When attacking Senator Barack Obama, Senator John McCain and his allies seem to have little regard for the truth. At the National Jewish Democratic Council we fight the right's fear and smear campaign daily. It seems that their rhetoric increases as it becomes more apparent that McCain's values are out of step with the values of the Jewish community. Released today, A National Survey of American Jews shows just how out of line they are.
McCain and his supporters at the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) understand that the Jewish Community is not with them on their issues. In fact, today Gerstein Agne Strategic Communications released a J-Street sponsored poll of American Jews which shows that 90% of those asked think that our country is on the 'wrong track.' The survey also shows that 55% of those polled believe that the economy is one of the most important issues deciding their vote, with the war in Iraq being the second most popular choice at 33% (79% of those polled disprove of President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq.) McCain admitted that he is not very knowledgeable about the economy and he is clearly out of step with Jewish community when it comes to the war in Iraq. In this context, Republicans cling to the two issues on which they feel they are most aligned with the Jewish community -- Israel and Iran.
When respondents were asked how they felt about this administration's handling of the Arab-Israel conflict, 71% said they disapproved. Although, McCain has a generally pro-Israel voting record he has some serious questions to answer when it comes to Iran. In 2005, McCain voted against strengthening sanctions with Iran by closing a loophole that allowed companies like Halliburton to trade with Iran. (Senator Barack Obama voted for it.) McCain also supported a Republican Party and President who presided over more than a tenfold increase of exports to Iran, which included dangerous items like military rifles and airplane parts. Their arguments are getting progressively weaker and increasingly vile.
Republican surrogate, right-wing radio host, and proud RJC leader, Dennis Prager exemplifies the types of attacks that come from McCain's allies as they get further away from victory. Prager seems to imply that Democrats are g-dless individuals who don't hate evil, "If you love God, you must hate evil...The GOP hates evil. The Democrats hate carbon dioxide emissions and DDT." In his speech a few weeks ago, Prager weaved from the offensive to blatant lies when he claimed that, "A President Obama would shut down talk radio."
Republicans, McCain, RJC, and their allies are embarrassing themselves. Someone should remind them that their legacy of ugly attacks and lies will last far beyond November 4, 2008.