The Neoconolist Conspiracy

The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan – The Daily Beast

A list-serv existed that brought many Likudnik and neocon defenders of Israel’s government together; and on that list-serv, the former AIPAC spokesman, Josh Block, urged a coordinated campaign to target key critics of Netanyahu as anti-Semites. As soon as this was revealed by a leaked email and a piece by Justin Elliott, the list-serv shut down.

Here are the details of the email coordinating smears against various writers mainly connected to the Center for American Progress:

Block’s email to the Freedom Community list arrived under the subject line “Important piece to echo and the research to do it….” – a reference to the Politico story. He wasted no time throwing around more accusations of anti-Semitism.

“This kind of anti-Israel sentiment is so fringe it’s support by CAP is outrageous, but at least it is out in the open now — as is their goal – clearly applauded by revolting allies like the pro-HAMAS and anti-Zionist/One State Solution advocate Ali Abunumiah and those who accuse pro-Israel Americans of having ‘dual loyalties’ or being ‘Israel-Firsters’ – to shape the minds of future generations of Democrats,” Block writes. “These are the words of anti-Semites, not Democratic political players.”

The blacklist included writers such as Matt Duss, Eli Clifton, Ali Gharib, Matt Yglesias, and Media Matters’ M.J. Rosenberg. Duss responds here. Look: there’s nothing wrong with making strong arguments against those with whom you disagree. But when you call them anti-Semites and when you argue that there should be a campaign to isolate, defame and get rid of them, you have gone over into the kind of bullying that is inimical to an open society. And by bullying, I mean:

I wonder if Steny Hoyer or Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid or Chuck Schumer or Dick Durban or James Clyburn agree with CAP?  I wonder if they will say they disagree and condemn this stuff and expect better. You know how I feel – look at the below — and ask them how they feel about this discourse from CAP and Media Matters.

After you read the story, see below for more examples of CAP’s and Media Matter’s work and statements along these lines….

YOU SHOULD AMPLIFY this.  And use the below to attack the bad guys.

A question: why is Journolist out of order but the Freedom Community isn’t? And who was on the Freedom Community list? Who are on the list-serv being urged to smear other writers as anti-Semites and pressure the organizations that employ them?

15 comments on “The Neoconolist Conspiracy

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  1. The frog says Alana Goldman is very nice, so I won’t say more than I’m not very surprised she doesn’t see anything particularly scurrilous in the e-mail she received three different times.

    But it’s nice, DM, to see that you’ve gotten over your problems with journalists and activists discussing stories and ideas of import to them, even if it’s taken you more than two years.

  2. OT, I guess it was expected the actual ending to BoardWalk Empire, like the Atreus clan, Darmody was not long for this world.

    • I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I had been wrong about BE ending last week, but I think that the second-to-last episode was much stronger than the actual 2nd Season finale. Still good, and may serve the narrative better if there’s to be another season.

      Now that I’ve seen the second episode of BREAKING BAD S1, I’m surprised to that so many people over the years have treated it as “serious drama” rather than as “dark comedy.” I think it possibly qualifies as both, but much more of the latter than I had expected based on past discussion and on the the just-concluded season.

      Did you ever busy yourself on it, Mr. Phrog?

  3. I guess one might call noir comedy, the humor is very dark, like some of the Travolta/Jackson repartee in Pulp Fiction, the part of the lesson of having the right plastic container to do the business,

    • All of the Pinkman trying to deal with the corpse was dark farce. Dealing with the live guy is much darker, and for me strains credulity quite a bit. If I found it more believable, it would alienate me from Walt and Jesse further. If I had been watching it at the time it was new, I might have felt tempted to give up on it at that point…

  4. It’s much more hands on a situation than say another academic turned Criminal, Moriarty, would get involved, then again he Major Moran to do his dirty work, a template that continues with the current incarnation of Sherlock, by the m akers of Dr. Who, have you been watching it.

  5. The new season will be available on line on January 1st, Jared Harris should make an interesting Moriarty in the film

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