I See Stupid People: The JD Hayworth Edition

Some stupid is so powerful that it can only be viewed safely through the StupidViewer 9000
(from here)

Here's a joke: a Republican staffer of a conservative Christian Republican goes into a synagogue and tells the congregation that his candidate is more Jewish than they are. It's not very funny, and, sadly, it's true. You see, Republican Congressman J.D. Hayworth of Arizona has a slight Jewish problem.

It started when he supported Henry Ford's Americanization program, claiming that Ford's program was only trying to get immigrants to speak English. What is the Americanization program? Well, it's about stopping the Jewish influence:

One of the strongest causes militating against the full Americanization of several millions of Jews in this country is their belief - instilled in them by their religious authorities - that they are 'chosen,' that this land is theirs, that the inhabitants are idolators, that the day is coming when the Jews will be supreme.

Oops. So Congressman Hayworth sent a flunky to the local Jew House Beth Israel Synagogue to try to calm things down. This is what happened (italics mine):

Unable to defend his repeated praise of Henry Ford's anti-Semitic "Americanization" program, U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth bailed on a scheduled campaign appearance Tuesday evening only to send in his place surrogates who repeatedly lectured the audience at Temple Beth Israel in Scottsdale and proclaimed that Hayworth "is a more observant Jew" than those present. [Source: Arizona Republic, Oct. 17, 2006]

The comment by Jonathan Tratt, a spokesman for the Hayworth campaign, drew loud and angry boos and caused nearly three-quarters of the crowd of more than 200 to walk out in disgust. After the walkout, another Hayworth surrogate, Irit Tratt, stood on the Temple's bimah as she told members of the audience who gathered to ask questions, "No wonder there are anti-Semites."

That's right. After insulting the congregation, a second flunky then accused the audience that Jews deserve anti-Semitism. This isn't some crackpot councilman: he's a U.S. congressman. I've said it before: the Republicans can not win elections without their hate-filled base.