We all know who AIPAC is. We all know that it exercises a generally malign influence on the conduct of US foreign policy or at the very least distorts it in ways that operate against US interests. We all know that the moment anyone questions it's influence or the influence of the Jewish lobby in general they are immediately attacked as anti Semitic. There's a claque of opinion writers usually led by Dershowitz who immediately leap into action accusing George Soros, Daily Kos, Harry Reid or whoever of abandoning the jews, planning pogroms and a lot of other hyperbolistic nonsense. How strange to observe the same phenomenon here at DK. It could be called "shoot the messenger."
There is a perfect example today in the DMR's endorsement of Clinton. Now as we all well know all of the candidates would have killed for this endorsement particularly the leaders Edwards, Obama and Clinton. When they gave it to Clinton and what's more gave it to her for the very reasons which lie at the heart of her campaign it provoked a storm of diaries and postings here dissing the DMR.
This is not an exhaustive list but amongst the comments I saw were:
.they gave it to her because she was a woman
.they were spun by the Clintons
.she is the establishment candidate
.this endorsement doesn't matter
.people are going to call up and cancel the paper in rage
.the editor is a female dweeb
.the globe endoresment is more important
Who do these folks think they are kidding. This was a major endorsement all the candidates desperately wanted and because the gave it to her the DMR becomes the anti Christ.
The same phenomenon was to be observed in the reaction to Bill Clinton's Charlie Rose interview where he stumped for his wife. What a surprise. He is and always was one of her major assets. He's the only two term Democratic president since FDR, had a fine but not perfect record of achievement in the 90's which most people look back on as a golden age. This accounts for the fact that he is probably the most admired politician in America with a 66% approval rating and absolutely adored by the mass of the Democratic party. Conversely, he is absolutely detested by the extreme right who represent the absolute antithesis of everything DK stands for. And yet judging by the mass of attacks on him yesterday he appears to be as unpopular here as at Redstate. If anyone had told me six months ago that Bill Clinton would be being dissed here I'd have said they were crazy but then I never thought I'd see masses of posters testifying to the veracity and truth of Bob Novak either.
The same thing happened when I wrote a diary about the impact of Obama's color on his electoral chances. A host of pocket Dershowitz's immediately started chanting racist, the F words were flying like swallows in spring, a lot more excitable posters were demanding bans etc. This is a big issue. In my judgement it's very similar to the predicament Romney faces with his Mormonism. Both are totally irrational but denying they exist seems like denying the existence of the Jewish lobby. Blinkered and perverse.
Maybe some think the AIPAC tendency is good. I don't. It's juvenile and hypocritical. No doubt this produce a load of postings attacking Clinton, praising Clinton, abusing me, attacking Obama or praising Obama. That's not what this diary is about. It's about an attitude of mind. Well the good news is it only goes on for another 50 days tops and then it will all be over and we can get down to serious business of dissing the Republicans and their messengers. Alleluia.