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Trump leads Harris in Georgia 2 weeks from Election Day, poll finds
Former President Donald Trump holds a slight lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in the key swing state of Georgia, according to a new poll.
The poll, conducted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the University of Georgia, found Trump at 47% support in the state, compared to Harris' 43%. A sizable 8% of respondents said they remain undecided, however.
The Georgia poll surveyed 1,000 of the state's likely voters from Oct. 7-16. The poll advertises a margin of error of 3.1%.
The poll further found that 60% of respondents say the country is on the wrong track, and their top issues were inflation/cost of living (19%), the economy/jobs (17%), preserving democracy (17%), immigration (14%) and abortion (8%).
GEORGIA SHATTERS EARLY VOTING RECORDS AS CAMPAIGNS ENTER HOME STRETCH IN BATTLEGROUND STATE
The poll comes as Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is facing pressure to release the results of a voter roll audit he announced this summer.
HARRIS INVOKES JIMMY CARTER IN BID TO GET SUPPORTERS TO VOTE EARLY
"Millions of illegal immigrants have flooded our country since 2021, and it’s well-documented that thousands of them have successfully registered to vote in multiple states. But even with early voting now underway, Georgia voters are still waiting for confirmation that non-citizens are not casting ballots in our elections," former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who now serves as the chairwoman for the group behind the effort, Greater Georgia, said in a release obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital.
The comments come more than three months after Raffensperger announced the state was conducting a "SAVE audit" of noncitizens who may have registered to vote, which he called a "vital step in maintaining election security and integrity in Georgia."
"We are double-checking to make sure that if any non-citizens attempt to register to vote, they will not be able to vote unless they prove that they are U.S. citizens," Raffensberger said in a release at the time, which also warned of prison sentences of up to 10 years and fines of up to $100,000 for noncitizens who register to vote in the state.
Raffensperger told NewsNation just a few weeks later that the audit was complete, boasting that he could promise residents of the state that "only American citizens are voting."
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Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the Georgia Secretary of State's office said that Raffensperger will hold a press conference on Wednesday to announce the results of the audit.
Fox News' Michael Lee contributed to this report.
Jewish-American group urges US citizens in Israel to vote as absentee ballots can impact swing states
U.S.-based Jewish organizations are working to get out the vote among Americans living in Israel ahead of the November election, which comes weeks after the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks.
Nathan Diament, the executive director of public policy for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, said his organization has coordinated with the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and partnered with Yeshiva University, a private Orthodox Jewish university in New York, on outreach instructing young Americans taking their gap years in Israel on how to request their absentee ballots and vote from abroad.
"First of all, it's important, from our point of view, for every American citizen, no matter where they are, to hopefully participate in the election," Diament told Fox News Digital. "You know, this past year has obviously been a very intense, serious and historic year in terms of what's going on in Israel as it continues to battle against Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran itself. We have friends and family who are there, whose lives are really on the line. And so it's really important for Americans there who have the right to vote to, again, participate, because the United States is Israel's most important ally."
He estimated that there are a few thousand Jewish Americans currently in Israel taking their gap year, typically done between high school and college. His own son is one of those students this year.
SMALL SWING IN JEWISH VOTERS TO GOP COULD BE 'DECISIVE' IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (or Orthodox Union), which represents more than 1,000 Orthodox Jewish synagogues around the U.S. as well as several hundred Jewish K-12 schools, also works on educational resources targeting another demographic – the few hundred thousand Jewish American immigrants who permanently relocated to Israel – so they, too, can participate in the 2024 election.
The deadline to request absentee ballots is approaching for several battleground states. Of the about 420,000 Jewish Pennsylvanians, Diament said that some studying or living in Israel "could have an impact on the vote" in their communities around Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and even Scranton.
"Joe Biden won Pennsylvania in the last election by an 80,000 vote margin," Diament said. "So, you know, a shift in the American Jewish vote in Pennsylvania by, you know, several thousand or 10,000 or more votes could be very, very significant in this election."
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem in January urged Americans living in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza to check their voter registration to provide for enough time to participate in the upcoming 2024 federal elections. As the U.S. does not offer in-person voting at embassies or consulates abroad, U.S. citizens are encouraged to vote by absentee ballot if they cannot meet their state's in-person voting requirements.
