On Friday, we posted material about in Strib: Hagedorn's fearmongering and bombast wrong for district; Feehan right choice for MN01.
There's more today in the national and international press about the NRCC ad running in the district. At Mother Jones, Ari Berman reports in Republicans Refuse to Disavow Anti-Semitic Attacks on George Soros:
A day after the deadly shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, the head of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee refused to disavow a campaign ad linking a Democratic candidate to George Soros, who was sent a pipe bomb last week and has been the subject of attacks many regard as anti-Semitic. . . .
The ad, released on October 18, targets Dan Feehan, the Democrat running against Republican Jim Hagedorn to represent Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District. It features a montage with Colin Kaepernick kneeling and warnings of “left-wing mobs paid to riot in the street,” followed by an image of Soros with stacks of bills, repeating a classic anti-Semitic trope. “Billionaire George Soros bankrolls the resistance,” the ad says.
Despite the pipe bomb and the fact the accused Pittsburgh shooter said he wanted to “kill Jews,” the head of the NRCC, Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH), defended the ad on NBC’s Meet the Press. “Our independent expenditure arm is independent,” Stivers said. “But that ad is factual. And it also has nothing to do with calling for violence. That ad is a factual ad.” . . .
In fact, the ad is funded by an arm of the NRCC. On the same show, Jonathan Greenblatt, the director of the Anti-Defamation League, said, “The attacks on George Soros are appalling and the continued invocation of classic anti-Semitic themes…is just repulsive.”
Greenblatt attributed the 57 percent surge in anti-Semitic incidents last year—“the single largest spike we have ever seen”—to the ways in which anti-Semitic language had been embraced by some elements of the Republican Party. “We are seeing an environment where anti-Semitism has moved from the margins into the mainstream, where political candidates and people in public life now literally repeat the rhetoric of white supremacists,” he said. “It’s normal and permissible to talk about Jewish conspiracies manipulating events, or Jewish financiers somehow controlling activities, and that is awful.”
One Republican member of Congress, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, recently claimed without evidence that Soros had funded the migrant “caravan” from Central America. The accused Pittsburg shooter, Robert Bowers, was obsessed with the idea that Jewish organizations were bringing migrants into the US. . . .
NBC reports in House Republican campaign chief defends anti-Soros ads:
Ohio Rep. Steve Stivers, chairman of the House GOP campaign arm, defended the group's repeated criticism of billionaire liberal donor George Soros in campaign ads on Sunday.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has been running ads in Minnesota's First Congressional District tying the Democratic candidate, Dan Feehan, to Soros. Feehan worked at the Center for New American Security, a think-tank that received funding from Soros.
The first ad, which began running the middle of this month, shows Soros sitting behind a pile of money as the words "connoisseur of chaos" show on the screen.
A more recent ad began running days after authorities found an explosive device sent to Soros's home, one of more than a dozen sent to Democratic officials and other critics of President Donald Trump.
When asked about the ads, Stivers noted that the group's independent expenditure staff, which creates the ads, is walled off from the rest of the committee leadership to comply with campaign finance laws. But he defended the ad as "factual."
"Our independent expenditure arm is independent. But that ad is factual. And it also has nothing to do with calling for violence. That ad is a factual ad," he said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
But the ad contains the kind of criticism that one prominent U.S. Jewish leader said can be evocative of anti-Semitic attacks.
"Political candidates and people in public life now literally repeat the the rhetoric of white supremacists," Anti Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said on "Meet the Press."
"And they think its normal and permissible to talk about Jewish conspiracies manipulating events or Jewish financiers controlling activities."
While not specifically addressing the NRCC ads, Greenblatt said that "the attacks on George Soros are appalling and the continued invocation of classic anti-Semitic themes.
We missed Jason Wilson's article in the Guardian on Thursday, 'Dripping with poison of antisemitism': the demonization of George Soros:
As investigators seek answers in the case of mail bombs sent to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and others, there will be no shortage of evidence regarding the first target, the billionaire philanthropist George Soros.
The bomb maker’s motivations remain unknown. What is clear is that the attempted attack comes as the demonization of Soros in the US, previously limited to fringe groups on the far right, has reached new heights. More recently it has been taken up by the most senior Republican politicians in the country, up to and including the president.
Experts worry it is a sign that taboos on public antisemitism have all but disappeared. Indeed Soros’s son, Alexander Soros, said in an op-ed on Wednesday that many attacks on his father over the years have been “dripping with the poison of anti-semitism”.
Earlier this month, Donald Trump repeated the familiar accusation that Soros pays for protesters, when he said that the “elevator screamers”– protesters who were confronting senators over their votes for Brett Kavanaugh, the then-nominee to the supreme court – had their signs “paid for by Soros and others”.
