Well, the Great Schlep has its work cut out for it, as this video from last night's Daily Show reveals (I was cringing like Jon by the end of it):

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=186076&title=seniors-citizens-watch-the

Forget the neighbor to neighbor campaign. I need to talk to my own family. I have two Republican relatives who live in Florida! Dare I risk engendering a lifelong rift in the family for politics? Yes, I think maybe its worth it.

Plus, I always ask myself, "What would Sarah Silverman do?"

Yeah, but that's frickin' brilliant Sarah!

a pragmatic approach, i'm sure, but the campaign strains use of the word "progressive." JCER's talking points from the site on the issue of race amount basically to "don't worry, senator obama is a different kind of negro."

given the intended audience (and evidenced by the casual racism demonstrated by the biddies in the daily show clip), it's, ehrm, an understandable approach, but queasymaking just the same.

and further given that silverman's career is more or less built on casual racism? this campaign does very little to mitigate my desire for her to fall down a well.

I'll probably get tarred and feathered for this, but I can't stand Sarah Silverman. I must admit, this was kinda funny though.

Obama? Much love. Sarah, not so much.

I generally like silverman, but this is like straight up mccarthy style propaganda.

I mean yeah it's funny... but a part of me is screaming... no burn it.. burn it... ENEMY.

and that has nothing to do with obama or his policies... just the means of communication.

All in all I'd say highly unethical.

and we now await:

1. Hah -- what happened to directory of wonderful things?
2. Your page count suffers from your leanings!
3. As a lifelong liberal Democrat, even I find this
4. Hi, I was sent by the message machine to make sure every post on the net has some sort of ...

Doug, how the heck did that synagogue get the idea that Obama was appointing Farrakhan? Did someone come and tell them that horrible rumor? Or is it along the lines of how people used to "just know" that Jewish people ate babies, or whatever that weird rumor was?

I've always found it very strange that my parent's generation of US Jews tend to be very left leaning, and subsequent generations even moreso. Yet, members of my grandparents generation too frequently exhibit racism, and other such qualities. To them, Obama is a "shwartze". I heard the word used so frequently and casually during my younger years, that I didn't realize its true meaning until scarily late in life. There's not much one trip to Florida can do to erase decades of hate. It will just put a lot of money in Jet Blue's wallet.

I would like to point out that my grandmother on the other side of my family went to college and graduated. I think that's pretty awesome, considering her hage. She always complains about Bush, and isn't racist. She also lives in NJ, not Florida. Go figure.

and further given that silverman's career is more or less built on casual racism?

You can say that with a straight face?

I always thought her career was built on how funny it is to wiggle the stick some people have up their assess.

Seems she's correct.

"schwartz" is not a bad word. It literally means black and that's how most Jews and Germans use it.

It's all about the context.

It's a nice sentiment, reaching out to older Jewish voters who might be buying into the FEAR talk coming from the right.

I'm not a fan of Silverman though. Her whole bit seems contrived. "I'm a pretty woman AND I saw outrageous things!" just doesn't work for me. Margaret Cho is more transgressive and on point. Silverman seems to exemplify the notion that women can gain acceptance by out-louting men. Doesn't work for me.

Don't underestimate the significant overlap between Neo-Cons and pro-Israel / AIPAC supporters.

My best to Sarah Silverman and The Great Schlep though.

I'm not sure it is acceptance that Sarah Silverman is after. I also don't think she stands as any kind of "everywoman." She is strikingly original and in possession of one extremely incisive wit. Of course she makes people queasy and uncomfortable. It is her absolutely dead pan delivery of these outrageous

I love Sarah Silverman, but I can understand why some people can't hang with her schtick. Her material isn't usually anything special, but her timing is what makes it.

Mos of my Jewish friends are loathe to vote for
Obama,once he had any association with Farrakhan was enough to make em sick and fearful,They won't vote for Palin-McCain either,pretty sad all the way around.

Is she still fucking Matt Damon?

@#16
so I guess the other tactic would be to get them to just NOT vote this year?

Is she still fucking Matt Damon?

That's a funny little mash-up, this, "I'm Fucking Matt Damon," song. I think it is cool that he is playing along, not taking his celebrity too seriously.

#9 POSTED BY APRECHE:

I've always found it very strange that my parent's generation of US Jews tend to be very left leaning, and subsequent generations even moreso. Yet, members of my grandparents generation too frequently exhibit racism, and other such qualities.

Not entirely true. I'm the youngest child in my family and my parents survived World War II. So my parents were the age of your grandparents.

