Here is yet another sign of how our politics have fallen in terms of allowing the free exchange of ideas that don’t fit into a perceived, informally required or existing cookie cutter pattern:
Next week, the Republican Jewish Coalition is planning a forum to be attended by all of the Republican candidates… with the notable exception of Ron Paul. Mais why?
Well, RJC executive director Matt Brooks told the Washington Jewish Week that Paul was not invited to attend because the organization “rejects his misguided and extreme views” concerning Israel. In addition, “he’s just so far outside of the mainstream of the Republican party and this organization” that inviting him to attend the forum would be “like inviting Barack Obama to speak.”
A few thoughts:
So this is basically a case of not liking a candidate’s stand and then excluding him. So him being just like Obama is pure political polemics.
Now, let me get this straight: this now means that ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News would be justified in not letting a candidate on if they didn’t like their views?
This would narrow it a bit for Fox — and an awful lot for the three networks.
I wonder if the Republican Jewish Coalition was aware, when it made its decision, that Ron Paul has something of a dedicated following whose members enjoy seeking revenge on, or simply annoying to death, those who snub their candidate. In early 2008, some may recall, Ron Paul was abruptly kicked out of a Fox News debate. Shortly thereafter, a livid mob chased Sean Hannity out of a restaurant and through the streets of Manchester, New Hampshire, all the way back to his hotel. We recommend that these RJC folks wear comfy running shoes at all times for the next week or so, just in case. They should also not be surprised to receive a few hundred thousand angry emails.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.