TRUMP SUGGESTS HE COULD WIN 50% OF JEWISH VOTE IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION SHOWDOWN AGAINST HARRIS
At the time, the embassy noted how "many U.S. federal elections for the House of Representatives and Senate have been decided by a margin smaller than the number of ballots cast by absentee voters."
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem said all states are required to count every absentee ballot "that is valid and reaches local election officials by the absentee ballot receipt deadline."
A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told Fox News Digital that U.S. citizens living outside the United States can register to vote and vote absentee while living overseas. Students living overseas for an extended period during an election season need to vote absentee and complete a Federal Post Card Application at FVAP.gov to request an absentee ballot, the spokesperson said, adding that voting residency will continue to be the student's last legal residence prior to leaving the U.S. to study abroad.
The State Department spokesperson said U.S. citizens voting from overseas should check FVAP.gov for their state’s deadlines and more information about how to return their ballot.
"An American living abroad can most easily request an absentee ballot either through the team that we have set up at our center in Jerusalem or, again, they could go to the U.S. embassy or consulate in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv," Diament said. "And as long as you show your ID and you get your absentee ballot appropriately, then you just need to send it in a timely way. It's really not that complicated."
Jeremy Kazzaz, executive director of the Beacon Coalition, a nonprofit focused on getting out the Jewish vote locally on the ground in Pittsburgh, said U.S. citizens, whether traveling out of state or abroad during an election season, should send their absentee ballots as soon as possible to be included in initial counts.
"The mail system gets bogged down around election time because it's not just all the ballots that are going through the mail, but it is the 5 billion pieces of political mail that everybody is getting on a day-to-day basis," Kazzaz told Fox News Digital. "And then you add to that the chaos and disruptions of multiple hurricanes going through the Eastern Seaboard at this time. And so the best practice is to do all of this as early as humanly possible."
While Diament said it is confidential which candidates who members of the Orthodox Union support, he pointed to polling done by Israeli outlets and pollsters on the ground among Israelis and Americans as signaling a shift toward Republican Donald Trump, especially in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
"You know, frankly, that is not matched in the American Jewish population as a whole. The American Jewish population, by and large, is pretty liberal. And so, traditionally, the Democrat wins a majority, sometimes a very, very large majority. But we've done polling and others have done polling this year among American Jews here in the United States," Diament said. "What we've seen, at least so far, is that while Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate is ahead among the American Jewish vote in general, she's not ahead by as large a margin as the Democratic candidate, you know, has been traditionally."
Diament argued that rising antisemitism in the U.S. could be one contributing factor.
"It's a different kind of election in the wake of what's going on over the past year for American Jews," Diament said. "We've seen the terrible surge in antisemitism in the aftermath of the Oct. 7th terrorist attacks. And that's another dimension, which American Jews have to really stand up and hold government officials accountable and make sure that they are being responsive to us, to make sure we're guaranteed our rights of freedom of religion in this country."
Regarding his son and his sons' friends taking their gap year in Israel, Diament said that "in some ways, they feel more comfortable and secure than some of their friends who are on some American university campuses."
"Their lives are not being threatened, obviously, the way people on the ground in Israel are by foreign militaries," he said. "But there are a lot of campuses where young American Jews are really being … psychologically threatened and personally threatened."
Legal experts question Harris' backing from donors with government ties
Vice President Harris has raised some eyebrows over potential conflicts of interest related to the substantial support her presidential run has received from individuals and entities engaged in active business dealings before the federal government.
The Harris campaign tapped law firm Covington & Burling to help vet Harris' potential running mates and advise the campaign's transition team. The law firm, which also provided the Harris campaign with financial support and experienced attorneys to defend it, is currently challenging the ban on TikTok in the U.S. passed by Congress and signed by President Biden.
One significant supporter of Harris' campaign includes Chris Larsen, angel investor and co-founder of cryptocurrency firm Ripple Labs. Larsen, who has given Harris' campaign committees nearly $12 million, is currently in a protracted legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission over whether its cryptocurrency, XRP, should be classified as "securities." Meanwhile, $1 million of Larsen's money to the Harris campaign was made in the form of his XRP cryptocurrency.
These are among the handful of examples that elucidate potential conflicts of interest that legal experts say don't necessarily amount to anything illegal, but do raise questions about Harris' judgment.
