BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card

Subject: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 04:24 PM

The Santorum Hanukkah card.

OK, maybe it didn't come directly from Rick Santorum, but it was definitely sent by someone in Santorum's South Carolina campaign office.

I don't know why this just came to light 3 days ago, if it was mailed in December.

Why would a Christian (or someone who represents a notorious in-your-face Christian like Santorum) pretend to be celebrating a Jewish holiday in the first place? Wouldn't that alone be considered in bad taste? Isn't it, at best, just an obviously insincere attempt to curry favor with Jews? (Or is it just one of those mindless things politicians traditionally do, like kissing babies?)

But then to put a blatantly pro-Christian verse from the New Testament on it? ("I am the light of the world..." etc.)

What kind of an idiot would authorize this?

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: GUEST,amergin
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 04:47 PM

And the dreidels look like they're flipping you off....

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: GUEST,999
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 04:53 PM

"What kind of an idiot would authorize this?"

One who knows nothing about Judaism.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Paul Burke
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 05:07 PM

How odd. My post disappeared. It was here a moment ago.

It said something about it being odd that God seems to be a poor hand at omniscience. Otherwise the commandments would have included:

Thou Shalt Not Kiss Thy Neighbour's Ass.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: EBarnacle
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 07:00 PM

Clearly, as it is said, "The foolish, arrogant and ignorant shall be a burden to us for all time."

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 07:44 PM

Santorum, presumably, would wish to add "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's arse".

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: artbrooks
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 09:15 PM

Well, I wouldn't put any degree of stupidity past any politician, but this smacks a lot of a set-up by somebody else.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Mrrzy
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 09:22 PM

Oy vey!

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 11 Feb 12 - 11:16 PM

Rick Santorum's campaign manager, Michael Biundo, seems tobe suggesting tht this was a local idiocy in South Carolina and not really Santorum's fault.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Genie
Date: 12 Feb 12 - 11:26 AM

Not trying to be contrarian, but in this case I don't see anything hypocritical about Santorum's actions. Hanukkah is not an anti-Christian holiday, it's just not one that Christians personally celebrate.   Christians and Jews share religious history up to the time of Jesus, and the main reason why most Christians don't celebrate Jewish holidays such as Passover, Purim, etc., seems to trace back to the early days of the Christian church, when the gentile Christians split off over the issue of circumcision (pun not intended but noted).   Anyway, there's nothing about Hanukkah that a Christian could not, in good faith celebrate.    For a Christian to send a Hannukah greeting to Jewish friends is no more hypocritical than for a Jew to say "Merry Christmas" to Christian friends.   And since both Christmas and Hannukah are celebrated by many people pretty much in non-religious ways (dreydls, latkes, reindeer, mistletoe, etc.), why not send holiday greetings to those who celebrate those holidays, even if those people are not religious?

There are better things to criticize Rick Santorum for.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: artbrooks
Date: 12 Feb 12 - 11:58 AM

Genie, I think the point of the objection is that the bible verse quoted is more than a little anti-Jewish (or at least anti-non Christian).

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: GUEST,999
Date: 12 Feb 12 - 12:02 PM

"There are better things to criticize Rick Santorum for."

That's true, but the card is worthy of criticism, also.

The Festival of Lights is a specifically Jewish thing. It was stupidity on the part of whoever did the card. There are greetings that are non-denominational, and one of them should have been used instead. Plenty to be found in the Old Testament.

In the same way I object to community events where a prayer is offered and ends with "in Jesus' name, amen." At a specifically Christian event, no problem. But otherwise it's gauche to say the least.

Not an argument, just a statement of my thought on it. YMMV.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: EBarnacle
Date: 12 Feb 12 - 01:44 PM

As a Jew, I found the quotation offensive. It is, to say the least, gauche to send someone a holiday card, celebrating their holiday, telling them that they are inferior.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 13 Feb 12 - 11:07 AM

Okay, checked the quotation I am the light of the world
I see nothing there that denigrates any other religion, nor that seems to exalt Christians above other faiths.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Bill D
Date: 13 Feb 12 - 11:23 AM

?? You didn't? It says *I* ... meaning Jesus... and by implication those who do NOT 'follow him' ...like Jews.. will NOT get the benefits.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Elmore
Date: 13 Feb 12 - 12:04 PM

What bothers me is that this guy, who would turn our sountry into a theocracy, is actually making some progress in the primaries.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 13 Feb 12 - 01:18 PM

If it bothers the USA, it scares the shit out of the rest of the world who have not got as many weapons of mass destruction.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: GUEST,C. Ham
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 12:38 PM

"Christians and Jews share religious history up to the time of Jesus..."

No, they didn't. Christianity did not exist before the time of Jesus.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 01:05 PM

You mean if you're a Christian, the story of Moses is not part of your history? Why do you suppose Jesus quoted from the Old Testament then?

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Wesley S
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 01:18 PM

"Why do you suppose Jesus quoted from the Old Testament then?"

Possibly because it was the only testament around and the New one hadn't been written yet?

That would be my guess.....

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Wesley S
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 01:32 PM

By the way. I've done a basic google search on this Hanukkah card and can only find mentions of it on political blogs. I can't find a single article on what I would call the mainstream press. Or a mention from anyone who has actually received it. Could this be a case of dirty politics from someone other than Rick Santorum?

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 01:39 PM

"The card was posted on Facebook last December 21 by a man named Joe St. John, who ran Mr. Santorum's campaign office in Rock Hill, South Carolina and has been described by news outlets as both a Santorum "campaign staffer" and "a district field representative with Santorum's campaign." Mr. Biundo said there were "four or five people" working on Mr. Santorum's South Carolina team in December."

from

http://www.politicker.com/2012/02/10/santorum-campaign-disavows-controversial-hanukkah-card/

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: GUEST,999
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 01:39 PM

That guest was me.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 02:13 PM

Good point, Wesley.

The oldest source I could find was the one I linked to, from Slate. Slate is not known for publishing hoaxes.

I'm inclined to think it's real. You'd think if someone were trying to smear Santorum, they would go the whole hog and put "Rick Santorum" on it, instead of "S. C. Team Santorum." As it is, the card has easy deniability.

And it's hard to check, because I understand the South Carolina office has been shut down. The SC Primary happened January 21. Who knows where their records would be now?

If you think only the "mainstream media" has credibility, then we're still waiting. Politicker isn't any more mainstream than Slate.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Greg F.
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 02:56 PM

Good ol' South Carolina! You just can't keep those folks down. First they brought us the Civil War & now this!

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 09:29 AM

"Why do you suppose Jesus quoted from the Old Testament then?"

For the very good reason that Jesus was a pious Jew. A reformist Jew, yes, but a pious Jew.

And of course, as a corollary, Jesus was not a Christian.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 11:33 AM

Wesley S and Uncle Dave O:

Of course I know perfectly well that Jesus was a Jew and that he quoted from the Old Testament (as Christians call it) because it was the Jewish scripture.

My question was rhetorical—it was meant to point out the absurdity of GUEST,C.Ham's previous statement, that Christians and Jews didn't share a common history, because "Christianity did not exist before the time of Jesus."

Am I the only one who noticed that?

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Musket
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 11:42 AM

Nice one Genie.

I celebrate Christmas, but I don't believe in all that bible nonsense.

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 01:33 PM

Ah, Boozemas. Splendid ritual. Agreed again, Mither!

Subject: RE: BS: The Santorum Hanukkah card
From: Wesley S
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 07:22 PM

Jim - one of my nicknames around the house is "Master of the Obvious".