To: njdc “at” njdc.org, nynjdc “at” njdc.org
From: Bill Levinson
Posted to IsraPundit and other blogs

The National Jewish Democratic Council has rightly challenged Ron Paul’s acceptance of $500 from former Ku Klux Klansman Don Black, the proprietor of “White Pride World Wide” Stormfront.org. While the Paul campaign states that this merely takes $500 from Black’s pocket without buying him anything from the Paul campaign, it does buy him some something: publicity. It is a matter of record, as shown by our screenshot of our message to Ron Paul, that this has been pointed out to him. Furthermore, it is a matter of record that we have asked the Paul campaign to disown and repudiate the Ron Paul for President banner ads that are running at Stormfront.org.

It is also a matter of record that we asked the National Jewish Democratic Council to state a position on Hillary Clinton’s, Barack Obama’s, and John Edwards’ promotion and empowerment of the prominent racist and anti-Semite Al Sharpton. So far, this request has gone unacknowledged and unanswered.

It is, or should be, simple common sense that celebrities and public figures do not engage in racist and/or anti-Semitic hate speech, or empower and enable those who do. It is simple common sense that a public figure’s appearance at the meeting of a hate group gives that hate group credibility even if the public figure does not personally make any racist or anti-Semitic comments. The appearance itself legitimizes the hate organization and the hate mongers who run it. Furthermore, persons of character distance themselves from hate groups and professional bigots. As an example, the Ku Klux Klan once tried to get publicity by endorsing Ronald Reagan. Reagan made a public statement that he had no tolerance for what the Klan represented, and that he preferred that it not mention his name in public. This public slap in the Klan’s face may have cost Reagan the white supremacist vote, but it was the right thing to do.

Al Sharpton is a well known racist and anti-Semite with a long track record of defaming white people (the Tawana Brawley scandal) and promoting outright hatred of white people and especially Jews (Crown Heights riots, Freddy’s Fashion Mart). By posing with and endorsing Al Sharpton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards empower and enable him. They make him look respectable instead of like what he is: a lying and hatemongering demagogue who appeals to the absolute dregs of African-American society, just as Don Black (Stormfront.org), David Duke (Klan), and Tom Metzger (White Aryan Resistance) appeal to the absolute dregs of Caucasian society. Clinton’s, Obama’s, and Edwards’ promotion of this individual demonstrate their total lack of fitness to hold any position of public trust or responsibility in a civilized society.

Ron Paul, in contrast, did not solicit Stormfront.org’s support the way Clinton, Obama, and Edwards actually went to Al Sharpton. Nonetheless, Ron Paul is aware of the fact that Stormfront.org is running Ron Paul for President banner ads on its Web site, and he needs to repudiate and denounce this unsavory source of support publicly and unambiguously. Otherwise, we must regard him as a lunatic fringe candidate who is unworthy of any consideration whatsoever.

We do not have one standard for Republican candidates and another for Democrats. Ron Paul’s failure to repudiate the support of white supremacists disqualifies him every bit as much as Clinton’s, Obama’s, and Edwards’ active promotion of a racist and anti-Semite demonstrate their total lack of fitness for public office. Our question to the National Jewish Democratic Council is whether it will apply the same standards that it used for Ron Paul to Obama, Clinton, Edwards, and the other candidates who appeared with Al Sharpton.
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See also http://www.israpundit.com/2006/?p=4527, April 23 2007

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Related: Anti-Semitism, Elections, Racism

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