A right wing writer based in Virginia filed this story for the Politico today: "Left could push pro-Israel voters to GOP." The story is not labeled as an editorial. Although it's also posted in the IDEAS section of the website which includes other editorials and pieces of analysis, this article is posted on the front page and the byline merely reads "by Jennifer Rubin."

The point is that Rubin's story is being presented as an objective news story, filed at 6:23 AM by one of the Politico's staff writers. It's clearly not and includes a number of inflammatory and frankly ridiculous assertions regarding where the mainstream of the Democratic Party stands on Israel.

Some of the highlights:

-- A small but significant group of overwhelmingly Democratic members of Congress have consistently voted against efforts to support Israel in its continual struggle against terrorists and now an Islamist Hamas government in Gaza. These votes demonstrate that anti-Israel views are a minority in Congress -- but a minority composed primarily of the most left-leaning members of the Democratic Caucus.

-- In 2003, presidential candidate and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean declared in a speech that "it's not our place to take sides" between Israel and the Palestinians, an apparent repudiation of our decades-long special relationship and security obligations with Israel. Dean, now chairman of the Democratic National Committee, was widely criticized for these comments and subsequently argued he did not intend to alter the U.S.-Israel relationship.

-- Meanwhile, the Republican Party has never been more pro-Israel, in part because of the influence of Christian evangelicals who are devoted to Israel and support its battle against terrorists

Here's the BEST part... give me a break...

-- Dan Gerstein, a Democratic consultant and Politico columnist, candidly acknowledged that religious faith, generally higher on the right, accounts for the growing support within the Republican Party, while the "faith vacuum" on the left leaves some on the other side of the aisle less enamored of Israel.

First off, if the Politico wants to be taken seriously as a publication that presents fair and mainstream political views... then they really shouldn't be running this nonsense at all. If they feel like this is a legitimate perspective then at least clearly identify the piece as an editorial.

Here's the article in it's entirety. Enjoy and be outraged.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/070 7/4986.html