Anti-Semitism On The Right

Stacy McCain snarked on Andrew Sullivan's alleged anti-semitism at Taki recently. But it isn't a laughing matter. As I've had some positive email exchanges with E.D. Kain, it's very troubling to read something like this coming from him. My concern is that somehow Mark Levin's last name gets him labeled as a neo-conservative, a term of art I don't even like, frankly. Some so-called neo-cons are no better than liberal hawks.

As for labeling Mark Levin one, what else explains it, as so many long-time grassroots conservatives also supported the war? Mark is one of the original Reagan foot-soldiers. He's as genuinely and purely conservative as anyone I have ever known. And the last thing his conservatism is is new.

As Jack Hunter points out, this has led to other pundits like the neo-conservative Mark Levin, to start attacking Beck, attempting to marginalize him.

So, when people write, or repeat, things like the above, they are either demonstrating their ignorance and how little they know about conservatism, or that they are willing to call someone a name because they assume they are Jewish. And that's anti-semitism straight-up. If someone wants to be taken seriously, or at least sound somewhat informed, it might be a good idea if they actually knew what they were talking about. Clearly that isn't always the case out here on alleged parts of the Right.

Comments

[stuiec]

I think you may be over-reacting, at least on the anti-Semitism angle. Note that Kain conflates Levin with Limbaugh and Kristol: surely he's not accusing Rush Limbaugh of crypto-Judaism.

However, as you say, it's laughable to lump Levin and Limbaugh in with the neo-conservatives: my understanding is that neo-conservatism had its origins in erstwhile Leftists who were (or became) ardent anti-Communists and then adopted a full spectrum of views across defense, fiscal and social conservatism.

[Cynic]

I thought that "neo-conservative" was the term applied to those Jews who served in GWB's first term and were supposedly responsible for getting the US into Iraq for Israel's sake and other zionist intrigues?
At least that was the impression I got from your MSM at the time.
And of course getting Jewish names at the top removed any double standards.

[Cynic]

Reading that link to E.D. Kain I find this:

Glenn Beck possesses that same uncanny capacity to harness the energy of the conservative base that the neoconservatives have used time and again to rile up the population in support of some war or another, as they did in 2003 in the blind charge into Iraq.

Obviously without the neos the genuine conservatives wouldn't be corrupted into doing such things.

[E.D. Kain]

Pretty lame, Dan. Pulling the anti-semitism card is pretty weak sauce. And Levin may not be Bill Kristol, but he'd make a lot more sense if he had a foreign policy makeover. We can do better than this, though, surely...

[Jamie Lockett]

I think this represents more of a misunderstanding/ignorance of the term neo-conservative than any sort of Anti-Semitism. One should be pretty careful when accusing people of such things.

[Xiaoidng]

I find nothing anti-semitic in the article, or the other article linked to. You owe someone an apology, or write a better post, more clearly explaining what you have failed to say. Really.