The Kos Problem

By Michael Goldfarb
Published August 1, 2007 5:15pm ET
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The Washington Times runs a piece today by Robert Goldberg that does a lot to put the commotion over the YearlyKos convention–which will see appearances by all the Dem candidates with the exception of Joe Biden–into perspective.

Eyal Rosenberg […] resigned as a diarist for the DailyKos on May 9 after in his words “all the Israel Hate spewing out of one too many diaries around here.” As he wrote in his last post: “with this last post: Reading these past months on dkos has led me to believe that people here, under the ‘progressive’ banner, support views that end up in one place: Me dead.” Mr. Rosenberg is not the only one they want to kill. Recently, a DailyKos diarist suggested “gassing Joe Lieberman like a dog.” This exchange followed: “I know you didn’t mean it that way, but a reference to gassing a Jew needs to be hidden. “I hope you will join me in asking that this comment be hidden and that there will not be a pile on. I will find some other comments of yours and uprate to make up for this.” Jew gassing is something to be hidden or uprated (whatever that means) but nothing to be ashamed of at the DailyKos.

Dean Barnett has written for THE WEEKLY STANDARD in the past on the thinly veiled anti-Semitism that bubbled up at the site during last summer’s war between Israel and Hezbollah:

One diarist labeled Israel “a destabilizing force in the region” and saw “no difference between Iran’s support of Hezbollah and Hamas in the form of finances and even arms and The United States’ financial support of Israel.” Before modifying this diary into a more moderate form, the author opened his essay with the declaration, “Israel is showing the entire world why the Iranian President was absolutely right to suggest that Israel cease being a sovereign state as is.”

If HIllary and Obama are going to appear at the convention, it’s disappointing, but their party’s drift to the left is undeniable–bowing before Kos may be a political necessity. But they shouldn’t pander. Each has a responsibility to make clear at that event that they support Israel, which they do, and that they will do whatever is necessary to guarantee the security of our closest ally in the region, which they most certainly will. Goldberg is quite right though, “If you can’t tell the YearlyKos there’s no place for anti-Semitism you lack moral courage.”

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