The Ineffable Dan Baum's Latest Project

Dan Baum, late of The New Yorker, has sent around an e-mail to every Jew on his list (yes, you read that correctly), asking his fellow tribesmen to write to their wayward brother, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, in order to let him know he's a raving schmuck for threatening to filibuster health care reform legislation. I reprint the e-mail below -- trust me, you have to read this:

From: Dan Baum
Subject: Jews

I'm the last guy in the world to try to organize people by religion, but we Jews may be the only people to whom Senator Joseph Lieberman might listen. He is threatening to filibuster the health-care bill to remove the public option. He has been an obvious problem for years, but this time he can do genuine damage, and it's possible a deluge of calls and emails from Jews nationwide will give him pause. Please take a minute and either call his office -- (fair warning, the mailbox was full) or [phone], or send him an email... This is the text of the message I used, but you could compose your own:

"As a fellow Jew, I am appalled by your threat to filibuster the health care bill now working its way through the Senate. I appeal to your conscience. Do not block access to affordable health care for millions of Americans. Please support the bill." This will take only a minute to do. Once you've sent a message to Sen. Lieberman, please forward this email to all the Jews you know. We could make something happen.

Baum may have revealed himself to be an "As-a-Jew,"  a particular Semitical sub-type.  As-a-Jews are people who invoke their heritage only when they feel a need to dump on another Jew, or a Jewish organization, or the Jewish state. The classic formulation is, "As a Jew, I want to tell you how embarrassed I am by (fill-in-the-blank)." It's a low practice, particularly from a person who begins his message by overtly distancing himself from the idea of Jewish peoplehood, and religion in general. At least one person who received the e-mail has responded to Baum (and everyone else on his list) already, dismantling him for this crude appeal:

Hey Dan Baum!

Honored to be on The Jew List and your missive is being forwarded onward!

We are all in favor of your decision to organize people by religion as a way to influence politics and public opinion. It's a beautiful and under-exploited stereotype, and if there is anything we can do to help, please let us know.

We believe the answer to your healthcare concern may be to get Senator Lieberman to adopt Krewe du Jieux's lower impact "Gefiltebuster" approach:

Its roots can be traced back to the short delay at the Passover Seder where everyone must eat a little something of mysterious cultural origin, before getting to the brisket.

The Gefiltebuster -- Less filling than the filibuster, rich in Omega-3, and Kosher to boot -- Chalk up a few points for Healthcare as we delay along the way!

TELL LIEBERMAN GEFILTEBUSTERS NOT FILIBUSTERS - A HEALTHY WAY TO DELAY!!!

Please note that in the spirit of being the last guys in the world to organize people by religion, we have made note of all your hebraic contacts and will have them assimilated into our Kosher SPAM list at the soonest convenience. They have been BCCed on this reply to begin the process, and may ask to be removed at any time.

Enough Already!