Thankfully, it now looks like the Kilgore "Hitler" ad has begun to backfire, at least among Jewish leaders in Virginia. Just hours after observing the High Holy Day of Yom Kippur (the "Day of Atonement"), Rabbi Jack Moline of the Agudas Achim Synagogue in Alexandria called it "demeaning and morally repugnant." David Friedman, the Anti-Defamation League's regional director for the office that covers Virginia said that the Kilgore "Hitler" ad is "inappropriate and insensitive, and, as part of a discussion of the death penalty in the Commonwealth of Virginia, trivialize the horrors of the Holocaust." Tommy Baer of Richmond, the former president of B'nai Brith International, said that the Kilgore "Hitler" ad went "beyond the pale" and was "strategically timed to run just before Yom Kippur." Finally, Rabbi Merrill Shapiro of Congregation Or Atid in Richmond pointed out that "Bandying [Hitler's ultimate evil] about is an affront to those who really know Hitler. We know the real Hitlers of the world." Ouch.
So how badly, if at all, does the Jewish community's outrage at the Kilgore "Hitler" ad hurt Kilgore politically? That's a tough question. First, the Jewish population of Virginia is small, at just 66,000 (out of 7.1 million). On the other hand, Jews generally vote in high percentages and this ad could prompt a larger-than-expected Jewish turnout on November 8. In a close election, which this one is shaping up to be, a few thousand votes could make all the difference. If so, the Kilgore "Hitler" ad actually could be a factor - but not the way that Kilgore and Howell intended it to be -- 24 days from now.
Second, there are many Virginians who, although not Jewish themselves, have Jewish friends and relatives. Many of these people probably haven't been following the Kaine-Kilgore contest much (or at all), and many probably weren't even planning to vote on November 8. My guess is that the Kilgore "Hitler" ad may have grabbed their attention, and that some of those people - how many, I don't know - will now feel motivated to vote on November 8. Unfortunately for the Republicans, I strongly doubt that many of these people will be voting for the perpetrator of the Kilgore "Hitler" ad!
Third, millions of Virginians have learned about the Holocaust in school, or through visits to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. They know what Adolph Hitler actually did, not just murdering 6 million Jews, but also millions of Poles, Gypsies ("Roma"), homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and disabled people as well. They know that the Holocaust is not, in any way, shape or form, relevant to the issue of capital punishment in the 21st century United States of America. There is certainly a risk that many Virginians will recoil at the utter absurdity of Jerry Kilgore and his media man, Scott Howell, bringing the Holocaust into a race for Governor of Virginia. If not, they certainly should. We'll see.
Finally, there is the potential "backlash against the backlash" factor. Could there be a closet anti-Semite vote in Virginia, now energized due to the Jewish leaders' criticism of the Kilgore "Hitler" ad? I certainly hope that's not the case, but you never know.
By the way, I find it highly interesting that the Kilgore campaign has not pulled the ad from the air, yet is simultaneously attempting to distance itself from the reference to Hitler. According to Kilgore spokesman J. Tucker Martin, "The sentiments uttered by Mr. Rosenbluth were his own."
Oh. I see. So now Jerry's going to try and weasel out of this one too, huh? It's all Stanley Rosenbluth's fault, right? (sorry, but it was the KILGORE campaign that put the despicable ad together and aired it) And by the way, isn't Rosenbluth Jewish? (apparently so, but is that relevant in any way?) And didn't Tim Kaine himself bring Hitler into this race? (NO! It was Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter Michael Hardy who brought up Hitler, NOT Tim Kaine! Don't believe me? Read and listen for yourself right here.)
The bottom line here is that the Kilgore campaign, with it's reprehensible "Hitler" ad, has gone way, WAY beyond the bounds of decency. As if all the othe reasons for opposing Kilgore weren't enough, this one should seal the deal. Hey, maybe someone should ask Karl Rove -- George W. Bush's top political strategist, now facing possible criminal charges in the Valerie Plame case -- what HE thinks of the Kilgore "Hitler" ad. If anyone needs to find him, he'll be hanging out with his buddy Jerry Kilgore this morning at the Sheraton Premiere Hotel in Tysons Corner.
(Interestingly, there doesn't appear to be any mention the Rove event on Jerry Kilgore's website under "Events"...what are they trying to hide?).