Pat Buchanan Takes On the Kreplach Cabal

Pat Buchanan

/ AP

Never would have figured on this one: Pat Buchanan going to bat for affirmative action:

"Not since Thurgood Marshall, 43 years ago, has a Democratic president chosen an African-American. The lone sitting black justice is Clarence Thomas, nominated by George H. W. Bush. And Thomas was made to run a gauntlet by Senate liberals."

Actually, Buchanan was less interested in making the case for diversity than he was in sounding a new alarm:

"If (Elena) Kagan is confirmed," he wrote, "Jews, who represent less than 2 percent of the U.S. population, will have 33 percent of the Supreme Court seats."

Gulp!

"If Kagan is confirmed," he went on, "three of the four justices nominated by Democratic presidents will be from New York City: Kagan from the Upper West Side, Sotomayor from the Bronx, Ruth Bader Ginsburg from Brooklyn. Breyer is from San Francisco."

Well, Katie bar the door before the kreplach cabal busts through  the gates.

Buchanan didn't say it but he didn't have to: The real danger is that too many Jews will wind up sitting on the highest court in the land. And that would be a bad thing for the republic.

Not individual Americans, mind you.

Jews.

So much for Buchanan's past criticism of identity politics as a betrayal of the broader "American" narrative (when, it goes without saying,) the nation was overwhelmingly an Anglo-Saxon, Christian republic.

But there's an obvious political context for Buchanan's remarks.

In the upcoming Senate confirmation hearings, Republicans may have a hard time giving Kagan a hard time. Not because they plan to rubber-stamp her nomination, but, as others have noted, the former Harvard Law dean and current solicitor-general, hasn't left much of a paper trail to this point. So in the absence of a "wise Latina" quote, what are they to do? Buchanan obviously did the math and didn't like the answer. A yes vote for Kagan means the Supreme Court would then be only seven seats away from a full minyan. And you can't have that.

Buchanan's qualms notwithstanding, the Senate's going in a different direction. Kagan may face tough questioning but it won't be about her religion or ethnicity. During her "Face the Nation" appearance on Sunday, California Senator Dianne Feinstein did the right thing and politely dismissed Buchanan's complaint as irrelevant.

"Does that bother me?" she said. "The answer is no. Each one of the Catholic justices are very different in how they approach the law, and I don't believe it's necessarily related to their religion. And I think they are total people, the products of their learning, their backgrounds, their experiences in life, and that's the way it should be."

(Of course, she's one of them so what would you expect?)

At this stage of his life, Buchanan reminds me of the proverbial cranky uncle. Every family's got one. You expect the guy to get worked up over small stuff; but he eventually calms down. Not so, though, with Buchanan, where any change to the culture, post-"Leave It to Beaver," has been a very big deal. And when it comes to the Jews, the man's pursued by a dybbuk. He says he's not an anti-Semite, so I'll take him at his word. But the controversy keeps making Lazarus-like revivals because well, Buchanan keeps saying obnoxious things.

Everyone's got their pet theories about why he keeps goading the Jews. Here's another.

But for this, you need to go back more than four decades, when the counterculture was rocking America and the nation was divided over the war in Vietnam. This was the thick of the culture war and there were fears the country was coming apart. Conservatives were outraged by Hollywood and "the liberal elite" (and we all knew who that meant.) It was not accident that most Jews were Democrats and they didn't back Richard Nixon or the war. Strike One. But they did support military aid to Israel. Strike Two. Buchanan was understandably sore about the opposition to Nixon and what later happened to his president. Buchanan was also communications director under Ronald Reagan, when he again faced off against a critical liberal opposition. Strike Three. Is he still nursing a grudge? You bet your bippy.

Fast-forward to the present and Buchanan's living in an America led by a black liberal president and a population marked by an outsized representation of Jews in culture, politics and finance relative to their numbers. You can Google "Buchanan" and "Jews" for the full list but some of his greatest hits include the following:

• "There are only two groups that are beating the drums for war in the Middle East -- the Israeli defense ministry and its 'amen corner' in the United States."

• Hitler was "an individual of great courage...Hitler's success was not based on his extraordinary gifts alone. His genius was an intuitive sense of the mushiness, the character flaws, the weakness masquerading as morality that was in the hearts of the statesmen who stood in his path."

• "Diesel engines do not emit enough carbon monoxide to kill anybody."

