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February 13, 2012
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Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Jan. 8, 2004
/ 14 Teves, 5764
‘Move On’ Over the Edge
By
Jonathan Tobin
Furor over anti-Bush Web site shows the depths to which politics can sink
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
In the 1948 movie adapted from Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse's Pulitzer
Prize-winning play "State of the Union," a political consultant played by
Adolfe Menjou set a character played by Katherine Hepburn straight about American
politics.
When asked what was the difference was between the Democrats and his own
Republicans, Menjou succinctly summed up the situation: "They're in, and we're
out."
A lot about American politics has changed since then, but that little bit of
wisdom remains intact.
 | | S |
There's no better indication of this than the furor over MoveOn.org, a highly
publicized Web site/activist group dedicated to opposing the war in Iraq and
vilifying the current occupant of the White House.
No scandal that can be remotely tied to George W. Bush and no bit of news
that can be construed as proof that the war on terror is being lost — or
shouldn't be fought at all — are omitted from the site.
But the name of the site reminds us that one's attitude toward the need to
keep the fires of rabid partisan debate well-stoked depends on who's in office.
MoveOn was, after all, founded in 1998. Its purpose was to encourage Americans
to avoid thinking too much about the scandals associated with Bush's
predecessor. MoveOn was eager for us to forget about Bill Clinton's flaws and to
"move on" to other topics.
But if they are hypocrites, so, too, are Republicans, who talk about the bad
taste of the anti-Bush crowd, but were willing to believe anything about
Clinton, no matter how outlandish.
IT ISN'T BEANBAG
One thing Clinton and Bush have in common is an ability to drive their
opponents out of their minds. As many liberals have admitted, hate is not too strong
a word to describe their antipathy to Bush — and it shows. The same was true
for the way conservatives felt about Clinton.
Democracy isn't beanbag. Lambasting incumbents is what people in free
countries are entitled to do. Tough criticisms, hard questions and heavy doses of
satire and sarcasm are entirely appropriate in politics.
But as was the case during the height of the right's Clintonmania, the
willingness of some partisans to make unbelievably outrageous accusations about Bush
is troubling.
The latest instance involves the posting on the MoveOn site of ads that
compared the president to Adolph Hitler.
The two offensive pieces were entries in a contest the group was holding to
determine which Bush-bashing diatribe was the best. After they came in for
heavy criticism from such groups as the Anti-Defamation League, the group was at
pains to point out that they hadn't actually endorsed the ads and quickly
pulled them.
In the 1960s, the pop culture of the day dumbed down the term "fascist" from
a term that had a specific meaning rooted in historical fact to one that
could describe just about anything objectionable. Now, for some on the far left,
anyone to the right of say, Joe Lieberman, is considered fair game for
comparisons to the Nazis. Rather than being considered beyond the pale, Hitler
analogies are nowadays considered clever ripostes, especially among those who cannot
control their distaste for Bush.
So don't be deceived by the disclaimers from MoveOn's defenders. In the
group's world, the "Bush is a Nazi" routine isn't aberrant, it is mainstream
thinking. It was not long ago that a major funder of the site, billionaire George
Soros, told The Washington Post that Bush reminded him of the Nazis. And he
is not alone.
Part and parcel of this sort of nonsense is the constant drumbeat in MoveOn
circles about the neoconservative conspiracy to take over the country and the
world. As the term neocon has become synonymous with Jew, it's hard not to get
a sinking feeling of stepping into a morass of prejudice as you navigate the
Net with help from MoveOn links.
Indeed, all one has to do is to go to the group's Middle East resource links
page (www.moveon.org/peace/middleeast.html) to discover just how deep the well
of hate for Jews and Israel is. There, among a few sites associated with the
mainstream Israeli peace movement, you can find links to a host of virulently
anti-Zionist sites where violence against Israelis and calls for the
destruction of Israel are commonplace.
Last summer, the National Jewish Democratic Council asked MoveOn to remove
material posted on the site, calling it "biased, factually inaccurate and [that
it] gives comfort to those who would say progressives are not pro-Israel."
It's still there.
WHO'S COURTING THE NUTS?
To be fair, the far-right has employed this sort of rhetorical overkill that
is now featured on MoveOn itself in the past with accusations of communism.
And there are those on the lunatic right who still think the whole country is
being run by what they call a "Zionist occupation government." But the
difference here is that the people who know what the acronym ZOG means aren't, thank
heaven, being courted by Bush.
Unfortunately, some of those who think Bush had advance knowledge of the
Sept. 11 attacks, or that the war to liberate Iraq is merely a neocon plot for
world hegemony or buy into neo-Marxist fantasies about the oil industry, are
being heard from more and more lately.
MoveOn is increasingly influential. Not only did the Democratic candidates
seek to win the Internet primary that the group ran last summer, but MoveOn
itself has helped raise a great deal of money for candidates in the 2002
Congressional elections.
The cheapening of political discourse did not begin with MoveOn or the
right-wingers who were prepared to believe that Bill Clinton was a Communist mole, a
drug-dealer or a murderer. Dirty politics in this country can be traced back
to the scandalmongers that slung mud at George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Yet as much as it would be comforting to dismiss this sort of nastiness as a
necessary evil in a free country, the rise of the Internet culture makes this
practice a little more frightening. We live in a time where any idiot can post
lies on the Web and have them spread across the world in seconds. Internet
urban legends can fester in the public consciousness and prove impermeable to
those who answer them with truth.
That's why it isn't enough to shrug our shoulders and say "everyone does
it" when we are confronted with the ugliness that partisan extremists can
inflict on our political discourse. No matter how much we may dislike some leaders,
partisanship must have its limits. It is long past the time for responsible
citizens — be they Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal — to put the
crazies in their place.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent.
Let him know what you think by clicking here.
Jonathan Tobin Archives
© 2003, Jonathan S. Tobin
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