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miJEWtiae
By WJW Staff , Rockville, Md
akredo@washingtonjewishweek.com
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
UPDATE: NJDC asks candidates to sign anti-Shoah rhetoric pledge
Adam Kredo
UPDATE: NJDC President David Harris called yesterday evening to pick apart my argument about the group's anti-Holocaust rhetoric pledge.
I criticized NJDC for alluding to only one group of Holocaust-invokers - the Tea Party protesters - in their push to urge candidates on both sides of the isle to lend their signatures to a pledge denouncing such behavior. Basically, as I wrote below, it seemed like a partisan ploy - why would Republicans sign a pledge denouncing a section of their base?
That's exactly the problem, Harris says: Republican candidates are scared about alienating the Tea Party folks.
"Jewish Republicans and House and Senate Republican leaders alike have a miserable record when it comes to confronting the cavalcade of abusive Holocaust rhetoric stemming from Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and some from the Tea Party movement," Harris later wrote to me in an e-mail. "The vast, vast majority of [the rhetoric] comes from the far-right side of the spectrum."
Moreover, noted Harris, while the pledge itself only made mention of Tea Partiers, candidates also were sent a page-long letter that rehashed a much broader - and fairer - array of Holocaust flaps.
"The full pledge letter that we send to every candidate also discusses examples in public discourse that are completely non-partisan, and the letter specifically notes that 'this is not a partisan issue' and that 'Republican and Democratic candidates alike must disavow such rhetoric,' " Harris wrote.
ORIGINAL POST: Dismayed by politicians’ frequent use of “Holocaust rhetoric,” the National Jewish Democratic Council has launched a “pledge campaign” to demand that candidates for federal office refrain from employing “abusive Holocaust rhetoric and anti-Semitic language.”
The NJDC is asking that candidates pledge in writing not to employ Holocaust rhetoric in the course of their politicking.
Beginning by reaching out to both Republican and Democratic candidates running in the Senate race in Illinois, NJDC president David Harris admitted that the group is already finding it difficult to entice Republican signers. Thus far, Harris said in an interview, three Democratic candidates have signed the pledge, but not any Republicans.
“I thought this would be a slam dunk,” Harris said, attributing the Republican dearth to their desire to attract highly conservative members of the Tea Party movement. “I could think of no other reason.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition, however, dismissed the NJDC’s campaign as a partisan ploy.
“NJDC’s ‘campaign’ doesn’t pass the laugh test,” Matt Brooks, RJC’s executive director, said in a statement, pointing out that the Democratic group failed to ask RJC to participate in the effort. “After all, the RJC is on record denouncing the misuse of Holocaust language and imagery on either side of the political aisle.”
Asked why the NJDC neglected to involve its Republican counterparts, Harris responded, “Honestly, it’s not something we thought of.” However, he added, “I welcome them to this fight.”
The first flaw in the NJDC's campaign is the decision to go at it alone. Though Harris dismissed my theory that Republican candidates are naturally wary of opposing political groups, I still think it poses a challenge (Harris claimed most wouldn't even pay attention to the "D" in "NJDC."). Having the RJC on hand, however, would make their bi-partisan case stronger.
Secondly, as Brooks correctly points out in his statement, the NJDC pledge only mentions Republican Holocaust-invokers: "I condemn the disgusting signs and rhetoric displayed at the November 5, 2009 House of Representatives' G.O.P. "Tea Party" rally in Washington and other "Tea Party" rallies around the country," the pledge states.
While it's true that Tea Party-goers have invoked the Holocaust to bash liberals at an alarming rate, it's unfair to target only one group.
By referring specifically - and only - to a group of right-wing fanatics, the NJDC politicized its campaign. They likely were counting on Republicans to shun their pledge. That way, the group scores political points by touting the fact that only Democrats echoed their call.
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