Rep. Hank Johnson Calls Jewish Settlers Termites at DNC Philly Event

In the run up to the opening of the Democrat National Convention in Philadelphia, Representative Hank Johnson spoke before the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, one of the primary motivators of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Johnson referred to Jewish Settlers as termites.

Johnson represents Georgia's 4th Congressional District, which has a history of electing Black Democrats  (as he was preceded by ex Rep. Cynthia McKinney) who make anti-semitic statements. 

Johnson also has a record of saying stupid things in Congress, like in 2010 when Rep. Hank J asked during Congressional Hearings in the Armed Services Committee if Guam would tip over and capsize by the United States sending over more personnel to the Pacific Island. Or when Rep. Johnson took to the House Floor to apologize to vertically challenged people who he labeled midgets But Johnson deliberately sought out the BDS movement to spew his anti-semitism. 

By the end of the afternoon, Johnson's minions  got the Congressman to put out a Tweet which put his biting comments into context.

It is dubious that Johnson's termite comment needed clarification--he just got caught and it had the potential of alienating Jewish voters at a turbulent Democrat National Convention, when the DNC leadership had been exposed by Wikileaks of using Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (Socialist-VT) Jewish roots against him in the contentious campaign versus Democrat Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

It did not take the Anti-Defamation League long to "appreciate" Rep. Hank Johnson's clarification of his anti-semitic statement.  Thus the ADL is either a very forgiving organization or a selectively quickly forgiving partisan Jewish organization.

What is stupifying is this controversy occurred on the same day the Democrat National Committee ran a video during the Convention which tried to associate Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump (R-NY) with anti-semitic groups. 

If Jewish voters were wise, they might deeply examine how each party treats them and where they stand on the issues. Regrettably, for most secular Jews, progressivism is their religiou and they revere their tradition of pulling the lever for donkeys. 

A Big F'ing Deal or Joe Being Joe?

When speaking before the Legal Services Corporation, Vice President Joe Biden referred to "Shylock" lawyers who pressed foreclosures while soldiers were serving overseas. 

From a political perspective, this was a prudent position for a prospective Democrat nominee for President in 2016. "Lunch Bucket Joe" bolstered his middle class credentials while taking a class warfare tact and aligning himself with patriots serving in the military.  Unfortunately Biden's ham-handed execution of this campaign "strategerie" was insulting to a key Democrat minority, showed an insensitivity and underlined a tendency to be gaffe prone.

Mr. Biden referred to some lawyers as "Shylocks".  This colorful language was offensive to Jewish voters, who are key Democrat voting bloc and reliable campaign contributors. 

As Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham Foxman noted: “Shylock represents the medieval stereotype about Jews and remains an offensive characterization to this day. The Vice President should have been more careful."  Surely, if a Republican or a Conservative would have uttered such an epithet, such a politico would not receive such a mild chiding and the news of the gaffe would lead the headlines in the Lamestream Media. 

Conventional wisdom holds that former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (R-NY) is the putative  Democrat nominee for the 2016 Presidential election.  But Ms. Clinton's support may be a mile wide and an inch deep. But if bad news sticks on Hillary, such as the accusation that former Secretary of State Clinton's staff was complicit in scrubbing Foggy Bottom documents on Benghazi "to protect the seventh floor", suddenly opt to spend more time with her grandchild. That would make Vice President Joe Biden the default front runner. 

 Political junkies are well acquainted with Biden's tendency to bloviate and be gaffe prone, as when he told "Barack" at the announcement of Obamacare that: "This is a big f**king deal".  Being Vice President may not make you a lock to win the Oval Office, but it certainly gives advantages to gaining a party nomination.  However, other Democrat candidates would likely to use Biden's verbal gaffes as the chink in the armor to take down the leader of the pack.  If Vice President Biden has not locked down the informal media caucus, gaffes may be reported in the future more as a "Big f'ing deal" rather than "Joe being Joe."

h/t: HotAir

      Jeff Koterba

     Steve Breen