My mom was a budding socialist as a teen, read Balzac and denounced much of socialism after the war but was still very open-minded. She loved Bella Abzug! My dad was working class during the same period, but always pretty liberal in a mainstream sense. For example, I've never been a big Beatles fan, but when John Lennon was shot and killed, my dad was very upset about it.

In contrast my brother and sister (who are older than me by at least 15 years) are in the same age range as your parents, but they are both much more conservative and prejudiced in their own ways than you would imagine.

So please, do us a favor. Don't blanketly judge political viewpoints based on age. It's one of the most canned stereotypes out there and it's blind to the fact that age has very little to do with viewpoint.

And FWIW, my own feelings are Israel's existence as a militaristic state has given rise to a new/sick form of Jewish conservatism that some are only now becoming aware of. And in many ways has polarized Jewish political thought in a way that hurts us all.

Silverman's being outrageous and different will only carry her so far - thank goodness she's also pretty. Didn't she have her own television show for a few months?

2 11: Uh, "shwartz" IS a bad word that like many bad words had a beginning in something neutral. If you've ever heard it fly with disdain out of someone's mouth, you would know it's a bad word.

If the fallback argument is "usuage" then I say this -- has anyone ever heard it used in a netural way latey? Among anyone past a first generation person of jewish or german descent? As in: "Oh, that shwartz suitcase on the baggage carousel is mine." It's pretty much tied to race in America, and it's a coded and covert way of being dismissive. There's a reason Art Speigelman uses this word at the end of "Maus" to ask "have we learned nothing?"

@#22 POSTED BY TOM HALE:
I think her jokes are becoming a bit rote, but she does nail it more than most. And judging her on looks is a bit annoying. Technically speaking, Sam Kinison was an angry, ugly little coked up troll wearing a beret. But nobody judged him based on looks. He was funny!

Oh God, I think I've just cringed myself inside out.

Sarah Silverman must be stopped.

All in all I'd say highly unethical.

Out of the whole toxic pupu platter of US politics, you find this hard to swallow?

thank goodness she's also pretty. Didn't she have her own television show for a few months?

Thanks for continually discrediting yourself with cheap shots. It saves other commenters the trouble.

11 & 23: I'm surprised nobody's gone here yet, so here goes:

"May the shwartze be with us."

BTW: L'shana tovah, everybody.

And FWIW, my own feelings are Israel's existence as a militaristic state has given rise to a new/sick form of Jewish conservatism that some are only now becoming aware of. And in many ways has polarized Jewish political thought in a way that hurts us all.

Don't forget that Neo-Cons descended from Left-wing Trotskyites.

I also personally recommend reading The Jewish Century by Yuri Slezkine. And juxtapose this with considering the harm the regression to statehood has done to Jewish culture and politics.

Is she ever out of character? I'm sure she's a pretty interesting person under all that shtick.

To poster #18 as regards my comment on post#16.
I did mean both candidates stink in their eyes
for different reasons.
I write from a State that has already predicted
Obama to win ,big time so it's kind of safe in
a manner of speaking as a liberal will carry this state.
So I think you are right
a few of my Jewish friends said to me they will
not vote this year.

"'Don't worry, Senator Obama is a different kind of Negro.'"

Yes, he is and Joe Biden knows it.

“I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy…I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”
—Three-time U.S. Presidential hopeful and election speech plagiarist Senator Joe Biden, describing fellow Senator and Presidential hopeful Barack Obama. (Attr.)

He probably bathes every day, also.

Joe Biden apparently is a Zionist, also.

Biden claims some tangential association to Judaism because his son married into the faith and he personally attended a Passover Sader, once.

Asking your Bubbe or Zayde to vote for Obama or McCain is the worst thing you could do (well maybe not, you could force them to take the gas-pipe). What would really be a mitzvah would be for you to help them educate themselves so that they can make an informed choice come November.

Oh, by the way, it's schwartze and don't get caught uttering it above 110th Street.

You know, you don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist. But it does help.

I just came here to predict the eruption of "I'm More Jewish Than You" dicksize wars but....

(OK, that's enough bad things for one post and I didn't even have to finish the sentence.)

@#31 POSTED BY FALCON_SEVEN

Asking your Bubbe or Zayde to vote for Obama or McCain is the worst thing you could do (well maybe not, you could force them to take the gas-pipe).

I would like you to go to Florida and talk to the elderly about the Green Party and other political alternatives. I'm sure we could make a drinking game out of their reactions.

Vote for McCain--he is war hero for Christsakes.

good on sarah.

puts me in mind of this further meditation on the topic:

"express contempt for rural white ignorance, and give elderly jewish ignorance a pass"