Ron Paul: “The GOP’s Albatross”

David Streeter — January 5, 2012 – 11:35 am | Ron Paul Comments (2) Add a comment

The Forward’s Gal Beckerman sharply criticized Jewish and pro-Israel Republicans for not doing enough to counter Republican presidential candidate Representative Ron Paul’s rising stature in the GOP given his well-known anti-Israel record. Beckerman specifically focused on the recent vote pledges from former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)—the fist and second place finishers in the Iowa caucus—should Paul become the Republican presidential nominee. Beckerman wrote:

Paul has been condemned by the Republican Jewish Coalition and was not invited to its candidate forum in early December. Matthew Brooks, RJC’s executive director, said Paul had been rejected for his ‘misguided and extreme views.’

But why has the RJC stopped short of condemning Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, the other big winners in Iowa and the front-runners going forward?

Professed Israel-lovers both of them, they have each said that they would unequivocally vote for Paul if he was their party’s nominee. Romney stated it more enthusiastically and Santorum said it would cause him ‘a lot of heartburn,’ but both said they would hypothetically pull the lever for Paul if it came to it.

This is a problem. The party that makes a point of wearing its pro-Israel bona fides on its sleeve and that has a strategy of gaining Jewish votes by targeting Barack Obama’s supposedly destructive policies toward Israel now has this albatross around its neck. Paul himself might not come close to the White House, but he has now tainted candidates like Romney and Santorum and the rest of the Republican establishment who refused to repudiate him.

One can understand that politics makes for strange bedfellows and these candidates could not run the risk of alienating Paul supporters if they hoped to later gain their backing in a general election. But this also shows a lack of principle.

There is also hypocrisy here. Jewish Republicans have chosen to simply whistle to themselves and look the other way as their favored candidates volunteer that they would vote for someone whose views on Israel they consider noxious.

Iowa has left this stain on the electoral race. Maybe in the end it’s an important lesson for those Jewish Republicans to learn: As much as these candidates profess their devotion to Israel - rooting for an attack on Iran or claiming the Palestinians don’t really exist - in the end these are politicians and they will do what politicians tend to do in elections. They say what they have to say in order to win.

Click here to read Beckerman’s full piece. 

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