EPIC CLASH: PRESSED BY FOX NEWS, KAMALA HARRIS COMES OUT SWINGING
"To establish a violation of law — in the main, bribery — prosecutors would really have to prove a quid pro quo," Andrew McCarthy, a senior fellow at the National Review Institute and a contributing editor for National Review's online print publication, told Fox News Digital. "These situations are in the capacious category of arrangements that are ethically troubling, and that could be politically damaging depending on how they play out, but that are probably not legally actionable."
Last week, attorneys from Covington & Burling and other major D.C. law firms, such as Paul, Weiss LLP, hosted a pricey Washington, D.C., fundraiser for Harris. Among the attorneys present were Weiss' Karen Dunn, Bill Isaacson and Jeannie Rhee, who are currently defending Google in federal court against the Biden-Harris Justice Department. Additionally, the Harris camp tapped Dunn ahead of the September presidential debate to help Harris prep.
"It’s a conflict of interest if the government is indebted to opposing counsel," Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, told the New York Post after it reported on the fundraiser. "That’s why attorneys should not be allowed to negotiate potential settlements with the Department of Justice if they served as active bundlers, including fundraiser hosts, for that administration."
Hans von Spakovsky, manager of the Heritage Foundation's Election Law Reform Initiative, said fundraisers like the one held for Harris last week do "raise concerns about the judgment of some of the people involved," but Spakovsky also echoed McCarthy's remarks that there was likely nothing legally actionable.
"If you are helping a political figure who is the boss of a federal prosecutor who is involved in a case with you, I mean that – to me – does clearly raise a conflict of interest," Spakovsky argued. "Because if the prosecutors then go easy on your client, there's always going to be a question of, well, ‘Did they do that because the prosecutors’ ultimate boss in the White House told them to go easy on the defense counsel's client."
"It may not look good and raises concerns about the judgment of some of the people involved," Spakovsky concluded. "But I don’t see a legal problem."
Uber general counsel and Harris' brother-in-law, Tony West, was also present at last week's fundraiser, alongside Democrat bigwigs like Eric Holder, a longtime Covington & Burling partner, and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. Holder and West are reportedly in the running to be in Harris' Cabinet if she wins next month.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
Hawaii, Utah, Missouri, Wisconsin kick off in-person early voting
Early in-person voting kicks off in Hawaii, Utah, Missouri and Wisconsin this week as candidates have begun urging their supporters to cast their ballots ahead of Election Day.
Here is everything you need to know.
Wisconsin is one of three Rust Belt states that voted for former President Trump in 2016, then flipped back to the Democrats in 2020. President Biden won the state by just 20,682 votes, or 0.7 points.
Like the other competitive Midwestern states, it is defined by its White working class population. Fifty-eight percent of the state’s voters are White without a college degree, according to the Fox News Voter Analysis. That is 15 points higher than the national electorate.
Those voters favored Trump by 11 points in the last presidential cycle, and he will look to build on that margin to put this state back into the GOP’s column.
For Democrats, the goal is to keep turnout high in the cities and surrounding areas by activating Black and suburban voters. There are highly populated pockets of deep-blue voters in Milwaukee and Madison, and the counties that those cities call home make up nearly a quarter of the statewide vote.
FOX NEWS POLL: TRUMP TAKES NATIONAL LEAD, HARRIS LEADS BATTLEGROUND STATES
In the Senate race, incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin faces Republican banker Eric Hovde as she seeks a third term. The race is ranked "Lean D" in the Fox News Power Rankings.
Voting begins today in several battleground House districts. For a full list of competitive races, see the latest Senate and House rankings.
This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Hawaii.
Hawaii has begun absentee voting. The state began delivering ballots to eligible voters on Oct. 18, and those ballots must be delivered to election officials by Nov. 5.
Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot.
TIM WALZ'S SELECTION AS HARRIS RUNNING MATE DRAWS SKEPTICISM, EVEN AMONG ANTI-TRUMP FIGURES
Some Hawaii counties offer early in-person voting beginning Tuesday, but it varies by location. Check the state's website for more information.
Hawaii residents can register to vote by mail through Oct. 28. They can register in person or online at any point through Election Day.
This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Utah.
Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot in Utah. State officials will send ballots to eligible voters beginning Oct. 15 through Oct. 29, and those ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 4 if sent by mail or delivered in person to state officials by Nov. 5.
Utah offers early in-person voting starting Tuesday in some locations, but the start dates vary by county. Check the state's website for more information.
FOX NEWS POLL: TRUMP AHEAD OF HARRIS BY 2 POINTS NATIONALLY
Utah residents can register to vote online or by mail through Oct. 25. They can also register in person during early voting, Oct. 22 through Nov. 1, and on Election Day.
This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Missouri.
Missouri began absentee voting on Tuesday. Applicants need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The state must receive a ballot application by Oct. 23 and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.
Missouri began in-person early voting on Tuesday, Oct. 22, and it will continue through Nov. 4.
Missouri residents were required to register to vote by Oct. 9.
This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Wisconsin.
Wisconsin applicants do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The state must receive a ballot application by Oct. 31 and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.
Some counties in Wisconsin began in-person early voting on Tuesday, Oct. 21, but the start date varies by location. Check the state's website for more information.
Wisconsin residents can register to vote in person during early voting or on Election Day.
'Left behind': Vulnerable Dem incumbent in key swing state slammed for putting 'knife in back' of workers
TOLEDO, Ohio – Ohio GOP State Rep. Derek Merrin, who is running for Congress against vulnerable Democrat incumbent Marcy Kaptur, spoke to Fox News Digital about why the issues affecting Northwest Ohioans in 2024 are putting Kaptur’s 41-year tenure in Congress in jeopardy.
"Northwest Ohio has been left behind for many years because of Marcy Kaptur and Marcy Kaptur’s values do not represent northwest Ohio," Merrin told Fox News Digital at the Lucas County GOP Headquarters about why he decided to enter the race to try to unseat the longtime Democratic congresswoman.
"I felt there's a real opportunity to win this race. There's a real opportunity to change and I really believe that the future of our country is at stake and we have to stop the liberal policies of Joe Biden and Marcy Kaptur of the Democratic Party to save our country."
Kaptur, currently serving her 21st term in Congress representing Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, is considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the House. While the Cook Political Report ranks her race as "Lean Democrat," redistricting following the 2020 census has Republicans believing the seat is a prime opportunity to ensure control of the House and that they can flip the seat.
Merrin told Fox News Digital that he expects a significant number of Independents, and some Democrats, to support his candidacy pointing to the "ineffectiveness" of Congress and unpopular Democrat policies.
"The vast majority of Americans are fed up with the Democratic Party but guess what?" Merrin said. "Not everyone's a Republican. People want policy. They want to lower the cost of living. They want secure borders, and they're tired of the political class. I'm going to pick up votes from Democrats. I'll pick up a lot of votes from independents because my message and policies are aligned with what they want to see happen."
"They want to pay less money at the pump. They want their health insurance to go down. They want their housing costs to go down. They want their insurance costs to go down. They want to be able to take their family out to eat for under $100 every time they go out to eat. And I'm going to work on policies that are going to get our country moving again, that are going to bring back American jobs and to lower the cost of living and to secure our border."
Kaptur is one of eight Democrats running in 2024 in a district that voted for Trump in 2020. Trump won the state of Ohio by 8 points in 2020 and is expected to equal or surpass that in 2024.
"This is a new district," Merrin said. "This is a Republican-leaning district and Marcy Kaptur’s values are being exposed for what she's actually done in Washington, D.C. She doesn't believe anyone should be allowed to drive a gas-powered car. She believes basically everyone needs to pay more taxes. She puts illegal immigrants ahead of United States citizens. And when people realize her record and her failure, she's been one of the most ineffective Congress people passing legislation in our country. People want change. They're worse off than they were four years ago, and I think they're looking for a new change and I'm going to deliver it."
Merrin told Fox News Digital that when he goes around his district talking to voters, it’s clear that the economy and inflation are the number one cause for concern.
"The cost of living, I mean, you look, you can't take a family of four out in northwest Ohio at a restaurant for under $100 and people can't afford it," Merrin said. "You look at car insurance, you look at home insurance, you look at the cost of living overall. It's hurting people and people are very uncertain on where we're at and they're looking for policies that are going to lower the cost of living, lower the cost of energy and make their lives better. People want their kids to be able to experience the American dream that they were able to experience. And I think most families believe that's in jeopardy right now."
