For The Left, Partisan Politics Trumps All - Gov. Palin Disinvited From Anti-Mullah Rally

At this point, regardless of what words are used, my expectation of the left is that they will always choose to act for partisan gain, irrespective of the situation and regardless of what is at stake, including our nation's security. There is no middle ground with these people. Thus I am not surprised to find now that Gov. Sarah Palin has, at the urging of the left, been disinvited from attending a rally protesting Ahmedinejad and Iran's march towards a nuclear arsenal that poses an existential danger to the West.

Neither the organization which put together the rally nor the left have comported themselves with any sort of honor in this matter. This from Ben Smith at Politico:

The organizers of an anti-Iran rally Monday rescinded their invitation to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin after Democrats protested that her presence would turn the event into a political rally, McCain campaign and Jewish community sources said.

The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations created a political tempest by inviting Palin to speak without clearing her invitation with another speaker, Senator Hillary Clinton. Clinton promptly dropped out of the event, saying it would be seen as unduly political. The McCain campaign then pressed Senator Barack Obama to join Palin on the stage in a show of unity against Iran.

The Obama campaign in turn offered to send Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida -- who had harshly attacked Palin for slender ties to Pat Buchanan-- to the event.

But the appearance that the non-partisan group was aligning with the Republican ticket put the group and its president, Malcolm Hoenlein, under heavy pressure from Jewish Democrats, including members of the conference, members of Congress, and the liberal group J Street, not to give Palin a platform, sources said. Hoenlein told the McCain campaign that he would have to rescind Palin's invitation or cancel the rally.

The organizers, I'm told, have formally disinvited all elected and political officials, but the move was about Palin. . . .

Read the entire article.

Update: Hot Air has more on this. Apparently, the Obama camp was behind Hillary Clinton's decision to pull out of this event after they found out Gov. Palin would also attend.

Update II: And more from this at Commentary, including a statement from the McCain Camp:

The question is: Was Hoenlein put in this position because of a decision by the Obama team and its supporters to treat Sarah Palin as though she were not a legitimate political figure with whom major Democratic politicians can or should share the stage.The McCain camp has issued a statement in the candidate’s name:

Throughout my political career, I have sought to rise above partisanship on critical national issues. Nowhere is this more true than on important matters of national security. Earlier this year, Senator Clinton, Senator Obama and I issued a joint statement on the genocide in Darfur and pledged to support efforts to bring it to an end. Earlier this month, Senator Obama and I put the campaign aside to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our country and talk about the importance of national service.

Next Monday, the day before Iranian President Ahmadinejad is to speak before the United Nations General Assembly, several organizations will sponsor an event to draw attention to the importance of halting Iran’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. Governor Palin and I share a strong belief that a nuclear armed Iran poses a grave threat to the security of Americans and to our allies. Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. The risk that Iran would provide terrorists with a nuclear weapon is too great for the world to ignore. Iranian President Ahmadinejad has denied the Holocaust occurred and called Israel a ’stinking corpse.’ A nuclear-armed Iran would destabilize the entire region.

Preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons should be a shared goal of every American, not another occasion for partisan posturing.

Governor Palin was pleased to accept an invitation to address this rally and show her resolve on this grave national security issue, regrettably that invitation has since been withdrawn under pressure from Democratic partisans. We stand shoulder to shoulder with Republicans, Democrats and independents alike to oppose Ahmadinejad’s goal of a nuclear armed Iran. Senator Obama’s campaign had the opportunity to join us. Senator Obama chose politics rather than the national interest.