Opinion – Bill Straub: Barr ready to release vitriolic smears to serve his political ambitions

Rep. Andy Barr, promoting himself these days as a Christian David Ben-Gurion, has wasted little time playing the antisemite card against the presidential campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, proclaiming that her selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate proves she is caving to the “pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party.”

The basis for this vitriol, apparently, is Harris’ decision to pass over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro for the number two slot on this year’s Democratic ticket in favor of Walz who, like Harris, supports Israel’s right to defend itself while simultaneously calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, a region that has been torn asunder since October by Israeli troops reacting to a vicious and cold-blooded Hamas attack that resulted in 1,200 civilian casualties.

Shapiro, who is Jewish, is a staunch supporter of Israel who has refrained from calling for a cease-fire. That led Barr, R-Lexington, and the likes of Sen. JD Vance, R-PA, the party’s candidate for vice president, to claim a pro-Hamas faction is in control of the Democratic ticket.

“We must fight back against their extreme policies and protect the freedoms and values that make America great,’’ Barr wrote on X.

It should be noted that the nation’s Jewish citizens, who comprise about 2.4 percent of the nation’s population, overwhelmingly are either registered Democrats or lean Democrat.

According to Pew Research, 69 percent of Jews align with the party while only 29 percent side with the Republicans.

The GOP, it stands to reason, are hoping to use Gaza as a wedge issue, asserting that Democrats are the pro-Hamas party and that Republicans are the true champions of Jewish and, by extension, Israeli concerns. It could prove vital in the November election since, even though they constitute a relatively small percentage of the population, Jews are politically active and donate substantial sums to the candidates of their choice.

Democrats historically have acted with that in mind. While Shapiro was passed over, former President Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee, didn’t consider a Jewish running mate.

Jews maintain high positions within the federal government under Democratic administrations, consider Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, not to mention Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York.

Not what one would think of as members of the Hamas board of directors. It’s especially silly considering that Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish.

The bottom line is it’s possible to be both pro-Israel and critical of the manner in which the Benjamin Netanyahu government is carrying out its operations in Gaza. Reports indicate almost 40,000 Palestinian residents of the region, most of them women and children, have died as a result of the conflict, which is intended, at least, to rid the planet of Hamas. It essentially has converted Gaza to rubble, leading to understandable concern with how the remaining residents will survive and the very real fear of famine.

There also is legitimate continuing concern over how the Israeli government treats the Palestinian population within the entire region. But that is a separate issue from the federal government’s support for Israel’s continued existence. Meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu in July, Harris is reported to have told him that she “will not be silent” on the suffering in Gaza.

Regardless, the Harris campaign issued a statement insisting that, if successful in November, she will “always work to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups” like Hamas. Phil Gordon, the vice president’s national security adviser, also posted a tweet saying, “she does not support an arms embargo on Israel. She will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law.”

Speculation that Shapiro didn’t get the second slot because of his position on Israel and, by extension, because he’s Jewish, hinted at by Barr, is a despicable slur, which should come as no surprise considering its source. Harris and Shapiro differed on several key issues, including his support for school vouchers. His departure as governor could place Pennsylvania state government in Republican hands. And it’s already been speculated, should Harris emerge victorious in November, that Shapiro would make a good attorney general – a position much more important and powerful than vice president.

It’s times like this that the real, do-anything-to-get-ahead Garland Hale Barr IV steps forward. He’s already sold his political soul to Trump, an adjudged rapist with 34 felony convictions to his credit who instigated an insurrection against the federal government. Yet it is Harris and Walz, he stated in a tweet, that’s “ready to unleash a left-wing agenda that will take our country down a dangerous path.”

Andy is ready to unleash smears, like the one tying the Democratic presidential contender to a terrorist group, if it serves his ambitions. He is a grade A Trump toady in order to gain support from the Lord of Mar-a-Lago for his anticipated campaign for the Senate, a seat that will open up in 2026 if, as expected, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell retires.

A Trump victory might also presage Republicans retaining control of the House, which plays further to his ambitions. Barr currently is chair of the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy where, by the way, he sponsored a bill to block a rule adopted by the Consumer Financial Protection capping most credit card late fees at $8, down from a $32 average, claiming that consumers actually approve of high junk fees.

Okay.

Anyway, the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Patrick McHenry, is retiring at the end of the current session, creating an opportunity for an ambitious, not-so-young-anymore lawmaker like Andy Barr to come in and swoop it up. All you have to do is accuse a Democratic presidential candidate of being soft on terrorism.

Barr’s analysis of Harris-Walz doesn’t end with Israel-Hamas.

“Their vision?” he tweeted. “A massive expansion of government control, higher taxes, open borders, defund the police, pushing American jobs overseas in favor of radical climate policies and a socialist overhaul of our economy.”

Now, we could go on here about how the Biden administration managed to avoid a recession, bolstered domestic manufacturing and saw employment reach rarely seen high levels. Or how Republicans, at Trump’s urging, deep-sixed an immigration reform measure written by Senate Republicans themselves. Or how Harris doesn’t intend to defund police. My personal favorite is Biden pushing “radical climate policies” during one of the warmest years in global history.

But a little history lesson. The Harris-Walz ticket is obviously center-left but it isn’t “the most extreme left-wing ticket in American history.” It pales in comparison, for instance, to the Democratic combination of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Henry Wallace in 1944. FDR, of course, forged the path of liberal dominance through the New Deal. Wallace, who was initially Roosevelt’s agriculture secretary, served as VP from 1941 to 1945 only to be shoved aside by conservatives in favor of Harry Truman in Roosevelt’s fourth term.

Wallace subsequently founded the Progressive Party, ran for president under that banner in 1948, and espoused what was then radical ideas – friendly relations with what was then the USSR, public school desegregation, equality for all, national health insurance, racial and gender equality, and other ideas on the left.

You may remember FDR ran a fairly successful administration.

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