Pro-Merrin ads running on television in northwest Ohio have highlighted Kaptur’s record of voting with the Biden administration 90% of the time, and Kaptur has also faced criticism from Merrin for introducing just 5 bills that have become law in 41 years, which her campaign pushed back on citing hundreds of bills that she has cosponsored.
"Yes, they do," Merrin told Fox News Digital if voters in his district are in favor of term limits. "People want term limits for members of Congress. I support term limits. I've signed a pledge to support legislation that would limit members of Congress in the House to three terms and I think that's a winning message that's resonating with voters."
Merrin also hit Kaptur on illegal immigration and said that Ohioans are "fed up" with the negative consequences stemming from the millions of illegal immigrants who have entered the country over the last four years.
"Crime has surged among our community and a large part of it's due to illegal immigration," Merrin said. "I mean, tens of thousands of people are in northwest Ohio here illegally and it's just we're tired and fed up with it."
"We want to put American citizens first. They're burdening our health care system, our education system and our criminal justice system. And it's not too much to ask to say, hey, our federal government needs to secure our borders and put American citizens first and Marcy Kaptur, she's put a knife in the back of the American people, in union workers, allowing illegal immigrants to come in and take their jobs. It's an outrage. It's outrageous. She's not a proponent of the working man in middle class America. She's doing everything she can to undermine the traditional values of our country in the working class of our country."
Merrin, who had over 20 supporters at the Lucas County GOP HQ making calls for him on Saturday, told Fox News Digital he is encouraged by the enthusiasm he sees from Republicans voting early in his district and said there is "more enthusiasm" on his side than Kaptur's.
"Republicans are fired up," Merrin said. "And people that are fed up with Marcy Kaptur and the Democratic policies are fired up. We got a lot of momentum. Listen, they are pouring millions of dollars against me right now to defeat me and to try to hold me back because they know we're very close to winning this race."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Kaptur's campaign called Merrin a "puppet" politician and referenced Merrin's past support for convicted politician Larry Householder.
"Unlike Congresswoman Kaptur, who has stood up to her own party and worked across the aisle to deliver for working families, Derek Merrin is a puppet politician with no spine who sells out working Ohioans to pad his corporate masters' pockets, including voting to hike energy rates for Ohio families after taking campaign cash from a now-imprisoned politician who Merrin voted to keep in office AFTER he was indicted," the campaign, who has been running ads with a similar message, said.
The Merrin campaign responded to those ads over the weekend calling them a "desperate and pathetic attempt to distract voters from Marcy Kaptur’s failed policies."
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He is particularly bad for Israel and the Jewish people.
The following is a brief synopsis of the main reasons for which Jewish Americans should strongly consider not voting for Barrack Obama:
1) Mr. Obama has repeatedly lied to and manipulated the Jewish community, telling it what it wants to hear when the cameras are on, and then retracting or "evolving" his position when the cameras are off. No more egregious an example of this exists than that of the speech Obama gave to the annual AIPAC convention several weeks ago. In that speech, Obama ostensibly moved to the right of Condoleezza Rice, insisting that "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." Those comments clearly moved even the most skeptical of Jewish AIPAC conference attendees, and on that basis many had decided to vote for him. Then of course the truth came out the next day when anonymous sources in the Obama campaign informed Agence France Presse that by "undivided" Obama meant that Jerusalem was "not going to be divided by barbed wire." Essentially, Obama's position is that which many in the Zionist community have always feared – that he is still sympathetic towards the Palestinian Arabs and believes the Palestinian Authority has the right to make parts of Jerusalem its capital. Obama was caught telling a crowd of Iowan activists last March, "Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian People."
Obama has successfully insulted the intelligence of American Jewry by wooing them with ingratiating phrases and one liners such as how he has been in the "foxholes" in Chicago with Jewish friends with whom he worked closely to heal the rifts between local Jewish-American and African-American communities. He also claims that "nobody has spoken out more fiercely against anti-Semitism than I have," yet not once did he avail himself to speak out against the rampant anti-Semitism in his church, let alone condemn specific anti-Semitic and anti-Israel remarks on the parts of Reverend Wright, Reverend Meeks, or father Pfleger all of whom have abused the pulpit of the Trinity United Church of Chicago to foment hatred of Jews, as described in '6' below.
