The Palin Disinviation Is Part Of A Pattern

CBS reports that the sponsors of the anti-Ahmadinejad rally were threatened that if they insisted on having Palin at the rally without either Clinton or Biden, "it could jeopardize their tax exempt status." Assemblyman Dov Hikind, D-Brooklyn went ont to say:

"This is insulting. This is embarrassing, especially to Gov. Palin, to me and I think it should be to every single New Yorker"

It's an absolute shame that this has happened. To threaten organizations … to threaten the Conference of Presidents that if you don't withdraw the invitation to Gov. Palin we're going to look into your tax exempt status … that's McCarthyism.

As for Hillary Clinton, her people told CBS news that "She is also expected to attack Ahmadinejad's pro-nuke, anti-Israel stance."

No doubt Ahmadinejad will be quaking in his shoes.

Meryl Yourish has it exactly right:

That’s not a political party pressuring groups to do something. That’s outright break-your-kneecap, Mafia-style blackmail threats.

In fact, those are precisely the kinds of tactics that the Jewish groups will be protesting on Monday. We just never expected them from the Democrats.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Rubin thinks that this incident will hurt Obama in the context of: 

o Obama's affiliation with Palestinian groups

o His flip-flop on Jerusalem in his speech to AIPAC

o The flap over his anti-Israel advisers and their troubling comments about Israel

She notes that Obama--who brags of the experience he gainsed as a community organizer--ended up destroying the unity necessary to make the upcoming rally a success.

Meanwhile, we have seen other strongarm tactics--these directly from the Obama camp:

Much of Barack Obama's political success can be traced to a database listing contact information for millions of people, a tool that has proved invaluable in raising record sums of money and organizing a national volunteer network.

Now Obama's presidential campaign is increasingly using the list to beat back media messages it does not like, calling on supporters to flood radio and television stations when those opposed to him run anti-Obama ads or appear on talk shows.

It did so as recently as Monday night, when it orchestrated a massive stream of complaints on the phone lines of Tribune Co.-owned WGN-AM in Chicago when the radio station hosted author David Freddoso, who has written a controversial book about the Illinois Democrat.

So let's get this straight: in dealing with Ahmandinejad, Obama prefers unconditional negotiation and talk. When dealing with critics, talk is not an option--but strongarm tactics are:

Last night, WGN’s studio lines were bombarded with irate calls from Obama supporters in response to yet another interview on “Extension 720,” hosted by the venerable Milt Rosenberg. This time the offending “card-carrying member of the right-wing smear machine” was National Review’s own David Freddoso, author of The Case Against Barack Obama.

...During the August fiasco, outraged pro-Obama callers fumed that WGN had offered Kurtz an unchallenged forum, despite the fact that Team Obama had declined an invitation to appear alongside Kurtz for the duration of the program. This time, however, Freddoso was actually paired up with an Obama-supporting counterpart. This wasn’t good enough for the Obama thought police, who blasted out marching orders to shut down the discussion. Once again, the phones melted down. The Obama campaign should be proud.

This is the second time that the Obama campaign has been offended by free speech:

Stanley Kurtz's appearance on the Milt Rosenberg radio program in Chicago last night provided an unsettling look into the authoritarian tactics being employed by the Obama campaign to stifle and intimidate its critics.

I happened to be in the WGN studios for the entire affair because my friend, Zack Christenson, produces the show in question. He was aware of my previous reporting on the Obama-Ayers connection and kindly invited me to sit in on the two-hour interview...

As I arrived at the downtown Chicago studios a few hours before show time, the phones began ringing off the hook with irate callers demanding Kurtz be axed from the program. It didn't take long to discover that the Obama campaign—which had declined invitations to join the show for its duration to offer rebuttals to Kurtz's points—had sent an "Obama Action Wire" e-mail to its supporters, encouraging them to deluge the station with complaints.

...As Rosenberg repeatedly pointed out that Team Obama had been offered the opportunity to take part in the conversation...

"Irate callers demanding Kurtz axed from the program"--a pattern?

The bigger question is whether Jews will care.

Technorati Tag: Obama.