Every time the right gains the upper hand, the left and its ever-obedient media engage in the politics of personal destruction. When the Reagan Administration was coming in, the media promoted Bush loyalist James Baker and vilified Ed Meese, a long-time Reagan friend and ally. The left smeared Robert Bork, turning that incredible jurist into a monster. They tried to do the same to Clarence Thomas.
Now with Donald Trump about to assume the presidency, the left is looking for a conservative scalp. It has decided that it must destroy Steve Bannon.
As you may know, Bannon was the CEO of the influential Breitbart news outlet and he played a central role in the Trump campaign. The smear being leveled against Bannon is particularly ugly — that he is anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and is somehow involved in white supremacy.
I know Steve Bannon well. He graduated from Harvard Business School. He served in the Navy, including a time at the Pentagon as a special assistant to the Navy’s top admiral. He is a patriot and a defender of Israel. My certainty on this is well-grounded.
I assume you know my strong views about Israel and how I have fought anti-Semitism. I have not hesitated to call out people in my own party who I believe have a real animus toward Israel.
For the last five years I have been co-hosting a Sunday morning radio show with Tom Rose, the former publisher and CEO of the Jerusalem Post. The “Bauer & Rose Show” is known for its robust defense of Judeo-Christian civilization, the U.S/Israel alliance and the need for a strong America in the world.
Steve Bannon has been a regular guest on the “Bauer & Rose Show.” In over 100 interviews, he never expressed one thought that was outside the conservative mainstream. He has defended Jews. He has defended Israel. He has condemned anti-Semitism. He has defended Christian Zionism.
The Breitbart website routinely defends Israel. It was tremendously supportive of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he came to warn Congress that the Iranian nuclear deal posed an existential threat to Israel. Many of Bannon’s accusers today were attacking Netanyahu then.
In the past year, Steve proudly opened a Breitbart office in Jerusalem to report on the dangers that Israel routinely faces.
Conservatives Defend Bannon
Multiple conservatives are coming to Steve’s defense, including my good friend and talk radio star Mark Levin. Other conservatives are defending Bannon — here and here.
Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot and a generous Jewish philanthropist, just issued a statement saying this:
“These attacks are nothing more than an attempt to undermine the incoming Trump administration. I have known Steve to be a passionate Zionist and supporter of Israel who felt so strongly about this that he opened a Breitbart office in Israel to ensure that the true pro-Israel story would get out. What is being done to Steve Bannon is a shonda [scandal].”
The Trump Administration is going to be one of the most pro-Israel administrations in the history of the United States. If any of the other leading Trump supporters thought Bannon was what the left says he is, do you think they would have tolerated him in the campaign?
For example, RNC chairman Reince Priebus, who will serve in the White House with Bannon, was asked about this controversy. He replied, “I don’t know where that comes from. That’s not the Steve Bannon that I know. . . I have never, ever, at one time, experienced that.”
By the way, where were all these concerned voices when it was discovered that Hillary Clinton was getting advice from people like Sidney Blumenthal, who regularly passed along anti-Israel screeds from his son, Max?
Where is the concern that the Democrat Party may soon be led by Rep. Keith Ellison, who tried to weaken his party’s support for Israel and who suggested that 9/11 was an inside job?
During the campaign, big media repeatedly twisted minor things Donald Trump said into huge scandals. Thankfully, voters saw through it. But the media’s deliberate distortions did not stop with the election.
The left and media will do everything they can to thwart the Trump Administration. That is why they are targeting the conservatives who will most aggressively fight the left’s agenda.
Former Presidential candidate Gary Bauer is chairman of the Campaign for Working Families, president of American Values, and co-host of the Bauer and Rose show on SiriusXM Patriot.
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