Anti-Semite Charge In VA Dem Race

Hooked nose, pocket stuffed with money, arrogant attitude toward anyone who's not ... Jewish? Is this the turf, so well trod by Anti-Semites for centuries, where American campaigning is going?

The illustration pictures Harris Miller, Dem candidate for Senate from VA. It's from a flier by Jim Webb [corrected from "Jeff Webb" on 6/12 following an email from my ex-diplomat stepdad], his Dem opponent in the upcoming primary. (Webb is the former Sec of the Navy under Reagan; he left the GOP over the Iraq war.) It's raised up quite a stir as Miller has accused Webb of a "desperate" act of anti-Semitism. Webb swiftly apologized, saying the illustration was only intended to attack Miller's position on job outsourcing.

Wait. Before we go another word, will the real Harris Miller please step forward?

There he is. Dispensing with the obvious, Miller is Jewish and does not look all that different from the illustration. Neither the hair or the nose are dissimilar enough that they can't be explained by innocent cartoonist license.

The cartoonist did take license with the jowls, which does add a certain Nazi or Islamist flair to the illustration. And the pocket stuffed with cash helps further the connection -- although Webb has accused the wealthier Miller of trying to buy the nomination.

I haven't followed this campaign but must admit I have a dog in the race. Webb sounds like a nutcase and I have no respect for a former Naval Sec who can't get his arms around the war on terror.

It's hard to imagine the sort of battle-hardened campaigners who work at this level reviewing the piece prior to mailing and not expressing concerns about the illustration -- especially so soon after the Mohammed cartoons and the many anti-Semitic reactions to them. Nonetheless, a decision was made to go forward.

And that shows Dems are the worst at carrying the ball they brought to the ball game. They invented the entire PC game (granted, anti-Semitism has been around quite a bit longer), but they're quick to not play by their own rules when it suits their purposes.

Attack Texas Christians, attack Virginia Jews. It doesn't really matter if Dems are doing it, right? It just shows racism, bigotry and ruthlessness if Conservatives do it. It underscores the fact that it was the Dems who hog-wallered in Southern bigotry and the Dems who continue to exploit minorities for their political purposes.

Just don't accuse them of that ... that would be bigoted.

Related Tags: Harris Miller, Jeff Webb, Politics, Primaries, Anti-Semitism, PC