Obama campaign gets serious in Fla. (UPDATED)
Two weeks ago in Denver, Jewish congressional Democrats refused to acknowledge at a press conference that some South Florida Jewish Democrats were wary of voting for Barack Obama – even though a number of Florida state legislators had told reporters that they saw significant resistance to the Democrat when they campaigned for him at condos in the region. But the Obama campaign is taking those reports about Florida seriously.
According to a press release, the campaign has launched six Obama Jewish Community Ledership Committees in Florida, "which include nearly 1000 Jewish leaders across the state in Miami, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Tampa Bay, Orlando, and Sarasota."
Other details of the campaign's Florida Jewish strategy were contained in the press release, excerpted below:
Top national surrogates, like Senators Biden, Schumer and Ben Cardin of Maryland have traveled to Florida to meet with the Jewish community, and others like special Middle East coordinator Dennis Ross will continue to do so on behalf of the campaign.JCLC members make-up a critical component of the campaign's field operation in predominantly-Jewish neighborhoods and communities, and participate in phone banks and canvasses.
The campaign and JCLC members are hosting Jewish outreach house parties.
The campaign is providing resources for JCLC members and other Jewish supporters to talk about Senators Obama and Biden's strong records on issues of importance to the Jewish community in Florida, including standing by Israel, strengthening public education, defending the division between church and state, making sure Social Security remains viable and solvent, ensuring healthcare for all, appointing moderate justices to the Supreme Court and protecting a woman's right to choose.
The Obama campaign has also been bolstered by widespread support of rabbis nationwide, including a number of rabbis in Florida like Rabbi Joel Levine of Palm Beach Gardens.
JCLCs will also be launched in Jacksonville, Tallahassee and other Florida cities between now and November.
A top Florida Jewish Republican has responded. According to Politico, Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner said Sarah Palin will help attract votes among Jews:
Don't underestimate Gov. Palin's support in the Jewish community. The Obama campaign's recent move acknowledges that they have ongoing problem in the Jewish community, and just going around Florida to scare voters about Gov. Palin won't work. Jewish voters are more thoughtful than just being one issue voters and they wont react well to attacks against her because of her religion - as a religious minority that would be insulting to many Jews.
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The issure is more than Sarah Palin’s support of the “Jews for Jesus,” but must include the fact that John McCain has now outlived his Father and Grandfather and he has chosen a totally unqualified person to be his Vice-Presidential running mate.
Can this country handle another incompetent in the White Houe? Eight is more than enough.
Barry, Palin, no. 2 on the GOP ticket, has more executive and foreign policy experience than Obama, the no. 1 on the Democrat ticket. She has Russia and Canada on her doorstep. She successfully negotiated a major natural gas pipeline with the Canadians and recently was faced with a national security crisis when Russian bombers flew near Alaska’s coast. Palin oversees the budget of the largest state in our nation. I hear they are enjoying a surplus. Soon it will be exposed how Obama wasted millions of dollars he and Bill Ayers were supposed to put to good use in the Annenberg project to help Chicago schools.
Re: “Sarah Palin sat in the pews of her church just two Sundays ago and voiced no objections as they hosted founder of Jews for Jesus.”
In other words, Sarah Palin, a Christian, expressed no objection to an appearance by another Christian, which is what a J for J is.
Barack Obama sat in the pews of his church for 20 years while his pastor questioned Israel’s legitimacy, published blood libels of both the United States and Israel, called upon God to curse America, published an opinion piece from a Hamas terrorist, and advocated divestment from Israel.
Obama’s fellow racist churchgoers gave a standing ovation to “There were a whole lot of white people crying.” I say “racist” because what other kind of person would applaud such a remark?
Obama praised and endorsed Al Sharpton, another prominent racist and anti-Semite whose organization, while under his leadership and supervision, screamed epithets like “bloodsucking Jew,” “white interloper” (this from Sharpton himself), “see that the cracker suffers,” “cracker lovers,” “don’t give the Jew a dime,” and “Jew b*****d” at Jewish-owned Freddy’s Fashion Mart in Harlem. For good measure, Obama also praised Sharpton’s hate group, the National Action Network.
The interview last night showed that Sarah Palin’s grasp of foreign policy is full of gaps. She’s clearly being coached by right wing Bushies and she doesn’t know enough world history to negotiate with world leaders. Her remarks about Putin are scary! We will be at war with half the world if heaven forbid this nincompoop ever becomes President. And Israel won’t be any safer.
What chutzpah she has to agree to run for VP; her personal life is a train wreck, she has no foreign policy experience, she is involved in a abuse of power scandal in Alaska, but she wants to foist her ‘family values’ on the rest of us. Thanks but no thanks, Sarah!
As an activist New York Jew, I can tell you that it is simply false and slanderous to call Al Sharpton a “known anti-Semite.”
As a jew, I could never vote for obama, with all his shady associations with anti-semites and anti-zionists. Any jew who votes for obama, with farrakhan, wright and ayers as footnotes, must truly be out of their gourd. Bush has been Israels best friend.. lets see your stammering friend hussein barack defend Israel.
Jon Moscow : Activist New Yorker ,that I believe.But that your Jewish I question - Al Sharpton not anti-Semetic ???
Jon Moscow wrote, “As an activist New York Jew, I can tell you that it is simply false and slanderous to call Al Sharpton a “known anti-Semite.”
What part of leading a mob to a Jewish-owned store, and the mob chanting epithets like “bloodsucking Jew” and “don’t give the Jew a dime” is not anti-Semitic? What part of “white interloper” (Sharpton’s own contribution) and “see that the cracker suffers” is not racist??? What part of “Kill the Jew” (a Sharptonite mob during the Crown Heights riots) is not anti-Semitic???
The National Action Network, from what I have read, acted just like the Ku Klux Klan once acted toward Black-owned stores in white neighborhoods.
Two words:
President Palin.
Has any person every been less qualified for this office?
If Palin why not any of hundreds of thousands of more engaged, professionally competent, intelligent, able women, less encumbered by a vest-pocket crony-ridden style of governance?
For this they kicked Joe off the ticket.
Puleeeze.
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Natan
09/12/08 12:17 AM
The smears against Sarah Palin are really unbelievable. Palin’s pastor invited David Brickner of Jews for Jesus to speak on a Sunday. Palin had no idea what Brickner was going to say ahead of time. After Brickner spoke, Palin said she disagreed with Brickner’s views.
Sarah Palin is a staunch supporter of Israel. She has an Israeli flag in her office, signed a resolution in honor of Alaska-Israel ties (Alaska Airlines airlifted the entire Yemenite Jewish community of 40,000 in 1948-49) for Israel’s 60th anniversary and has the support of the Alaska Jewish community (6,000 Jews).
These continued attacks on Palin are because of Obama’s falling support among Jewish voters, especially in Florida. The Democrats chose Obama, with ties to Israel-haters like Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, Rashid Khalidi, George Soros and Jimmy Carter, as their candidate. Is it any wonder why they are losing the Jewish vote?
Now, in desperation, Obama’s supporters are digging up anything they can find to label Palin as an antisemite. The lashon hara against this good woman is despicable.