Republicans are horrible. I was raised a Jew. I assure you I am intimately familiar with the mindset and how widespread it is, not to mention the complicated middle grounds like ‘I wish there was any way around it, but I don’t see a peaceful resolution.’
jeffreyw
@OzarkHillbilly: I haven’t noticed a mass of cardinals yet but I expect to.
JPL
@zhena gogolia: He agreed and put them all together. Why torture us over weeks on end.
trollhattan
@germy:
I’m eager to hear at least a few of our several dozen Dem candidates openly take issue with Crooked Bibi and his Likud, which have had a stranglehold on Israeli politics for decades now and are dead-set against lasting peace and any kind of two-state solution. Drag it in the open and force a discussion.
Lee
@Mike in DC: Is pushing the idea that lobbyists control congress anti-Semitic?
or is it only anti-Semitic when the lobbyists happen to be Jewish?
germy
@dr. bloor: @Yarrow: @zhena gogolia: @geg6:
Maybe there’s something good on “Me-TV” or “Comet” tonight.
Actually I probably won’t even be watching TV tonight. I’ll be outside shoveling a foot of snow.
germy
@trollhattan: Kamala Harris has given speeches at AIPAC several times.
Timurid
@germy:
That sounds like a good night for the meteor to find its roots…
germy
japa21
@tobie: That is a very common argument used by trophy hunters.
chopper
@Joey Maloney:
dunno. there are lots of dem voting jews in the US who are pretty hardcore when it comes to israel.
germy
J R in WV
@jeffreyw:
COLD looking Jays, if ya ask me!
germy
tobie
@japa21: I didn’t know that. The argument is just so perverse: I kill exotic animals to preserve them. Gag me, as Moon Unit Zappa used to say.
rp
@Lee: It’s potentially anti-semitic if you argue that AIPAC alone controls Congress. It’s not if you argue that lobbyists like AIPAC, the NRA, the oil industry, Saudia Arabia, et al control Congress.
Served
I thought that Omar’s reference to the lyrics were also a play on words referencing Netanyahu specifically.
J R in WV
@tobie:
My younger brother enjoys shooting rare and exotic big game in captive game ranches in the Texas Hill Country.
He liked it so much when he retired from Compaq in Houston, he moved to the Hill country, bought a small ranch, and then bought exotic game animals to breed up his own herd, to shoot, while captive on his small ranch.
Life Member of the NRA, Bush ’04 bumper sticker, no doubt a big Trumper. I don’t see him much any more, he raised his two sons in the BSA cult!
The one is now an ensign in the USN and the other (on the spectrum) is attempting to become a TX Law Enforcement Officer. This is difficult, as he has difficulty looking into someone’s eyes, even his uncle, for ex.
germy
I don’t know anything about politics in Israel. Is there a strong opposition party to the current administration?
I know there’s a big number of political parties there. Are there any serious challengers to Netanyahu?
Brachiator
@jeffreyw:
Reminds me of a real life version of the Angry Birds video game.
Cool photo.
NYCMT
I canvassed for Max Rose in Bay Ridge on Election Day last fall. Glad he called out the Republicans for being chickenshit demagogues – especially as I woke up this morning to find out that a Catskills yeshiva not even four miles from my childhood bedroom was festooned with swastikas and torched at the end of January.
tobie
@J R in WV: Whatever happened to innocent hobbies like woodworking, playing an instrument, sketching or sports??? I feel bad for your nephew. It sounds like his father’s/your brother’s ideology has pushed him to look for a job in law enforcement, when he’s psychologically unsuited for it. The last thing he needs is a high stress job dealing with people in difficult situations.
NotMax
Repeating for the daytime jackals.
Both Google and Apple ought to be deeply mortified, have their digital feet held to the fire and rectify this NOW.
ruemara
@Immanentize: Ker-rist. It’s a line from a song, not about Netanyahu! Considering how many people keep referring to that line as the sign of anti-semitism, how much of this is due to the lack of familiarity with 90’s rap lyrics?
ruemara
@NotMax: They don’t care as long as they get paid. It has to hurt their bottom line for them to grow ethics. Sick of tech bros.
NotMax
@ruemara
You say that as if it’s a bad thing.
:)
Mick
@rp:
Yeah, it’s not like the prime minister of Israel denigrated and belittled a sitting US president in front of Congress at the invitation of the House Majority. Nope, no “control” whatsoever.
rp
@Mick: This doesn’t make any sense. As you note, he was invited by the House Majority in an attempt to embarrass Obama. That’s the GOP using Israel and Netanyahu (with Netanyahu’s consent of course), not the other way around.
Aleta
The NYT political editor P Healey is proud of its article today on sexist media treatment of candidates. Several tweets, incl one tiny admission of his own past sexist usage in 2007-8. *
But anyway, here’s the conclusion of his tweet series (which is meant to advertise their new story). And just a couple of good replies out of many.
* In the context of his conclusion abt 2016 NYT Clinton coverage, that one sincere admission sorta feels like what one does to seem trustworthy about the whole of one’s point:
“in 2007-08, I wrote a story describing her laugh as a “cackle.” I was reaching for a description; it’s one I regret as sexist. I learned from the experience and I’m mindful about it now, when making coverage decisions.”
Fair Economist
@Immanentize: I thought about that pun too.
I disagree with the attacks on Omar. Just because Jews have been stereotyped for being greedy, etc. shouldn’t mean a Jewish organization can get away with financial corruption. AIPAC uses campaign contributions to manipulate Congress into supporting bad policies, and that’s a problem, just like with dozens of other organizations.
WaterGirl
@Fair Economist: I wonder if most of the people in the media even know the meaning of the words “discernment” and “nuance”.
schrodingers_cat
@Aleta: The lesson they learned was that they can tank a D nominee with a made up controversy. They are going to try it again.
Aleta
@schrodingers_cat: They’re already doing it. The tweets put out by Healy are an ad that tells us “We know you care, and we’re aware. So don’t worry baby. Everything will be alright.”
“Read us.”
I’ve noticed many signs elsewhere.
Aleta
Sorry …
I had to hear this. (I never appreciated them as a tot but now I do.) If anyone else would like to hear: Don’t worry baby.
Brachiator
@Aleta:
What a load of horse shit.
NotMax
@Brachiator
Amen. Worth pointing out that Ford was proud of the Edsel.
StringOnAStick
The whole controversy looks ginned up to me and my husband (who is Jewish). The problem is AIPAC has a ton of cash to throw around and is so reliably right wing, but too many Jews (thankfully NOT my husband) have an instant reaction that any criticism of any Jewish-associated group as anti-Semitism. AIPAC is all about keeping Bibi and his reactionary party in power long enough to make sure there is no land left with which to trade for peace with the Palestinians, period; he’s even strongly implied as much with his “I love negotiation, we can do it years, decades even” statements.
ETA: I even removed a large part of my statement because I know the screaming arbiters of who is an anti-Semite or not will check their google alerts and head over here for some thread busting.
The Moar You Know
@Aleta: Oddly enough, so do I. They never once treated Secretary Clinton as a legitimate candidate for office AT ALL, so of course there was no double standard.