2) Whatever short legislative record Mr. Obama has is that of an extreme leftist -- one that does not bode well for the State of Israel. Obama sponsored 129 bills since his arrival in the Senate, but only 9 of them came out of committee and only one of them became law – an testament to how out of touch he is with mainstream law and politics. Obama was one of the few senators not to support the Kyl-Lieberman resolution which designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Obama also opposed the overthrowing of Saddaam Hussein when Obama was an insignificant Illinois State Senator and Hussein was still a vociferous and stark threat to the State of Israel and actively financing Hamas suicide terror attacks against Israeli civilian targets.
Obama made headlines in the primary campaign against Hillary Clinton when he stated his desire to meet with Iranian dictator and vicious anti-Semite Mahmud Ahmajinadad, without any preconditions first met regarding either Ahmajinadad's desire to exterminate the Jews or Iran's dedicated movement toward acquiring a nuclear weapon. Obama has also recently dismissed the threat posed by Iran, considering Iran to be a "tiny" nation that should elicit less concern than that felt by Israel and the majority of Jews. His exact quote, speaking in Pendleton, Oregon, is as follows: "Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union... In Iran, they spend 1/100th of what we spend on the military. If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance." Unfortunately Obama doesn't seem to realize that it doesn't take 2,000 nuclear weapons to destroy Israel; it only takes 2!
Experts agree that Jews should be forewarned about voting for Obama. Mid-East exert Barry Rubin, director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center in Herzeliya, Israel, describes Obama as "not the candidate of the Arab states, but the candidate of the Islamists, whether he knows it or not. . . . If elected, he will be the most anti-Israel president in American history." Obama was even caught saying that he might have difficulty dealing with an Israeli government headed by Likud, which is particularly ominous as it appears Israelis are about to elect a Likud government. What is surprising is that Obama has expressed more concern about dealing with Likudniks in Israel than he has in dealing with Mullahs in Iran. You can't make this stuff up, folks!
3) Obama is surrounded by advisors who have historically been very critical of Israel and the Jewish community. The first such advisor is Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security advisor to anti-Semitic President Jimmy Carter. Brzezinski, who has stood by Obama's side in public on several occasions, has accused "some people in the Jewish community" as being "McCarthy-ite." Brzezinski has also intimated that Israel may be guilty of war crimes for its defense of itself in the Lebanon War of 2006.
The second such advisor is retired general, Tony McPeak, who has been tapped recently as Obama's military advisor and national campaign co-chair. In a 2003 interview, McPeak blamed much of the troubles in the Middle East on those who "vote here in favor of Israel [in] New York City [and] Miami," whom no "politician wants to run against."
A third such advisor is former Michigan Congressman David Bonior, who represented the Obama campaign at The DNC Rules Committee meeting in Washington D.C. this past May. While in Congress, Bonior was known to be "the biggest supporter of the anti-Israel Arab lobby in Congress." In 1990, Bonior was one of only 34 Congressmen to vote against recognizing Jerusalem as the unified capital of Israel. In 1997, Bonior was one of only 15 Congressmen who signed a letter asking President Clinton to pressure Israel into making even further concessions to the Palestinian Authority, despite the PA's constant abrogation of its commitments under the Oslo Accords. In 2002, Bonior was one of only 21 Congressmen who opposed H.R. 392, which buttressed Israel's right to self defense and called upon the PA to dismantle the Hamas terrorist infrastructure. Throughout his tenure in Washington, Bonior repeatedly voted against aid to Israel while continually supporting arms sales to Arab states.
A fourth top Obama advisor is Robert Malley, a long-time fierce critic of Israel who attempted to rewrite history by claming that the 1999 Camp David Accords fell apart because of actions on the part of the Israeli delegation (and not because of Yasser Arafat's intransigence, which we know to be the case). Malley has also called for greater legitimization of and accommodations for terrorist organizations such Hamas and Hezbollah, not to mention rouge Muslim states such as Syria and Iran.
