Synagogue political b'fast with Murphy in PA

[PCIntern]

Democrat Lois Murphy os running against typical-Rethug Jim Gerlach in what has been a volitile seat over the years. This area of Lower Merion was redistricted by the Rethugs and we're lumped in with folks all the way up to Reading. Real gerrymandering.

Ms. Murphy is a Harvard Law School Grad who cooridnated Gov. Rendell's gubernatorial bid in Montgomery County which had a 90000 vote plurality for him and allowed him to carry the Commonwealth.

She was excellent - she's been a victim of the usual RW attacks equating her with the Taliban since she was endorsed by MoveOn.com. But she's even with the incumbent and maybe, just maybe, she'll win on the coat-tails of Kerry, who seems poised to take the district. I hope and pray.

But the big story on Action News as we say around here, is that I was sitting opposite this real schmuck who was pretending to be 'fair and balanced" but was giving me all the tired lines which we've heard and refuted here over and over and over. Finally, I said to him that half the country is convinced that we're going to fascism - and what was his comment about that? He said that half of the country was obviously wrong, and I asked him, yes...but which half? He got angry with me and started using words like 'everybody says'...and then he said the magic words: "Some people say..." I didn't hear the second half of the sentence. I told him look, talking to you is like pissing into the wind, and I'm tired of getting wet. And furthermore, sneering is not an argument. He was pretty pissed off...so I said to the guy sitting next to me, "We have been taking it up the ass for 24 years since Reagan, and now that we have the balls to fight back, we're being accused of being angry. Well, I am angry."

The good news is that the vast number of affluent Jews here supported Kerry to at least a mildly positive degree. Old joke: Two Jews, Three Opinions...but I would say that there were about 85% or better Kerry supporters AND the Rethug was supposed to come but cancelled and did not send a surrogate. So it's not like it was supposed to be Dems only.

I was heartened: Lower Merion is the most acitve Jewish Community in PA and 6th most active in the country. There are a lot of progressive people who've moved in here and things look good.

PS I did ask Ms. Murphy if "Change was in the air" for the House and she equivocated, which I understand - whe was most forthright and was in command of the issues and her verbal skills and humor were excellent. she got good reviews all around, even grudging ones from the Repukes.

That is all...

[tomfodw]

1. Almost as old joke

Jews live like WASPs but vote like Puerto Ricans. Karl Rove has failed to hive off Jews from the Democratic Party. As Eric Alterman pointed out, we're not stupid.

[PCIntern]

2. This dumb bastard thought he could

beat me up with the tired old lines. However, i received my education at DU so I was ready for him.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

3. Good for you, PC. You have a lot of "sechel" ("brains" for those

non-Yiddish speaking Du'ers). I liked your come-back lines.

I will say there are a couple of Jewish families at the shul my parents go to who are voting for * (not too bright, I must say), but I think the majority of Jews are voting for Kerry.

Check out this article, btw.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/9950934.htm?1c

<snips>

Kerry supporters cheered when he said he'd been to Israel several times and touted his voting record in the Senate. "I have a 100 percent record on every resolution, on every vote, on every appropriation, on everything that has made a difference to Israel's qualitative military edge," Kerry said.

"I've had the privilege of flying a jet in Israel, learning firsthand how tight that security is, how close the borders are, how tiny and fragile it is," Kerry said. "I've climbed to the top of Masada and I've stood on the top of Masada and yelled out as the Air Force recruits and others used to from the side of that cliff, the words `Am Yisrael Chai!'"

Kerry's use of the Hebrew cry that means "The people of Israel live" delighted the crowd. The symbolism of Masada - the desert mountain where Jewish rebels chose suicide over capture - still looms large in Israel as soldiers come at the start of their military training to pledge allegiance to the state.

Sharyn Wachs, wearing one of the campaign's Hebrew stickers on her shirt, said Kerry seemed "really united" with Israel and she was touched by his story of climbing Masada since she's done it twice herself. She has been angry with Bush's invasion of Iraq and left the rally to go cast her vote for Kerry since early voting began Monday in Florida.

<snips>

Somehow, I can't picture Chimpy trying to pronounce Hebrew. Can you?

[PCIntern]

4. Ed Koch is not doing us any favors...

I wonder if they got the goods on him and now he's out there spewing the Bush warmonger line almost without any sense of thought or perspective. His halting speech gives me pause as well. He says Ummm 3-4 tmes per sentence. He was interviewed on this RWer station by Michael Smerconish who occasionally appears on CNN. It was an embarassingly bad interview with the host sucking up to the Mayor and Koch vomiting out a line which ws essentially: I don't agree with a single thing Bush says domestically but he's winning the war on terror and Kerry will lose it.

The question I would have asked him is: what do you think you know about Kerry and why is this the case? They never assk specific policy question of these chumps...or chimps.

[foo_bar]

5. who listens to Koch?

Prior to that, the all-time low was former Mayor Ed Koch's 33% approval rating in June 1989, which came after 11 years in office.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/41606p-39261c.html

[PCIntern]

6. You'd be surprised how many assholes

jumped on that bandwagon around here. Generally, it's that leftover '60's group who WEREN'T there during th protests but consider themselves polically involved. They figure that they're making a shrewd decision by splitting their ticket to an extent and voting for the Savior. The problem is that they 'misunderestimate'the dangers of the Administration to the Jews and then again to Israel in the long run.

It keeps me up nights thinking that the fall guys for this Iraq policy are Feith, Perle, and Wolfowitz, and deservedly so. I'm sure there are others and it's gonna be like musical chairs, with the yids left standing holding their dicks when the blame starts going around.

[foo_bar]

7. it's the 2 Jews:3 opinions

Whoever defends Koch is playing devil's advocate. No more than a quarter of Jews are sociopathic enough to identify with Wolfowitz, and a majority of them already made aliyah.

[PCIntern]

8. that's true only 25-28% are Rethug

and if you scratch them real hard, it turns out it's financial, not really israel, except for those hard core who are amking plans to leave, both long and short term plans, that is.

We are a most interesting people...