Jewish voting patterns, and you could extend it to minority patterns, isn’t a matter of religion but liberal voting patterns. NY and NY may have a Jewish Senator, but Wisconsin has 2, Minnesota and Oregon one each, states where you need a search party to find the local Jewish population. They’re elected from states characterized by the westward movement of Northeastern liberalism, across the from Ct, NY, and NJ across Pa, Mi, Wi and Mn, to Oregon and California.
You can complain about religious voting patterns all you want, it’s not the issue. You can complain about bigotry, both sides have it, it’s not what anyone is voting on. Issues are a different matter, and what votes GWB picks up will likely be based on his handling of the war on terror (not Israel), and in the younger generation taxes and social security.
On a conversational level, if you asked Inez about Fritz Hollings or Cindy McKinney she’d counter, successfully to an existing Democratic voter, with Pat Buchanan, David Duke, and James Hart. Jimmy “*uck the Jews” Carter, we’ve got James “*uck the Jews” Baker.
You won’t win votes with most of the nonsense posted on these threads, and when the “Jews should get what they deserve” and “GWB should cut off aid to Israel” nonsense starts up, you’ll lose them.
Actually no point is being made but rather missed, as it always is on FR.
SJ: you're fighting the good fight, absolutely... but: Lost Cause, okay?
I wince, inwardly, every time I see one of these "When, Oh When Will Those Silly Jews Ever LEARN?" stories posted here, as they inevitably serve as the dog whistle for every no-neck know-nothing within a five hundred megabyte radius to come a-runnin'. We then are "treated" (not actually the word I had in mind, but Jim doesn't approve of cursing on the boards) to pig-ignorant postings to the effect of "Them thar Jooos, they'd vote fer Hitler, if'n he were a Democrat, hyuck-hyuck-hyuck," and similarly constituted blatherings.
Kiddies: just a wee little bit of historical perspective here, all right? Yeah, absolutely, GWB may well qualify as the single staunchest friend Israel has ever known, White House-wise... but: for way, way too may decades prior to this one, the Republican Party enjoyed an all-too-well deserved reputation as the party of naked and unapologetic anti-semitism; and that's NOT the sort of rep it's going to suddenly "lose," overnight, solely on the strength of GWB's good works alone.
Nixon's numerous weird "issues" with us are a matter of public record. Pat Buchanan -- long a powerful mover and shaker within the party -- was (and still is) even more rabid and foaming. Jews make a point of remembering those who openly and expressly wish them ill, no less than any other group; and some (many, most likely) may NEVER feel entirely comfortable with the party, as a result of such ugliness and hatred in the past.
What you're witnessing, here, is a generational transformation: younger Jews trending more and more conservative, politically, over the last twenty years (and continuing to do so), replacing in prominence (and voting numbers) older Jews, as the latter pass from the scene.
Newsflash: generational changes, by definition, take at least one generation to take effect. Staring impatiently at your wristwatch and muttering "... what's taking then so damned long, anyway?" won't speed up the process one bit; and the slack-jawed nitwiticisms on unfortunate display here (comparing Jews to sheep, dogs, etc.) only serve to retard the process further still. Large, steaming mugs of STFU need to be passed around to, and promptly chugged down by, more than one poster herabouts whose fingers move faster than his/her brain.
< /rant>