Dean Esmay is asking for it with two recent posts.
First, he posits that There is no functional difference between fear of the “religious right” and anti-semitism.
Then, as it that isn’t enough to get some discussion flowing, he also asserts that Howard Dean is the Left’s Pat Buchanan.
Update (10:43) The above post is mainly an invitation to go visit Dean and join in on the fun. For the record:
1.) I may or may not agree here, as Dean has intentionally been vague about this, although he’s joined in some in the comments section. The main problem I have is that I don’t know what an anti-Semite is anymore. Even more than the term “racist,” it has been so misused as to be virtually meaningless. Obviously, Hitler was an anti-Semite. Beyond that, what does it mean? Does it simply mean “one who hates Jews”? Or does anyone who disagrees with the Likud party and the most extreme Zionism qualify?
I think the Jews have the same right as any other group to form a nation-state but sometimes oppose the policies of the state of Israel. Likewise, I think Pat Robertson, and certainly the more mainstream Christian conservatives, have the same right as any other group to try to influence the political process, even though I oppose much of their agenda.
2.) I honestly don’t know Howard Dean’s positions well enough to answer this one, as I had frankly never heard of him until he announced he was running for president and thought he was a clown. He’s obviously become a serious candidate but I am still only casually paying attention to him right now. He strikes me as a hyper-leftie on some issues but I have no reason to put him in Buchanan’s camp at this point. I’ve watched Buchanan for 20-odd years and watched him go from a highly intelligent conservative whose views I occasionally differed with to a guy on the lunatic fringe. I’m sure part of this is a reflection of my own ideological movement over that time, but mostly it’s Buchanan has changed. I hesitate to put anyone into that category.
