The cross on the podium -- does this offend jews???

[Francine Frensky]

let's see, so far they've made fun of all american wounded soldiers (with the purple heart bandaids), mocked jews by speaking from behind the embedded cross on the podium (jews killed jesus, remember)....

what major group will the repubs offend next?????

let's see.... blacks, women, old people..... your time is coming soon, probably.

[Richard D]

1. For Real!?!?!?!?!?!?

Do you have any pictures? This is for sure offensive.

[Francine Frensky]

2. Go to Atrios for a picture (sorry, don't know how to link!)

Or just check for yourself on C-Span when the tv shows the whole stage.

Look at the front of the podium, the big one and the small one (they are missing a third to make it the trinity???)

It's unbelievable. I would think all jewish people would be disgusted.

[feistydem]

9. As a Jew I have been disgusted by the Bushies for a multitude of offenses

How anyone could support these Fascists is beyond imagination. To support this administration you must either be uncivilized, uneducated or unkind.

[jackstraw45]

3. Is this it? Looks like a church

[abrock]

4. Thats it.

[Francine Frensky]

5. Looks like a southern-baptist tent revival

complete with the promise of a satisfying lynching afterwards....

(no offense to the truly religious southern-baptists....)

[starbuck6446]

15. none taken...

we're as disgusted with them as you are!! (Well, at least the SB *I* know and love are disgusted.... the rest of them are just plain crazy.)

[yardwork]

6. Not very subtle, is it?

I guess they figure that all the non-Christian Republicans will just go along with it, you know, take one for the team.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

16. That's really disturbing.

A sneaky, not altogether subliminal cross on that podium. If I'd seen that photograph without context I would have assumed it was some kind of church. And what's with the background - the New York skyline with a red (apocalyptic?) sky. I'm kind of surprised they didn't include the ruins of the WTC, since they're milking 9/11 for all it's worth. These people are freaking me out.

I'm totally offended, and I'm not even Jewish.

[Blue_Roses]

19. that's scarey

and freaky looking.

[AlCzervik]

7. I'm jewish and no it doesn't offend me but it creeps me out.

[MuseRider]

8. Oh good grief!

I can't believe this. First he starts signing bibles and now this. Slamming my head against the wall again.

[Francine Frensky]

10. Is this one of those subliminal messages?

I know 80% of America is christian, so is this supposed to be OK to put a cross on the podium of a major party function??

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

17. SIGNING BIBLES???

Bush was signing Bibles?!? Was he, like, autographing them, as if he was Jesus?

Gotta say, if Jesus does come back, like these guys are predicting, he will be SO pissed off!

[Blue_Roses]

20. He's signing bibles?

are you serious?

OMG...

[Jacobin]

11. Gooood GRIEF. Thomas Jefferson is fucking spinning in his grave

Over the fucking top.

Over the fucking top.

These people are insane

[Francine Frensky]

13. Insane is right.

WTcheney are they thinking???

[starroute]

12. Offend, no -- raise my paranoia level, hell yes

If anybody isn't aware of it, there are certain code phrases that are often used by covert anti-Semites on the right. And the Republicans have been hitting all of them far too hard for comfort:

New Yorkers (especially if "money-grubbing") = Jews
"liberal media" = Jews
Hollywood = Jews

I'm not one to hit the anti-Semitism buzzer easily. You can bash Israel all day and I won't turn a hair. But I'm hyper-sensitive to old-fashioned "they're-not-like-us" type insinuations against American Jews. Call it the Jewish equivalent of gaydar, if you will. And I've been picking up a lot of really nasty stuff going on just under the surface. The semiotics of this Republican convention stink to high heaven, and the podiums are only a small part of it.

[Cha]

14. I don't know about the Jewish People but

I'll bet Jesus isn't too happy!

[LTR]

18. Rove played dumb when asked about it on CNN

This afternoon, he was asked about it, and he thought it was ridiculous to think that.

Right.

I'm just wondering, are they gonna nail Dumbya or Reagan's corpse to it on Thursday night?