Monday, June 20, 2005
Dean Condemns Antisemitism by Democrats
From the Washington Post (hat tip: Instapundit):
"We disavow the anti-Semitic literature, and the Democratic National Committee stands in absolute disagreement with and condemns the allegations," Dean said in a statement posted on the DNC Web site.Good for Dr. Dean! It's the most sensible thing we've heard from him in a long time. Let's hope for more sane dialogue, with him specifically and with liberal Democrats in general.
Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, organized the forum on Thursday at the Capitol to publicize and discuss the so-called Downing Street memo. [...] Conyers' event occurred in a small Capitol meeting room, and an overflow crowd watched witnesses on television in a conference room at DNC headquarters. According to Dean, some material distributed within the DNC conference room implied that Israel was involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
One witness, former intelligence analyst Ray McGovern, told Conyers and other House Democrats that the war was part of an effort to allow the United States and Israel to "dominate that part of the world," a statement Dean also condemned.
"As for any inferences that the United States went to war so Israel could 'dominate' the Middle East or that Israel was in any way behind the horrific September 11th attacks on America, let me say unequivocally that such statements are nothing but vile, anti-Semitic rhetoric," Dean said.
"The inferences are destructive and counterproductive, and have taken away from the true purpose of the Judiciary Committee members' meeting," he said. "The entire Democratic Party remains committed to fighting against such bigotry."
Lest anyone think Dean is overstating the case, check this out. (hat tip: Scott at Powerline.) Left-wing Democrats have been keeping company with outright antisemites (Palestinian terror and pro-terror groups, among many others) for some time now. It's been out in the open since 9/11, but the chill winds could be felt during the 2000 Presidential campaign and before.
We're judged by the company we keep, especially in politics. Incoherent conspiracy theories -- televised, and from DNC headquarters, yet! -- do the Democratic party no credit at all.
Perhaps Dean is trying to change this trend; I certainly hope so.