• "If U.S. Jewry takes the clucking appeasement of the Catholic cardinalate as indicative of our submission, it is mistaken. When Cardinal O'Connor of New York seeks to soothe the always irate Elie Wiesel by reassuring him 'there are many Catholics who are anti-Semitic'...he speaks for himself. Be not afraid, Your Eminence; just step aside, there are bishops and priests ready to assume the role of defender of the faith." (Writing in response to Cardinal O'Connor criticism of anti-Semitism during the controversy over plans to build a convent near Auschwitz)

• "Our culture is superior because our religion is Christianity and that is the truth that makes men free."

None of this necessarily makes the man an anti-Semite. Unfortunately, it also doesn't make him a mensch, either.

[bankersvox]

B. should not be on TV.

[nojoy01]

by high_energy_laser May 17, 2010 10:33 AM EDT

No, I did not miss the point that the posting by IGold17530 was meant to be facetious. It's obvious, I was simply trying to raise the bar on the conversation as most of the comments here appear to more for the purpose of self gratification.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You've GOT to be a Troll! You have to be somebody throwing stuff out to see what you can stir up. And if you truly, honestly believe what you've been posting? Well, I've always thought Pat Buchanan wasn't wrapped too tight, but you son, you've come completely unraveled.

[mikelpond]

what I can't figure is why your so interested in this has-been? He's not really even a has-been; someone who wrote speeches for Nixon? CBS looks foolish paying attention to his rants.

[myth1958]

Yes, mikelpond, he's a fringe politician - leaps and bounds from where he once stood. But when he speaks, people listen. Like they do to Rush, Beck, and Fox 'News'. So when propagandists start up their hate machines, we out to fight back by pointing out their contradictions, exposing their putrid connections to other hate groups and generally leave them no quarter to expand into. Neanderthals were out-smarted once before, if I remember right.

[newerdeal]

And like so many other "talking heads" on radio and tv he is hard up for ideas to keep him on the air and getting a paycheck.

Pat has no new ideas.

And that silly laugh after he says something crazy ?

Is that his disclaimer ?

[tsigili]

Interesting, that he didn't mention how many seats the Catholics have, on the Court.

Buchanan is just like all religious based political figures.....ha wants religion to govern......and my answer to that, is that religion does govern in Iran......and look how that is working out!

[newerdeal]

There should be 50% women on the court ! ! !

[Henri_Rochard]

I think you play right into Buchanan's argument.
Gotta have x number of women on the court. Gotta have x number of Blacks, x number of Latinos/Latinas.

If this is the case, then where are the Protestanta? Why are the athiests? Do we have alcoholics and drug users on the Court? Are any of the judges disables?

[newerdeal]

There are only 2 groups. Women and men.

[DMD29]

OMG, we can not have three Justices from New York City!

PS: How come we do not appoint some non-lawyers?

[babooph]

Pat says very good & some totally foolish things-this seems VERY meaningless-Jews enjoy politics -no shock they are chosen to serve the court-no problem either,bet this new choice is a good one...

[democracy3]

high_energy_laser:

You seem to have some serious issues with Jewish people. Not every Jewish person is a staunch pro-Israel defender. Other than that issue, I can't imagine just how you think another Jewish person on the court would necessarily harm "our" culture or be "a potential long term treat to our nation's health".

And the issue with Israel isn't even an issue since the SCOTUS doesn't create international policies. Get over it already.

[babooph]

I know many feel Jews control the world-makes me feel ,if they are,please stop,if not please start[the image of my Jewish friends getting an am call on their input on the dollar yen is,well...]

[RatPackSixGun]

"At this stage of his life, Buchanan reminds me of the proverbial cranky uncle. "

While at some level, equating to a drunken college sophmore evaluating a re-write of a political science paper due in the morning, I may agree with this..The fact remains that the level of professionalism, decorum and basic emotional maturity of CBS "news" has of late fallen into the realm of Hefner-esque sensationalism.

[democracy3]

by high_energy_laser May 17, 2010 10:39 AM EDT :

If anyone is talking in generalities and being nonspecific, it would be you. You've given NO specific reason that a Jewish member of the court would be a problem, other than the fact that you don't like Jews in general and would prefer to see an Asian nominee. Again, there are no rules requiring a quota of any kind on the SCOTUS. Get over it.

[IGold17530]

I must have missed Pat's concern about having six Roman Catholics on the Court. That's 67%, far more than the percentage of Catholics in the population. After all, those folks take orders from the Pope, right?

[democracy3]

by high_energy_laser May 17, 2010 9:59 AM EDT

*****

You seem to have missed the fact that IGold17530 was being facetious.