A fifth such advisor is Samantha Power, who had to formally resign from the Obama campaign after calling Hillary Clinton a "monster," but is known to play a strong unofficial role in the Obama campaign till this day. Power has called for the suspension of aid to Israel and its redirection to "Palestine." Power has stated that criticism of Obama is solely on the grounds of what is "good for the Jews." She also advocated using U.S. troops to invade Israel and force a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority.
A sixth such advisor is Senator Chuck Hagel, one of the few Republicans to consistently express anti-Israel views. Obama has chosen Hagel as one of his chief foreign policy advisors. In reference to Hagel and co-advisor Senator Jack Heed (D-RI), Obama said the following: "They're both experts on foreign policy; they reflect I think traditional bipartisan wisdom when it comes to foreign policy. Neither of them are ideologues but they try to get the facts right and make a determination about what's best for U.S. interests, and they're good guys." Let us examine what foreign policy expert Chuck Hagel has done on foreign policy issues most concerning to most Americans:
In August of 2006, Hagel was one of only 12 Senators to refuse to call upon the European Union to declare Hizbullah a terrorist organization. He was even criticized by Democratic organizations for his stance. In December of 2005, Hagel was one of only 27 Senators to refuse to sign a letter to President Bush urging him to pressure the Palestinian Authority to ban Hamas and other terrorist organization from participating in parliament. In June of 2004, Hagel refuse to sign a letter urging President Bush to raise the issue of Iran's nuclear ambitions at an upcoming G-8 summit. Last but not least, in October of 2000, Hagel was one of only 4 Senators to refuse to sign a Senate letter in support of Israel.
Finally there is Obama's nuclear proliferation advisor, Joseph Cirincione, who has called upon Israel to completely relinquish its nuclear arsenal, while dismissing claims that Syria has been recently building up its nuclear enrichment capacity.
It is true that Obama has some high-profile Jewish advisors and supporters, but these, such as Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida, are largely pro-Oslo Jews who have come to expect and support constant concessions from Israel even in the face of mounting Arab terrorism.
4) Obama and McCain speak of Israel and the Israeli-Arab conflict in starkly different terms.
Obama, in his own words, views the Arab-Israeli conflict as an "open wound" and "open sore" that has a deleterious effect on "all of our foreign policy," according to Jeffery Goldberg of The Atlantic Monthly who conducted twin interviews with McCain and Obama. This characterization underscores Obama's belief that that there is some sort of parity between Israel and the Arabs and if only we can get both sides together, we can close this open sore; and furthermore, that all the other problems in the middle east stem directly or indirectly from this "open sore." McCain on the other hand understands the ultimate threat of Islamo-facism and views both Israel and America as targets and victims of the constant assault perpetrated by Islamo-fascists. Says McCain: "I don't think the conflict is a sore. I think it is a national security challenge." Asked what would happen if the Israeli-Arab conflict were resolved, McCain responds, "We would still face the enormous threat of radical Islamic extremism." When asked about Israel building new homes for Jews in the West Bank, Obama responded by stating that given the prospect of such continual construction, "we're going to be stuck in the same status quo that we've been stuck in for decades now." McCain, on the other hand, switched the topic of conversation by focusing attention of the plight of Israel's citizens in Sderot who brave every day the constant barrage of Hamas's Kassam and Kytusha rockets from Gaza.
5) Both Barrack and Michelle Obama have a long history of associations with radical leftists and Arabists, neither of whom, it should go without saying, bode well for the Jewish people:
Barrack Obama's first political mentor in Hawaii was a relatively well-known black writer and poet named Frank Marshall Davis who was an activist in the Soviet-controlled Communist Party USA (CPUSA). Obama continued his communist training and indoctrination at his first college, Occidental. According to Obama's book, Dreams From My Father, Obama spent much of his free college time with "Marxist professors and structural feminists and punk rock performance poets," with whom he "discussed neocolonialism." Before leaving to college, "Frank" warned the young Barrack, ". . don't start believing what they tell you about equal opportunity and the American way and all that shit."
