Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
News

Bagels and Ballots – Friday

-It’s not always sunny in Florida for independent senatorial candidate Charlie Crist. The state’s Republican party released an audit showing that Florida Governor Crist — until recently a Republican — charged to the party over $381,000 expenses not “primarily” related to official party work, including a trip to … Disney World. (Florida Times-Union)

-In a conference call yesterday, Crist’s Democratic opponent, Rep. Kendrick Meek, appealed to Jewish voters by pointing to support from Jewish groups and his distance from the Obama administration on Israel. But his debate will be aired tonight, on Yom Kippur. (MitzVote).

-Incensed by seemingly irrational politicians? Irritated by ill-fitting Hitler comparisons? People who scream loudly about “teabaggers”? Jon Stewart announced on last night’s Daily Show that you can restore your sanity at his … Rally to Restore Sanity on the DC mall in late October. For those who prefer to keep screaming the truthiness, try Stephen Colbert’s March to Keep Fear Alive on the same day: (New York)

-A new poll finds that in the race for Ohio’s senate seat, Jewish Democrat Lee Fisher is 20 percentage points behind former Bush official and Republican opponent Rob Portman. (Columbus Business First)

-Queen Sarah? Vanity Fair fleshes out the implications of comparing Sarah Palin to Queen Esther. In a 2008 letter, right-wing pastor Lou Engle wrote to Ms. Barracuda that, like the Persian heroine, “many thousands are fasting and praying for you. … I believe this is an Esther moment in your life.” (Vanity Fair online)

-Queen or otherwise, Sarah 2012 is the bigger question. In light of Palin’s attendance at a GOP dinner in Iowa tonight, Politico asks if her celebrity can translate into votes in this caucus state. (Politico)

-As Republicans try to take back Congress, they’re preparing an election agenda. One initiative includes encouraging that bills are read aloud; another is the citation of constitutional authority in all legislation. (Politico)

-More on Christine O’Donnell, the Tea Partier who launched a thousand profiles: she’s now saying that her crusade against masturbation and other right-right moral views were a part of her youth – and wouldn’t play into her voting record. In Washington, she says her “litmus test” will be mere constitutionality. (LA Times).

-And Gawker’s found O’Donnell’s lesbian sister, who says the candidate isn’t a homophobe: (Gawker)

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.