Rich Iott, the Republican House candidate in Ohio’s 9th district who has been discovered to enjoy Nazi war reenactments in his spare time, has enlisted a Jewish friend to defend him on his campaign website.



Coming to the defense of Iott, the tea party candidate who has apparently scared the bejeezus out of Republican whip Eric Cantor, is Richard Gabai, a Hollywood actor, writer, and producer known (or perhaps not) for titles such as Assault of the Party Nerds 2: The Heavy Petting Detective, Virgin High (which naturally takes place at a Catholic girls’ school and was followed by Hot Under the Collar, in which a man dresses as a nun to save his girlfriend from a convent).

Gabai, who is Jewish, writes of Iott:

First things first; Rich Iott is one of the most pro-Jewish, pro-Israel people I know. We are business partners and very close personal friends. One of the first things I explained to Rich when we started working together was that I don’t work on Shabbat – the Jewish Sabbath. He said, “That’s great, I’m glad you take a break every week and spend quality time with your family!” . . . . Rich has been an overnight guest in our Kosher home, his wife Chris, and their children Ian and Devon, are always welcome. . . . Anytime the subject comes up Rich is not shy about his stance on Israel and the importance of it remaining a Jewish state. I know he also traveled to Israel to train with their airborne troops.

You have to love this. A Republican who likes to dress as a Nazi enlists his business partner — a Jewish soft porn actor and producer from Hollywood — to defend him on the grounds that he loves Israel and trained with its military (really?!?), that he’s done great things for said actor and producer’s career, and has actually sat his tush down in a kosher home. Oh, 2010 campaign season, will you ever cease to amaze?