Larry Penner deserves much praise for his recent letter in this newspaper urging everyone to demand that Senator Gillibrand must publicly debate her underfunded Republican opponent Wendy Long to enable the public to be fairly and intelligently informed about the real positions and records of both candidates
Penner explained that instead Gillibrand was following the “ignore your opponent” strategy perfected by Senator Chuck Schumer. Under this strategy, incumbent politicians with multi-million-dollar “war chests” finance “puff piece” advertisements touting themselves and refuse to debate their less well-funded rivals, except perhaps at a brief, token, last-minute debate or two that few people even have an opportunity to see.
I’d like to expand a bit on Penner’s excellent letter. The same public debate needed in the Gillibrand-Long race should also occur in the current presidential race, Congressional races and numerous other political races, so that people can be truly informed instead of preached to by one-sided advertisements. I’m familiar with the problem from first-hand experience, both as a former political candidate, and even more importantly, as a designated surrogate presidential debator.
In 2008, the Obama campaign went to enormous lengths to shut down debate regarding Obama’s record, statements, policies, advisers, and close relationships, so that people would not hear the truth. Debates were cancelled and knowledgeable Republican speakers were not permitted to take the podium.
Although I was the designated surrogate for a presidential debate that was scheduled to take place at a local Great Neck synagogue, local Democrats blocked me from going up to the podium. Another time, when successive talks about Obama were scheduled at another local synagogue (first Congressman Ackerman was going to be permitted to speak in favor of Obama and then I was going to be permitted to speak to warn people about Obama’s record), the Democrats moved the talk into a private home, from which I was barred.
I also heard from former members of a local Reform temple who shall remain nameless, that the rabbi at that temple told congregants to vote for Obama during 2008 Yom Kippur services. This outrage resulted in my informants quitting the temple. The same temple has consistently invited pro-Obama speakers (including a member of the Democratic National Committee) and refuses to invite Republicans. In addition to the disservice this does to members of the community who are being misled into voting against the interests of America, our allies, and the temple’s own congregants, this raises issues about the temple’s continued tax-exempt status.
These were not isolated incidents. McCain surrogates who attempted to warn the public about Obama in 2008 were shut out, by hook or crook, all over the country.
As a result, many people – especially in the Jewish community – did not hear numerous important facts about Obama in 2008. These include the following: On May 16, 2008, Obama told David Brooks during a New York Times interview that Hezbollah and Hamas have “legitimate claims.” Obama and Biden opposed the Kyl-Lieberman amendment. The amendment declared the violent Iran Revolutionary Guard to be a terrorist organization. The IRG has exported terrorism around the world, including terrorism aimed at numerous American targets, and caused hundreds of American deaths.
Obama flip-flopped on Jerusalem just one day after his 2008 AIPAC speech. Obama’s 2007 AIPAC remarks blamed Jewish “cynicism” for the lack of peace in the Middle East, instead of the real culprit – the Palestinians’ constant terror campaigns to destroy Israel and refusal to accept Israel’s very existence to this day. Obama also kept using the term “cycle of violence” in his 2007 remarks – a term which equates Israel’s defense against terrorism with terrorist attacks.
Obama also blamed Israel in a 2008 Atlantic Monthly article, and called the conflict a “constant sore” which “infects” American policy. Biden also has a history of threatening Israel over the so-called settlements.
The public was also unaware that Obama surrounded himself with anti-Israel campaign advisers. Obama’s 2008 campaign advisers included Jew-basher Samantha Power, who currently serves as special assistant to the president and head of the office of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights; she is also rumored to be chosen as Obama’s next Secretary of State if Obama is re-elected in 2012; Obama’s top military advisor ,Tony McPeak, who told a newspaper that he believes Jews in Miami and New York are the obstacles to peace in the Middle East and Robert Malley, who spread false stories blaming Israel for the failure of the 2000 Camp David summit.
Obama’s close relationships with a raft of anti-Israel and anti-American luminaries were also not scrutinized and were largely unknown to the American public in 2008, in large part due to the Obama campaign’s success at shutting down debate. These include Obama’s close relationships with the founder of Electronic Intifada, Ali Abuminah; PLO “news director” (actually, spokesperson) Rashid Khalidi; the America-hating, Israel-hating Reverend Jeremiah Wright who was Obama’s “mentor” for 20 years ; and of course, the infamous domestic terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn. (Obama and Ayers sat together on the board of the Woods Fund for a decade, and directed Woods Funds monies to the “Arab American Action Network,” which sponsored anti-Semitic exhibits and activities at local colleges, calling the creation of Israel a “catastrophe.”)
Obama’s statements and policies as president have lived up to the worst fears of those of those who tried to sound warning bells in 2008. A few examples, in addition to the huge mess that Obama has made out of the American economy, include: Obama’s refusal to support the uprising in Iran and foot-dragging on dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat to America and our allies’ safety and existence; Obama’s speeches calling Israel an “occupation,” Obama’s constant demands for concessions from Israel, freezes on building in Jerusalem and settlements, demands that Israel must retreat to indefensible borders as a first step, demands that Israel apologize for the Mavi Marmara attack on Israeli boat inspectors, while demanding nothing of the Palestinians;and Obama’s insistence on sending billions of our tax dollars to regimes controlled by or allied with terrorists such as the Palestinian Authority which is now in bed with Hamas, Muslim-Brotherhood dominated Egypt, Hezbollah-dominated Lebanon, etc., against the will of Congress.
The Obama administration’s outrages continue. Just recently, Obama excluded Israel from attending the Obama-initiated “International Counterterrorism Forum” and Hillary Clinton omitted Israel from her list of victims of terror during her speech at the same forum – even though Israel is the world’s most frequent target of terrorist attacks. The Obama administration has said virtually nothing about terrorist attacks by Islamist groups on Christians and Buddhists in Nigeria, Thailand, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, Iran and elsewhere. At Obama’s recent (June 2012) speech at the Holocaust museum, Obama recited a list of current day lessons that one must learn from the Holocaust which similarly omitted any mention of present-day worldwide terrorist attacks against Christians, Jews and Buddhists.
Unfortunately, the same problem exists today as in 2008. Obama’s 2012 campaign is busy again, shutting down debate. When Obama-apologist Debbie Wasserman Schultz was scheduled to speak recently at a Florida synagogue, followed by Republican Stanley Tate, DWS and the Obama campaign insisted that Stanley Tate must not be permitted to speak, even though Tate’s family had founded the synagogue. DWS and other Obama apologists are running around the country, misrepresenting Obama’s record in speeches at synagogues and elsewhere, while continuing to attempt to block anyone from informing the public of the truth about Obama’s policies.
Let’s make every effort to have fair debate in our community this time around, so that the truth can be heard in this all-important 2012 election season.
Elizabeth Berney, Esq.
Great Neck