Here's our text from Strib: Hagedorn's fearmongering and bombast wrong for district; Feehan right choice for MN01"
Hagedorn not alone in fearmongering: anti-semitism seen in NRCC ad
Meanwhile, the NRCC continues to run independent, fear-mongering television ads that have been accused of being anti-semitic. In The Forward, Aiden Pink reports in GOP Ad Accuses Jewish Billionaire George Soros Of ‘Owning’ Democratic Candidate:
A Republican attack ad in a congressional race in Minnesota accused the Democratic candidate of being “owned” by Jewish billionaire financier George Soros, leading some to accuse the GOP of anti-Semitism.
The ad, titled “Owns,” states that Dan Feehan is “owned” by Soros, who was also accused of “funding left wing protests.”
“Just remember, the left owns Feehan,” the narrator concluded as Soros, an Antifa protester and NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick flanked the candidate.
Still, the juxtaposition of a Jewish financier “owning” a candidate led some to conclude that the ad was anti-Semitic.
“GOP Ad Channels Anti-Semitism to Portray George Soros as Puppetmaster,” The Daily Beast wrote in its headline covering the story.
“This new @NRCC ad touts one of the most disgusting anti-Semitic libels: Jews are the puppet-masters that convince people of color to rise up against their white superiors,” social justice organizer Max Berger wrote on Twitter.
The Republican Jewish Coalition did not respond to a request for comment; this story will be updated if they respond (full disclosure: I interned for the RJC for a college semester).
Soros has long been the target of right-wing conspiracy theories, many of which have relied on anti-Semitic tropes.
President Trump accused people protesting then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of being “paid for by Soros and others.” (One of the women who accosted Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator about the nomination works for a not-for-profit supported by Soros’s son Alex.)
Trump notoriously used images of Soros and other Jewish financial figures in his final campaign ad during the 2016 election, which described a malevolent “global power structure” harming ordinary Americans.
“Whether intentional or not, the images and rhetoric in this ad touch on subjects that anti-Semites have used for ages,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said at the time.
This is not the first time the race in the largely-rural 1st District of Minnesota has had to deal with anti-Semitism: Feehan’s opponent, Jim Hagedorn, once wrote on his blog that former Sen. Joe Lieberman supported the Iraq War because Lieberman is Jewish.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports in Republican Campaign Ad Claims Iraq War Veteran Is 'Owned' by Jewish Billionaire George Soros:
The new advertisement by the National Republican Congressional Committee shows Democratic candidate Dan Feehan next to stacks of dollars and an image of Jewish-Hungarian philanthropist George Soros. . . .
Salon reports in GOP accused of anti-Semitism after attack ad claims Democrat is “owned” by George Soros:
A Republican ad in a Minnesota U.S. House race has drawn allegations of anti-Semitism for suggesting that Jewish billionaire George Soros “owns” the Democratic candidate.
The ad, titled “Owns,” attempts to tie Dan Feehan, an Iraq War veteran running to represent Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, to Soros, who is depicted behind stacks of cash. . .
The ad claims Feehan worked for a “Soros-funded liberal outfit in D.C.” That appears to be a reference to the Center for a New American Security, which is run by a former aide to the late Republican Sen. John McCain and whose board director was the frontrunner to be deputy defense secretary under President Trump. Feehan is a combat veteran who earned a Bronze Star while in Iraq and later served as a senior Pentagon official in the Obama administration. . . .
The NRCC was immediately accused of anti-Semitism. Democratic organizer Max Berger wrote that the ad “touts one of the most disgusting anti-Semitic libels: Jews are the puppet-masters that convince people of color to rise up against their white superiors.”
The ad is paid for by the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC) on behalf of Republican candidate Jim Hagedorn.
In broader looks at the Soros trope, the Times of Israel reports After bomb scares, George Soros’s son says Trump is fueling demonization, while The Jerusalem Posts reports House Majority Leader accuses Soros and others of 'buying' election.
That rhetoric is reflected in the ad reviewed in KSTP's TRUTH TEST: NRCC Misleads in Feehan Attack reports:
"Look at who finances Dan Feehan's employer. Radical George Soros. Wall Street's biggest banks. A crooked lobbyist tied to Pelosi that paid Feehan's bills and fund his campaign," the narrator says.
Feehan is an "adjunct senior fellow" at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), which touts itself as "an independent, bipartisan, non-profit organization that develops strong, pragmatic, and principled national security and defense policies." Feehan is also an Iraq War veteran.
It's true Soros, banks and a controversial Democratic lobbyist, Tony Podesta, have all contributed to CNAS. But as a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization, CNAS is barred from partisan political campaign activity.. . .
From our backpages:
Bluestem was among the first to examine Hagedorn's rhetoric in the "Mr. Conservative" blog; Mercury Rising posted an excellent recap in an early December 2009 post, Hagedorn: “The Only Good Indian Is A Dead Indian.”
The Strib editorial board is correct--and Hagedorn's rhetoric isn't a bug. It's a feature--and he seems to have plenty of company in the NRCC.
Photo: Dan Feehan (left) campaigning. Via Dan Feehan for Congress Facebook page.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.
Comments