Posted on 05/24/2004 12:05:15 AM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
It's not an easy thing to do for Republicans -- winning the support of Jewish Americans. However, President Bush seems to be making headway into this traditionally liberal Democrat political demographic, and it's his no-holds-barred approach to battling the global terrorism threat that is helping him win Jewish converts.
"He is the first president to understand the world in terms of terrorism," longtime Democratic voter Stuart Weil, a tropical fish farmer from Fresno told the Los Angeles Times.
Not only is the ponytailed Weil voting for Bush this year, he's urging his friends to do the same. That's quite a change for the longtime Dem who supported Al Gore in 2000.
"He understands that the terrorism Israel has had is now the terrorism the U.S. has," said Weil, one of 4,000 delegates to the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which meets this week in Washington.
Bush was given 21 standing ovations as he was welcomed to the meeting by the preeminent pro-Israel American lobby.
In New York Bush scored a major coup by winning the endorsement of Edward Koch, the popular former mayor and one of the most prominent Jews in the Democratic party.
Nationwide, Jewish voters account for about 4 percent of the electorate. That doesn't sound like much, but in a few battleground states – Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Nevada – a few Jewish converts to the GOP could be huge.
Shooting for 30 Percent
Against Gore Bush commanded just 17 percent of the Jewish vote in 2000. Based on his unending support for Israel, however, Bush re-election planners are shooting for 30 percent.
The president told the AIPAC delegates Tuesday, "By defending the freedom and prosperity and security of Israel, you're also serving the cause of America."
Aides to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry say it is he whom Jews are most likely to support. They said Kerry's domestic agenda compared to that of President Bush is preferable to Jewish voters. Even the AIPAC describes his Israel voting record as stellar.
"John Kerry has a flawless record on Israel," spokesman Phil Singer told the paper. "And his progressive domestic agenda is much more in line with the views of the mainstream Jewish community than the one advocated by Bush."
Still, says Matthew Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, "The Jewish community is seeing that on the issues that really matter to them, the Republican Party is offering real leadership and clear vision."
Another indicator Jews are shifting towards Bush: A survey conducted last November and December for the American Jewish Committee and Foreign Affairs magazine, found that 24 percent of respondents said they had voted for Bush in 2000, and 31 percent said they planned to support him this fall.
Ping
Great to hear.
But, what's really going to matter for the future is the Hispanic vote.
I established my own Republican organization reaching out to minority groups [religious as well as ethnic], but getting support from the party in the south was like pulling teeth.
Precisely why we're likely to face rough times ahead unless we radically reform our agenda for pulling these votes within our party.
Nationwide, Jewish voters account for about 4 percent of the electorate. That doesn't sound like much, but in a few battleground states – Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Nevada – a few Jewish converts to the GOP could be huge.
... taken in tandem with this:
Against Gore Bush commanded just 17 percent of the Jewish vote in 2000. Based on his unending support for Israel, however, Bush re-election planners are shooting for 30 percent [...] 31 percent said they planned to support him this fall.
... gives me hope. :)
Had it from a Jewish friend in CO--War on Terrorism is #1--Bush MUST win. She and her husband are doing all they can to convert their Jewish friends, though they do not agree with W on many things.
vaudine
My gut feel is that President Bush is the best President since George Washington. Perhaps even better than that.
We shall see what we shall see, of course. A gut feel is only a gut feel. Strong gut feel, though. We have a strong man up against a weak man, a good man up against a bad.
Right those National Socialists had real nice social programs too, for those not in concentration camps. Social program come well after security.
Her is my take, publlished twice before:
The explanation for the apparent contradiction within the American Jewish community to more vigorously support the Republican Party when that party and not the Democtat party is clearly the more reliable friend of Israel has many threads.
First, there is a venerable cultural and scriptural tradition in Judaism which enjoins the adherent to social activism which when manifested in the individual is commendable but which is liable to degenerate into collectivism. When this occurs, the adherent is liable to see the solutions of the democrats to be ideal.
Second, there is a tradition of socialism imported with waves of Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe. This phenomenon was manifested in Israel, for example, by the Kibbutzim. This hold is weakening with every generation.
Third, there is an understandable defensive posture against pogroms which have been unfortunately identified with Christianity. The reaction to Gibson s film, The Passion, can be understood in part as a manifestation of this heritage. To the degree that the Republican Party is seen by Jews to be dominated by evangelicals, their reaction tends to be negative. The fact that Bush has defined himself as a believing Christian has generated a similar reaction to him, especially among secular Jews who see a double threat.
Fourth, historically the Democrat party has claimed credit as the original friend of Israel going back to Truman s recognition of the State and the Republicans bona fides are more recent.
Fifth, immigration politics have always worked for the Democrats and older Jews remember the depression and the Nazis were fought by Roosevelt. The depression was fought with collectivist and activist ideas with many Jews prominently identified with this administration. The civil rights advances with Truman and Johnson confirmed all this very much in the minds of Jews who saw them as a proxy struggle.
I hope we see all this break down along generational lines. But to the degree that Jews involve themselves with academia, media, arts, etc., one would expect them to reflect the group think of their milieu. If they live in cities and not on wheat farms in Kansas, they might be expected to vote the way other Manhattenites do.
In my view it is folly to pander the Jewish vote by supporting Israel as it is to pander to Cuban or Irish votes by pandering to their respective international claims. Either it is in American interest to support Israel or it is not. Either it is in our national interest to actually enforce immigration laws along the Mexican border or it is not. Neither issue should be calculated on the basis of what is good for the party but on what is good for the nation.
Personally, I see very little return for our support of Israel. I have long ago posted that our support should be withdrawn. To deflect the inevitable attacks shouting anti Semitism, I think America should simultaneously offer Israelis American citizenship.
My Jewish friends and clients get it. I really doubt their numbers.
Why? Although, I have misgivings about the success of democratic institutions in the middle east and our promotion of them, I see Israel as the foil to all that the middle east is NOT.
Supporting Israel is the thorn of freedom that constantly provokes pain in their religious ideologies. Unfortunately for the Palestinians, they have been sold a fantastic lie by those who oppose an Israeli state in principle. Israel remains the one beacon highlighting the positive aspects of western hope and progress.
For those brave enough to choose to live there, it also offers the world a petri dish in which to study terrorism.
Support for Israel is in the national interst of these United States.
Bush needs EVERY SINGLE VOTE. You should be thankful for this news.
If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.
If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.
The idea that every "conservative"poster her want's to maximize Bush voter, or Jewish Republican votes is a bit naive.
Sigh. Someday I'll lose that girlish innocence. :)
I know liberal jews. I know conservative jews.
At least one of the liberal jews has told me that in his crowd, they're voting for W because he gets it.
My guess is that for many jews, especially liberal ones, they may be reluctant to tell their friends how they are going to vote once they get behind the curtain.
Then you have a very low regard for God's blessings. (Genesis 12:1–3)
This is an excellent point, with numerous precedents. Good call!
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