I’ve asked this question here before but feel compelled to do so again:
Newton Republicans…why do you still let Tom Mountain represent you?
Mountain is chair of the Newton Republican City Committee. He was in the news again this weekend for calling the police when a group of dozens of Jewish protesters stood in a circle outside of the state headquarters of the Massachusetts Republican Party in Boston.
He told reporters, the protesters were “a disgrace to the Jewish people” and “an embarrassment to this country” and that the gunman who murdered 11 Jews at a Pittsburgh Temple was actually an “anti-Trump white supremacist.” (Never mind the fact that the gunman said he was motivated by those Trump-fueled fears about the migrant caravan.)
Later Mountain had this to say to Jenna Fisher at Newton Patch about the protesters:
“They are a part of the divisive trend in this country is really trying to pin this massacre on Republicans and Donald Trump by trying to make some strange connection to White Nationalism. They’re living in a world of make-believe.”
Mountain said police advised him to go around to the back entrance to get in, but he refused.
“They were there to prevent entry into the building. I was not going to be shuffled over to the janitor’s entrance in the rear,” he said.
In contrast MassGOP chair Kirsten Hughes decided to take the high road, saying this when asked about the protesters outside her office ..
“The MassGOP strongly condemns and rejects all forms of hate, violence, and deeply values religious freedom.”
Now I’m pretty confident that Hughes statement better reflects the views of most Republicans in Newton and across the state. So really Newton Republicans, why do you let Tom Mountain keep speaking for you?
Is there some sort of election for this position? Maybe there’s just nobody else interested.
Mountain has evidently forgotten about Dylann Roof, the perpetrator of the Charleston church massacre in 2015. The inspiration behind Roof and Robert Bowers, who attacked the worshippers in Pittsburgh, is clearly one and the same.
Nobody with any sense takes Tom Mountain seriously, and I’m sure that he’s well aware of that by now.
@Michael: If only that were true. He’s quoted extensively in this Globe article as a “Mass GOP offical” and has been quoted by the Globe and others regularly.
I only know Mountain from his opinion pieces……but he is not a Republican anymore are much as he is instead a Trumpublican. He managed to make an admittedly unpleasant situation at GOP HQ and an unspeakable national tragedy all about Trump. Not the victims, not the motives of the shooter. All Trump. It’s actually sad. He would have been so much better off by simply following the lead of his party chair.
Interesting that he politicized this rather than this big time Jew calling it what it was: an act of anti-Semitism. I’m appalled. He is vile.
Tom Mountain is a heinous individual.
11 people died because they were praying in a synagogue. 1 of those people survived the Holocaust only to be shot to death in a synagogue in the United States of America.
Mr. Mountain should learn to respect the 11 people who died. The United States has the freedom of except for the people who have been shot to death in this synagogues and churches by white men.
I have the right to free speech also, as does Mr. Mountain. I can protest Mr. Trump and Mr. Mountain because I have the right to do so. Mr. Mountain should read the Constitution of the United States – it applies to people who share his view and those who oppose his view.
I think Tom Mountain’s point is that while Jews throughout the country share profound grief over the shootings in Pittsburgh, certain ‘progressive’ Jews like those protesting at Mass GOP HQ, appear to be exploiting Pittsburgh as justification for criticism of, and attribution of the tragedy to, President Trump and his administration. Aside from the tenuousness, if not fallaciousness, of that connection (especially in light of Trump’s own daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren being Jewish, as well as Trump being the most pro-Israel President in modern time, in contrast to Obama’s anti-Israel policies and extensive and close connection to Anti-semites), Tom and others feel that the ‘progressive’ protesting is nothing other than exploitation of Antisemitism, as well as exploitation of a tragedy and the Jewish community itself, for partisan gain.
Congratulations Jim, your comment is as hateful and despicable as Tom Mountain’s. Jews should know better than anyone the dangers of Trump’s neo-fascism, to Jews and non-Jews alike. No pro-Israel policy or marriage can justify that.
Adam, OK, in ADDITION to President Trump’s own daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren being Jewish, aren’t you aware that more than by far, the current anti-Semitism as well as Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, emanates from the political left, especially on college campuses throughout the country, not from the political right (albeit the left leaning media perpetually exploits anti-Semitism by seizing on a ridiculously tiny minority of self-identified Nazi demonstrators); and that President Obama and his administration as consistently manifested by his actions and policies, was the most anti-Israel administration in modern history (with President Trump, by his actions and policies, the most pro-Israel); and that President Trump has appointed a very disproportionately large number of Jews from his Cabinet on down, whereas President Obama held close anti-Semitic and anti-Israel advisors.
