Incumbent refuses debate with candidate because of Pokerface

[maz]

Troublemanking Jews meddling in the political process again by trying to keep third-party candidate Jake Towne out of the debates.  

Congressional candidate Jake Towne to host concert featuring Poker Face, a band condemned as anti-Semitic by the Anti-Defamation League

An Allentown-based rock band that has been condemned as xenophobic and anti-Semitic by a (JEWISH) national advocacy group will perform at a campaign concert organized by independent congressional candidate Jake Towne.

Poker Face is among five bands expected to perform at a "Freedom Concert" Towne will host Friday to celebrate his filing for a spot on the U.S. Congressional race ballot against incumbent Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Lehigh Valley.

Towne said he does not endorse all of the band's statements, which he acknowledged sometimes "go overboard."

"Any of the bands that are present at the freedom concert do not necessarily reflect the views of my campaign," he said.

But Towne said he does not embrace the position of the Anti-Defamation League, which claims the band espouses anti-government, anti-immigration and anti-Semitic ideologies.

"If any of the bands were believed to be anti-Semites, they would not have been invited to play at the concert," Towne said.

Paul Topete, singer and guitarist for the four-man band, said Poker Face has played for many presidential and congressional candidates in the past, including members of the Republican, Libertarian, Reform, Constitution and U.S. Marijuana parties.

"This show has nothing to do with race, religion or the false accusations put forth by the ADL," Topete said. "This is about a benefit concert to help a candidate who will do what's best for all Pennsylvanians without exclusion."

Congressman Dent refuses to debate Towne citing controversial band

Republican Congressman Charlie Dent said Saturday he will not take part in any debates that include third-party candidate Jake Towne, and he called on Democratic challenger John Callahan to join him in the decision.

A day after Dent said that he was unlikely to join a debate that included independent Towne, his campaign manager, Shawn Millan, said Dent had toughened his stance after hearing of Towne's plan to allow controversial Allentown band Poker Face perform at a fundraiser Friday.

In a written statement Saturday, Dent said the band has been "deemed to be anti-Semitic by the Anti Defamation League." Poker Face is one of five bands that will play at Towne's "freedom concert" Friday.

In the statement, Dent also said, he is "demanding" Callahan boycott any debate for the 15th District seat that includes Towne.

"I'm calling on John Callahan to put aside politics and do the decent thing," Dent said. "Don't give a public platform to someone enmeshed in ideas of anger, violence, anarchy and bigotry."

However Callahan's campaign released a statement saying while Callahan finds anti-Semitic behavior "deplorable," "the whole idea behind 'debating' someone is that you disagree with him and his views."

The statement said Callahan "looks forward to telling Jake Towne to his face exactly what he thinks of the deplorable anti-Semitic fringe groups with which he chooses to associate."

Reached by phone Saturday, Towne called Callahan's stand "admirable," and said, "I respect that."

Poker Face, a band that often weds hard rock with anti-government lyrics and has been active on the Lehigh Valley music scene for two decades, made headlines when a Michigan-based militia group used the band's song "I Wanna Know" in a training video. After some members of the group, called Hutaree, were charged in April, with planning to attack law enforcement officers, prosecutors said Poker Face was not implicated in any wrongdoing.

Towne, popular among some tea party activists, said he is not anti-Semitic and he doesn't believe Poker Face is either.