Chuck DeVore
Iiiiiiis it True? Department
Iiiiiiis it true that last May at the Orange County (CA) Israel Expo, Republican candidate for Senator Chuck DeVore was not allowed to address the audience? There is a running dispute over this question. Reportedly, the conservative DeVore, who is a true supporter of Israel, attended the expo and asked if he could address the audience, but was denied permission by an OC Jewish Federation official. (DeVore lost the primary against Carly Fiorina, who went on to lose to Babara Boxer.)
Presently, there is a lot of back and forth going within certain circles of the Jewish community, (charges and denials). Stay tuned.
11 comments:
If an OC Jewish Federation official denied Chuck Devore, friend of Israel, an opportunity to address the audience, that person(s) deserves a cruise ride on the river Styx.
Squid
Chuck DeVore is a fairly polarizing political figure. He is a conservative Republican who dabbles with the Tea Party Movement.
Perhaps the organizers of the Expo did not want to make their event into a political one.
BTW, since Gary Fouse is such a stooge for Israel, I'm betting he already has bought his tickets for Israel Expo 2011, and will be camped out at the gates a week before the event.
Sickening.
Oh, it's true alright.
The Federation official denied recalling the incident and, just to embellish it a bit, said that had he known DeVore was there, he would have taken him around and introduced him. Of course the people who witnessed the denial were furious about this because it was not the kind of episode that is forgotten and they called him out on it.
Finally, Chuck DeVore himself confirmed that he was denied the ability to address the audience...twice.
He has spoken at the Expo 2 or 3 times since 2005 so it is not a new thing for him. These were his constituents but just not so coincidentally he was denied the mike just when he was in the midst of an important campaign.
Now it appears, to deflect attention from the dissembling, that they are going to claim it was bad "protocol" on speakers at the Expo and it will be fixed in the future.
I just wonder if the friends and relatives at J Street gave proper thanks to the official because Chuck DeVore eventually lost this race. I also wonder how they live with themselves.
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Anonymous,
Talk about stupid! First of all, I have never attended Israel Expo nor do I plan to attend in 2011 or any other year. Anything the Jewish Federation of Orange County is involved in I want no part of, nor would they even let me in the door.
Sickening? Guess what. You are now well.
Awwwwww... Chuckie was SNUBBED? That's AWful. Poor little dearie, go let momma give you a big kiss on the top of your little head, and dry your tears...
Actually, I doubt that DeVore is blubbering. He seems, however wrong his ideas, to be a mature man who can take a little rejection. But why is this an issue worth wasting one bit on, let alone several bytes?
Here we go with this "hot topic in the Jewish community" speculation, from the Best Gentile Friend of Jews again.
Siarlys,
Did I say that DeVore was upset and complaining? From your vantage point in Milwaukee, you don't know what you are talking about.
Who cares? You act like this organization was under some sort of obligation to let him speak. They weren't.
Gary, your headline speaks for itself. You are blathering about whether the man was snubbed. I gave that question the response it deserved. I was careful not to blame the man for the question asked about him by a third party.
If not for you, I would never have heard of DeVore, so my favorable impressions of him, as well as my unfavorable impressions, are entirely from fousesquawk.
Anonymous, when organizations invite politicians to events, the politicians expect that they will be asked to speak, as Chuck DeVore has a number of times in the past at this event. Once more, this incident was in the midst of an important campaign.
DeVore handled the incident gracefully. This is not his complaint. This has more to do with the Federation official caught lying about the episode. You would think that this would be inexcusable for anyone in leadership.
Another theory has surfaced either instead of or in addition to the political one. Chuck DeVore has been an outstanding critic of the administration of UCI in their handling of the MSU outrages. He personally got UCI to change their previous prohibition against video taping of the hate speakers. The Federation, on the other hand, has been dismissive about the problems there and ingratiating to the UCI administration. Over the years they have said things are not that bad at UCI, or that they are doing everything about it that can be done, and generally supporting the Chancellor and the administration in the lenient way they dealt with the MSU. All while the situation worsens over the years.
It may be that the Federation executive didn't want to give the microphone to anyone who would tell the truth about UCI or criticize the Federation's strategy.
As I said, it could be one reason or the other or a combination of both.
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Miggie,
DeVore was one of the few local politicians who took an interest in the problems at UCI and spoke out. Brad Sherman up in LA was another.
Gary,
Brad Sherman actually comes from Orange Country and knows about the UCI problems. He moved to the Valley, Sherman Oaks, I think, some years ago. That is the district he represents. But he is a great supporter in Congress. He was one of those who wrote to the Secretary of Education to get the ruling about excluding anti-Semitism overturned.
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