Neoconservatism

Jennifer Rubin’s Self-Serving Analysis of the Norwegian Terror

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Award for the most idiotic (not to mention self-serving) comment on the events in Norway goes to Jennifer Rubin, a neocon publicist with access to the elite media (and a remarkably low threshold for detecting anti-Semitism). Writing in her blog for the Washington Post (“Norway Bombing“), she quotes Thomas Joscelyn writing in (surprise!) The Weekly Standard:

We don’t know if al Qaeda was directly responsible for today’s events, but in all likelihood the attack was launched by part of the jihadist hydra. Prominent jihadists have already claimed online that the attack is payback for Norway’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan.

She goes on to write “there is a specific jihadist connection here: ‘Just nine days ago, Norwegian authorities filed charges against Mullah Krekar, an infamous al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist who, with help from Osama bin Laden, founded Ansar al Islam – a branch of al Qaeda in northern Iraq – in late 2001.’”

Her take home point is that U.S. has to recommit to fighting jihadists.

But we know now that Breivik was a strong supporter of Rubin’s favorite country, Israel, and would be more than happy to engage in jihad against the Muslims. Amazingly, even Rubin’s critics haven’t pointed this out (James Fallows and Steve Clemons in The Atlantic blog). Clemons wrote that he “appears to be a right wing, Christian fundamentalist”—a hopelessly inadequate description. Breivik comes across as someone who sees a positive role for historic Christianity in combating Islam but not as a devout believer.

Despite plenty of opportunity, Rubin has not issued a retraction.

The Jewish Donors Behind the Foundation for Defense of Democracies

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In case there are still doubts about the Jewish nature of neoconservatism, a recent article “Documents Shed Light On Those Underwriting The Foundation For Defense Of Democracies”  by Eli Clifton at Think Progress should clear things up. The FDD supports all the past and future wars in the Middle East, Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Iran. It supports “the Bush administration’s militant “war on terror” and policies espoused by Israel’s right wing Likud party.” Yet the FDD statement of purpose completely omits any mention of Israel. Touring their website would lead one to believe that there is no connection at all to Israel or anything Jewish.

All of the identifiable donors to The Foundation for Defense of Democracies are Jews, including a host of well-known Jewish activists like Edgar M. Bronfman ($1,050,000)  and Michael Steinhardt ($850,000) who co-founded the Birthright Israel program that brings Jewish young people to Israel for a dose of Jewish patriotism. Haim Saban, who is a pro-Israel fanatic but usually supports left-wing causes in the Diaspora, donated $10,000. I’m shocked that a liberal like Saban would contribute to an organization that is so prominent in Republican circles. Read more

Daniel Bell and Jewish ethnic networking

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The death of Daniel Bell is another one of those moments when you get a glimpse of how the world works. Writing in Slate, Jacob Weisberg recalls his fond memories of the great man. It’s a totally Jewish reminiscence. As a student, Weisberg wrote a letter to Bell. Bell responded, inviting Weisberg “for a ”nosh'” — “over lox and bagels” as we later find out. Read more

George Bush: “The First Jewish President”

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Michael Kinsley’s review of Bush’s memoir has this tidbit:

When Bush called for a new Palestinian leadership, Barbara Bush the elder (“Mother,” he invariably calls her) rang up to say, “How’s the first Jewish president doing?” Maybe I’m deficient in humor, but I don’t see why this is funny, as her son clearly believes it to be. I might even find it alarming if Bush didn’t crowd this book with ­maybe-you-had-to-be-there witticisms.

Philip Weiss writes that the comment is

a little window into the important mystery of how the realist [G. H. W] Bush absorbed the shocking reality of his neoconnized son — after all, a question of huge historical import. I.e by gentle ribbing, in the hope that it might eventually make a difference. Perhaps it even did; Bush didn’t attack Iran. Jeffrey Goldberg reported that he began to call Kristol and Krauthammer “the bomber boys” in the last years of his presidency. I’m a little surprised that Kinsley would have thought it alarming. Read more

Soros Courts the Neocons

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As reported in the Salon, George Soros has paid $150,000 to Randy Scheunemann, a neocon foreign policy figure. Scheunemann was McCain’s foreign policy adviser during the 2008 campaign and is now a top aide of Sarah Palin.

Scheunemann is completely in line on Israel, as is Palin. The Jewish Journal noted that during the campaign,  Scheunemann had led the attack on

Obama’s willingness to sit with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Scheunemann also led efforts to pitch the Iraq war to the American public prior to the invasion. . . . Scheunemann is also close to the pro-Israel community. Working with [Trent] Lott, he authored the 1995 legislation that would move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem; a year later, Scheunemann’s advice led Bob Dole — the Republican presidential candidate that year — to pledge to do so. This year, McCain has picked up that pledge. Read more

Christopher Donovan: Overwhelmingly White

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At least one media critic has noted the media groupthink in denouncing the Tea Party/Glen Beck rallies as “overwhelmingly white.”

This particular critic’s angle is that the media is being hyopcritical, because it, too, is “overwhelmingly white.” (Nathan Birchfiel, “Overwhelmingly White Media Criticizes Conservative Rallies as ‘Overwhelmingly White.”)

My angle is that it shows the current sorry state of white advocacy.  The mere fact that the whiteness of a crowd shows how bad it is, is, well, very bad.  A group of whites — whites who, mind you, aren’t even gathering explicitly as whites — is illegitimate in the eyes of the media and the power centers they serve.  That such a state of affairs even exists is a crime against the human rights of white people.

Sadly, I am sure that many Tea Party activists would agree that they need to be more “diverse.”  My hope is that some synapse in their heads snaps, and they suddenly demand to know what’s wrong with being white.  Or even “overwhelmingly white.”

Kevin MacDonald: Jonah Goldberg Loves Glenn Beck

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Predictably, Jonah Goldberg has nothing but positive things to say about Glenn Beck’s extravaganza (LA Times, “Glenn Beck’s ecumenical moment”) Whereas we at TOO lament the fact that massive crowds of White people who are worried about their future are being lulled to sleep by this new Elmer Gantry, Goldberg shows his neocon heart by being thrilled that Beck isn’t really trying to get at the real issues that are causing deep anxiety and anger among Whites:

While the crowd was preponderantly white, the message was racially universal — on the stage and in the crowd. When Reason TV’s Nick Gillespie asked a couple whether as “African Americans” they felt comfortable in such a white audience, the woman responded emphatically but good-naturedly. “I’m not African, I am an American … a black American.” She went on to say “these people” — i.e. the white folks cheering her on — “are my family.”

This is the dream of a multicultural America where everyone gets along just like one big happy family. It’s the impossible dream that ignores racial realities, such as IQ differences that inevitably result in racial stratification in the absence  of enormous, resentment-inducing government efforts. And it ignores the other results of research on the reality of multicultural societies: less social cohesion and increased social conflict; reduced contributions to public goods  like health care and a general loss of trust.

The pathetic thing is that Beck is leading the charge into this impossibly harmonious future under the banner of conservatism.

As a neocon Jewish intellectual, Goldberg is horrified at any suggestion that Whites will begin to define themselves as White and seek to advance their interests: “I confess, if Beck wasn’t a libertarian, I would find his populism terrifying. But his basic message, flaws notwithstanding, is that our constitutional heritage largely defines us as a people, regardless of race, religion or creed.”

In other words, Beck is fine because he believes in the  proposition nation. That’s the ticket to media success: There is a certain amount of leeway on acceptable attitudes, but don’t rock the boat on the proposition nation thing. That’s the  litmus test of  acceptability.