Barrack Obama's leftism continued in full force, albeit subtly, on the streets of Chicago. Obama is known to have been friends with left-wing fanatic and Weatherman terrorist Bill Ayers, who is responsible for dozens of bombings between 1969 and 1975, and who also served on two different boards with Obama. Ayers told the New York Times, "I don't regret setting bombs . . .I feel we didn't do enough." When George Stephanopoulos challenged Obama in an interview to explain his relationship with Ayers, Obama dismissed the relationship as "a guy who lives in my neighborhood." Nothing could be further from the truth! Obama's political career began with him raising funds in Ayers living room. Ayers and Obama worked together in the context of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge through which Ayers hoped to include left-wing indoctrination in the city's public school system. Later on in is career as an "organizer", Obama worked closely with Ayers at the Woods Fund which conveniently gave a $6,000 grant to Obama's radical Trinity United Church. Ironically, Ayers, the American terrorist, has accused Israel of terrorism after Israel retaliated for vicious Arab attacks against its own civilians.
Obama's initial financial base was none other than left-wing fanatic hedge fund guru George Soros, who is well known for being a strong critic of Israel and who has explored creating an anti-Israel lobby to countervail the activities of AIPAC. Soros has stated that America needs to go through a "certain de-Nazification process" so that it can extricate itself from Iraq. Soros has also had close relations with the anti-Israel advisors to Obama's campaign noted above.
Obama is known to have been particularly close with ex-PLO member and now Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi. Obama and Khalidi were fellow board members of a foundation that funded the Arab American Action Network, a fiercely pro-Palestinian organization. Obama has admitted that Khalidi has changed Obama's views and attitudes about the world. Obama is considered in Chicago to be a close friend of the Palestinian Arabs. Not a surprise, given the facts.
6) The Obamas have regularly attended a racist and anti-Semitic church for about twenty years and have raised their daughters in same atmosphere.
The Obamas had been proud and regularly attending members of the radical Trinity United Church of Chicago for twenty years.The Trinity United Church of Chicago is a proud member-church of the Black Liberation Theology movement. Much like the Holy Roman Empire was neither Holy nor Roman nor an Empire, Black Liberation Theology is neither a theology, nor about Liberation, nor strictly about black people. Black Liberation Theology is a subset of the global Liberation theology movement which was founded in Latin America and spawned vicious socialist dictators and rebels such as Che' Guevara. Black Liberation Theology is and predicated on the notion of saving dark-skinned people through the gradual extermination of light-skinned people and their beliefs. The father of the Black Liberation Theology movement is James H. Cone and the bible of the Black Liberation Theology Movement is Cone's Black Theology and Black Power. The following is a quote from same book: "Black Theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the Black community. If God is not for us, and against white people, then he is a murderer and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill gods who do not belong to the black community. . . . Black Theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy."
This is the theological backdrop for Barrack Obama' s political activism. This is the church where the bombastic and racist Rev. Jeremiah Wright had served as pastor for the span of that time. Obama has described Wright as his "moral compass," "sounding board," "confidant," and "mentor." Wright married the Obamas and baptized their children. Only after 20 years, strong political pressure, and Wright disavowing Obama, did Obama finally disavow Wright. But Obama never thought to disavow Wright after any of the numerous racist and anti-Israel remarks made by Wright both at and away from the pulpit over the course of 20 years!
Wright is an anti-Israel activist who has given sermons at Trinity United calling for the US to cease and desist from all aid to Israel. Wright also allowed Hamas officials and Arab activists to contribute to the church's magazine. One such Hamas official accused Israel of building an "ethnic bomb." Wright is also good friends with fierce and notorious anti-Semite, Louis Farrakhan, leader of the
Nation of Islam movement. This same Farrakhan, who called Jews "bloodsuckers," was the recipient of an award from the Trinity United Church. Barrack Obama has yet to publicly condemn the granting of this award. In fact, all the evidence suggests that Obama, himself, has had a close relationship with Farrakhan. Obama even chose to march with Farrakhan in the Million Man March of 1995 despite the Anti-Defamation League pleading with African American leaders not to attend.
And it wasn't just Wright who gave anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sermons at Trinity. Father Pfleger and Reverend James Meeks, both supporters of Louis Farrakhan, have been regular guest speakers at Trinity over the years. When Jewish members of an Illinois state board, mandated with monitoring hate speech, resigned after a fellow board member, affiliated with the Nation of Islam, refused to denounce Farrakhan's anti-Semitism, Pfleger retorted with the words, "good riddance." Reverend Meeks has been known to scapegoat "Hollywood Jews" for corrupting the moral climate in America.