Hart Blames US Jews For Pushing US Toward War

The Washington Post ^ | 2/13/03 | Howard Kurtz Media Notes column

[Gothmog]

"These 'Crossfire' co-hosts rarely agree on anything, so Gary Hart seems to have stepped on a land mine with a speech raising questions about war with Iraq:

"Tucker Carlson: 'Hart also alluded to dark forces pushing for war in his words quote, "Americans who find it hard to distinguish their loyalties to their original homelands from their loyalties to America and it's national interest." Who do you suppose he was referring to? I think we know, don't we? I think we know exactly he's referring to. He was talking about Jewish Americans.'

"Paul Begala: 'That last line was loathsome, it was loathsome. And I think it's really wrong for people on both sides of this debate. Senator Hart is against the war, as I am. It's wrong for him to ascribe motives, particular awful dark motives like that to people who support the war.'

"Perhaps Hart should discover that he had a Jewish grandfather or something."

[Gothmog]

Gary Hart, once a leading Dem and a possible (ha ha ha) presidential candidate slurs US Jews just about as bad as Sen. Trent Lott did blacks -- Any Dem outrage?

Maybe the Dems could run a Hart/Sharpton ticket, ha ha ha.

[anniegetyourgun]

More self destruction on the part of lib/dems. Works for me....

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

[HitmanLV]

I'll give him one thing - that Donna Rice was one foxy mamma back in her day!

[Cacophonous]

Well, since many Jews hold dual citizenships, why is not reasonable to ask where their loyalties lie?

[anniegetyourgun]

She's still very pretty. Better yet, she's now a much better person on the inside. Unfortunately, her one-time fling has never repented or accepted responsibility for his stinking actions. He's the same ol' man....

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Hartpence's lost his mind.

[gridlock]

Well, since many Jews hold dual citizenships, why is not reasonable to ask where their loyalties lie?

Jews are right to be very sensitive about such statements, because the old "Dual Loyalty" slur has been used as a pretext for pogroms many, many times over the past couple of Millenia.

[Wiser now]

This really fascinating, since I swear I've heard that Hart himself is Jewish, hence his name change.

[dfwgator]

Sounds like those speeches Hitler gave that blamed the Jews for starting WW II.

[jmaroneps37]

Braying from another evil donkey. How long will it take before other rats join him in the old "Blame the Jews."?

[Gothmog]

Or maybe he's just preparing himself to run on the ticket with Sen. Hillary ["f@@@ing Jew B@@@@rd"] Clinton.

[jsraggmann]

But the fact remains that they DO have "dual citzenship". Why?

[tictoc]

THE SCENE (a.k.a. vpostrel.com)
Comments on current ideas and events

HART'S JEWISH PROBLEM: Did Gary Hart making veiled attacks on Jews? Armed Prophet (via InstaPundit) thinks so:

"We must not let our role in the world be dictated by ideologues with their special biases and agendas ... or by Americans who too often find it hard to distinguish their loyalties to their original homelands from their loyalties to America and its national interests."

Does anybody want to claim that Gary Hart is talking about someone other than Jews? Not Tucker Carlson on CNN last night: "I think we know exactly he's referring to. He was talking about Jewish Americans."

It's the territory of anti-semitic conspiracy theorists to claim that the so-called Jewish lobby is a dangerous force in the US, not ex-senators whose foreign policy insight is sought out by the mainstream media.

A sensible analyst would take that last observation as reason to think twice about interpreting Hart's remarks as indicative of a belief in the World Zionist Conspiracy, or even a Buchanan-style "amen corner." There's a much more obvious explanation that has nothing to do with Jews.

I'm no Tucker Carlson, but I'll step up to claim that in his speech, Hart is indeed "talking about someone other than Jews." The language he uses—"their original homelands"—clearly refers to immigrants with loyalties to the old country. Jews come from countries they were only too glad to leave. And while people do refer to Israel as "the Jewish homeland," that doesn't mean Israel is "their original homeland" in this sense.

Nope. Hart is talking about immigrants. I'm not sure which ones: Mexicans? Arabs? Chinese? There are plenty of groups that might take offense. But absent further evidence, assuming he's talking about Jews doesn't survive Occam's Razor.

Indeed, Armed Prophet and Tucker Carlson are the ones doing the disturbing word association. You say "dual loyalty," and they think, "Jews." Why? [Posted 2/12.]

[dennisw]

Well, since many Jews hold dual citizenships, why is not reasonable to ask where their loyalties lie?

 OK Einstein. There are 6 million Jews in the USA. How nany hold dual citizenship and with which nations? CONCLUSION: You are talking out your a$s.

[Right Wing Professor]

But the fact remains that they DO have "dual citzenship". Why?

They can have dual citizenship. But then, so can almost anyone.

[mabelkitty]

You can ask the same thing about blacks and hispanics. However, it seems okay to question the loyalties of jews but not the loyalties of other hyphenated americans.

[princess leah]

It is beyond me how all these a@#$es keep finding others to blame than looking through the glass and seeing the real culprit: THE ENEMY is those who killed our 3,000 people and WANT US ALL DEAD! How is this so hard to understand! Bush has gone to Afghanistan to avenge their deaths, now he's finding the enemy has spread and wants weapons to kill more of us through IRAQ, Saddam certainly wants us dead, so how is this OUR FAULT? Are we scared of a bunch of ragheads? COME ON PEOPLE, AMERICANS are NOT WIMPS, NOT REAL AMERICANS! You are either WITH or AGAINST US! LET'S ROLL!

[Nonstatist]

Well, since many Jews hold dual citizenships, why is not reasonable to ask where their loyalties lie?

Which Jews? How many? Should we just ask all of them? Why don't we round them all up or make them wear yellow stars? BTW, dic*head, where you been all our lives?

[MLedeen]

The courts decided that Americans could have dual citizenship,
it doesn't have anything specific to do with American Jews (who
can, if they wish, apply for dual citizenship in Israel, it is
NOT automatic). I know Americans with dual citizenship in
countries ranging from ITaly to Ireland.

The overwhelming majority of Americans, Jews or whatever, do
NOT have dual citizenship. This is just another canard.