DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz caught in lie as audio tape surfaces
Elections 2012September 6, 2012By: Mike Delrio
The Washington Examiner reported on Tuesday that Debbie Wasserman Schultz told a training session of Jewish Democrats on Monday that Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, has said that Republicans are dangerous to Israel because they criticize President Barack Obama’s record. The Democratic National Committee Chairperson took to the airwaves Tuesday to deny that she made the statement and went even farther when she accused columnist Philip Klein of misquoting her intentionally because he worked for a conservative leaning newspaper.The Florida congresswoman argued that she never attributed the comments to Oren and that she just said the GOP was treating the Middle East “like a political football, which is dangerous for Israel” when she appeared on Fox News.
Video: DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz caught in lie as audio tape surfaces
Klein immediately defended his story and has since posted an audio tape that confirms his story is accurate and truthful, meaning Wasserman Schultz has been neither.
In her Tuesday interview with Fox News, Wasserman Schultz claimed Klein had deliberately misquoted her:
“I didn’t say [Oren] said that,” she said. “And unfortunately, that comment was reported by a conservative newspaper. It’s not surprising that they would deliberately misquote me. What I always say is that unfortunately the Republicans have made Israel a political football, which is dangerous for Israel. And Ambassador Oren has said that we can’t ever suggest that there is any daylight between the two parties on Israel because there isn’t. And that that’s harmful to Israel. That’s what I said, and that is accurate.”
The audio tape leaves no question as to whether Klein or Wasserman Schultz is telling the truth-Wasserman Schultz not only lied to hide her true comments, but took her dishonesty to another level when she knowingly made false accusations against both Klein and the Washington Examiner in her attempt to hide what she said.
Allegations of this nature hurled at a columnist can destroy a career. The ease with which the DNC head went about trying to destroy Klein’s reputation, thus his career, to save herself from having to face the fallout of her statement show clearly she will say and do whatever she deems necessary to advance her objective.
Wasserman Schultz is heard on the audio tape saying “We know, and I’ve heard no less than Ambassador Michael Oren say this, that what the Republicans are doing is dangerous for Israel.”
Wasserman Schultz went on to say “They’re undermining Israel’s security by suggesting that the United States and Israel don’t have anything other than a unique and close and special relationship. It undermines Israel’s security to its neighbors in the Arab world and to its enemies. And we need to make sure that the fact that there has never been and will never be daylight between the two parties or the support for Israel that we have in the United States, that that is conveyed to Jewish Americans across this country. That’s our responsibility. It’s the responsibility we’re asking all of you to take on.”
Ambassador Oren quickly refuted the characterization that Wasserman Schultz attributed to him even before the release of the tape. He issued a statement Tuesday saying, “I categorically deny that I ever characterized Republican policies as harmful to Israel. Bipartisan support is a paramount national interest for Israel, and we have great friends on both sides of the aisle.”
Now that the question of whether or not Wasserman Schultz made the comments has been answered, let’s look at why she felt it was necessary to lie about what she said.
The remarks came during a training session at the DNC Convention held by the Obama campaign that was designed to teach Jewish Democrats how to persuade fellow Jewish Americans to vote for Obama.
Much of the session, which featured a string of speakers from the Obama campaign, was devoted to defending Obama’s record on Israel. During her talk, Wasserman Schultz said that Republicans, who “can’t get anywhere with our community on domestic issues” instead “do everything they can to lie and distort and mischaracterize this president’s stellar record on Israel.” It was as she was wrapping up her remarks that Wasserman Schultz made the comments that are now known to be untrue.
The answer as to why Wasserman Schultz lied about what she said can be found in the purpose of the original lie, which was to increase support amongst the Jewish community by convincing them that Obama has been, and will be, better for their community than would be GOP challenger Mitt Romney.
The lie was to convince the group she was speaking to that Obama has been good for relations between the US and Israel and that the Obama administration can be counted on to defend Israel. Wasserman Schultz invoked the name of Ambassador Oren to give her comments validity, and to subtly imply that the nation of Israel shares the view that she has advanced not only during the session, but in a recent interview with Hadassah magazine.
The second lie was to cover-up that she knowingly invoked the name of a person that has respect from the targeted group and lied about something she claims they said to lend support to her viewpoints, thus increasing her credibility.
The lies and the motivation behind them suggest that Wasserman Schultz will say whatever she believes will work in swaying voters in the direction of her party, truthful or otherwise. The audio of her comments at the training session and the video of the Fox interview reveal a person that lies with ease, thus diminishing the credibility of any statement she makes.
Were it not for the evidence of the audio tape Wasserman Schultz would still be launching false accusations and attacking the character of another, knowing all the while that she was the one lying, yet having no hesitation in assailing the character and reputation of another to advance her agenda.
Have we sunk so low in our political process that this type of behavior can be tolerated by those of either party when their leadership shows such a lack of respect for the truth? Is the “say anything to win” mentality acceptable to a majority of our nation? Is this the character that we desire from those that represent us? Is this what we display to our children as acceptable character?
For the future of our nation the answer to those questions needs to be no, regardless of one’s political leanings. |