Saying Trump cannot be anti-Semitic because his daughter and son-in-law are Jewish is like saying he cannot be a misogynist because he has had three wives.
Ted, so are you actually saying that you think Trump is truly anti-Semitic??? And, moreover, what is your answer to my other points (beyond his family)???
I await your answers, hopefully more than ‘clever’ sounding (false) analogies.
@Jim Epstein, yes, and he’s a racist too.
Trump is a “transactional” POTUS. He is supporting Israel because it is in his interest to do so, both politically and financially. Trump is beholden to Sheldon Adelson, a pro-Israel megadonor, who holds a lot of sway in GOP circles.
Being pro-Israel is not the same as being pro-Jewish. Apocalyptic Evangelical Christians support the nation of Israel, based on prophecies in the Book of Revelations in the New Testament, and recognizing Jerusalem as its capital is a key part of it. They believe this will help bring about the Second Coming of their Lord Jesus Christ and the end times. When Christ returns, there will be a battle in which He triumphs over evil, involving natural disasters, wars, and the AntiChrist, as the Book of Revelations notes. At the end, everyone will convert to Christianity–including the Jews–and there will be a golden age for a millenium. That is why Apocalyptic Evangelical Christians love Trump so much. Believe me, if you are a Jew, the Apocalyptic Evangelical Christians are not your friends, nor are they true friends of Israel. The Jews and Israel are just a means to an end to them.
Ted, so you are claiming Trump is an inherent and/or philosophical anti-semite. Since I don’t see any transactional evidence of this, it would be helpful if you can cite any basis whatsoever for this claim. J
@Jim…Don’t bother asking. I’m sure the liberals who hate Trump would call him a racist even if he had African American children. The point is….they hate Trump. No matter what he does, they hate him, and no rational conversation is possible.
@Ted…I had some packages stolen off my front steps the other day….I’m sure you could find a way to blame Trump for that….please help because I would really like to get my packages back!
I am precisely bothering to ask Ted about his precise claim of Trump’s anti-semitism as he has stated above.
Here is a recent article published in an Israeli newspaper that explains why the anti-Semites believe Trump is one of them. Like those “very fine people” shouting “Jews Will Not Replace Us” while they marched with Tiki torches in Charlottesville. And even if Trump himself is not anti-Semitic, he stokes anti-Semitism by his dog whistles to the White Nationalists that he is really on their side. And maybe that’s worse then being anti-Semitic. He is emboldening the anti-Semites through his rhetoric.
I know some (admittedly not a very large number) of non Jews who have contempt bordering on hatred for Jewish people, but who claim to support Israel because of defense and alliance considerations. I also have close friendships with several Jews including two rabbis who were my fraternity brothers in college. These people are sensitive to all discernible signs of anti Jewish hatred and propaganda and they passionately support the continued existence and well being of Israel. But they are all deeply opposed to Trump and his Administration and they have serious issues with much of the current political leadership in Israel. They also believe that prominent hard knuckled Jewish supporters of Trump like Sheldon Adelson are doing a long term disservice to Israel and to any prospect for peace in the region.
Ted, from your latest comment you at least recant your position that Trump himself is anti-Semitic, but you replace that by now claiming Trump merely “stokes” anti-Semitism by his signaling to White-Nationalists that he is on their side. You cite the Tiki torch marchers in Charlottesville shouting “Jews will not replace us”, connecting that to Trump publicly stating that there are “very fine people on both sides” as if Trump was referring to one side being the ridiculously tiny minority of self-identified Nazi demonstrators. Come on Ted, Trump was referring to both sides of the Confederate Statue removal issue (which generated the Charlottesville protest) — not the ridiculously tiny number of Tiki torchers (which the left wing media elects to show over and over and over again to perpetuate, like you, the same misstatement for partisan purposes. Or are you really claiming that Trump is supportive of the Nazi demonstrators??? In any case, please cite another example of what you claim is Trump specifically “stoking” anti-Semitism.
Jim Epstein trivializes Trumpism:
And if that thought doesn’t offend you, then this is not a conversation worth having.
I fed the troll, and I am truly sorry. This thread is closed.