Posted on 02/13/2007 10:00:19 PM PST by Mount Athos
It is no secret that Jews in America have historically not favored the Republican Party. Several polls estimated that only 25 percent of Jews voted for Bush in 2004. Although disputed for of its small sample size, the National Jewish Democratic Council's 2006 poll showed only 12 percent of Jews voted for the GOP. The Jewish Community Relations Council estimated that Bush got just 19 percent of the Jewish vote in 2000.
Commentators in the Jewish community and party pollsters debate endlessly why Jews are not more favorably disposed toward the GOP. Jews are wealthier and more educated than the average American, generally oppose affirmative action and favor strong support of Israel. On these counts the GOP should, many say, have greater appeal.
Is it because Jews have an historical affinity for FDR and the party of immigrants and the "little guy"? Is it because of Jews' religious devotion to "tikkun olam" — repair of the world — which they translate to support for governmental social services? Maybe some of each but perhaps something else is at work
The dustup over the location of Mitt Romney's presidential announcement — the Henry Ford Museum — may be revealing. For Jews over the age of 40 or so, the name Ford means more than Mustangs and American innovation. Ford, of course, was a notorious anti-Semite, publisher of the International Jew (an update of the Protocols of Zion), and an apologist for Hitler who received the Grand Cross of the German Eagle from Hitler's Nazi government in July 1938. In many Jewish homes, owning a Ford was verboten.
He was no cultural icon.
Fast forward to today. As soon as Romney announced that he would make his presidential announcement at the Ford Museum, the accusations and statements started to fly. The National Jewish Democratic Council came out first, chastising Romney for making a pilgrimage to the site of this famous anti-Semite. Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matt Brooks fired back in a press release today, saying, "I'm saddened and disappointed by the attack today by the NJDC against Gov. Romney."
Pointing out that former President Clinton had once said nice things about Ford, the RJC said that "The RJC believes that the NJDC does a disservice to Gov. Romney's strong record of support for the Jewish community and to their own reputation by their actions."
The NJDC responded, ""Presidential campaign announcements are as much about symbolism of the location as the substance of the speech. Mitt Romney went to a museum named after the most premier anti-Semite and xenophobe in American history. But his choice of location suggests that he should do his homework on basic American history."
It is doubtful either of these groups believe Romney is really an anti-Semite. Democratic consultant Dan Gerstein perhaps said it best: "I don't think Romney is guilty of anything other than obliviousness.
But you could argue that obliviousness is indicative of a broader problem with the social conservatives Romney is trying to court, which is a lack of sensitivity to the concerns many Jews have about their place in American society."
Indeed, the incident may say something not only about Romney but about the GOP's problem with Jews. In his boatload of advisers, Romney apparently did not have anyone to say, "You know, a lot of Jews really hate Ford, and it might mess up your message. Let's try Edison's lab to make a point about American innovation."
The GOP has become a rural, overwhelmingly Christian and Southern party. It is not populated by urban ethnics who, even if they aren't Jewish, understand Jews' cultural references and sensibilities. Ask an Italian New Yorker in October why the restaurants are empty, and he'll say "It's Yom Kippur, silly." You would never catch a Greek from Chicago saying, as a Republican from southern Virginia just did, that asking the state to apologize for slavery was like "asking the Jews to apologize for killing Christ."
In short, the Republicans are not just our kind of people, many Jews say. They don't sound like us, they don't talk like us and they don't understand us. Unless and until that changes, Jews likely will likely be voting overwhelmingly Democratic for years to come.
Voting for Dummies is more of a familial custom thing handed down from generation to generation. It occurs in all ethnic groups, as the overwhelming majority of American voters (approx. 80%) support the party they "grew up in". It takes intelligence and courage to break away from the herd.
Agreed. But that propaganda loses a lot of its steam when one realizes that Henry Ford was a Democrat!
Please see my post # 172.
You are painting with much too broad of a brush. There are quite a number of Jews here on FR who have the utmost respect for Christians and are themselves Republicans.
While the Catholics, Protestants and Jews bicker among themselves like little kids in a sandbox, Muslim wolves are circling the sandbox.
Such studies have already been done, if I am not mistaken, at least with respect to party registration by county and ethnic group. In general, where Jews live in a county that votes and registers more Republican, they themselves will vote and register more Republican. But they tend to be about ten percentage points or so behind the general population of the county in GOP registration, and about ten percentage points ahead of the general population in 'Rat registration.
Religion has a lot to do with it. Most Jews are not religious;many are part of the Enlightenment aganda, which is to confine relgion to the private shere and to regulate it, or eliminate it even there.
"I think you make good sense and that is hard to come by these days. Why has Hillery been given a pass because that was so very ugly what she said and I believe there is much more of that ugliness to come. The truth shall make us free."
Honestly, I don't think Hillary is an anti-Semite.
I think that most people, when they become furiously pissed off at someone, look for the thing that they think is the most disparaging and hurtful, and lash out with it because they want to HURT, not because they particularly hate. She was pissed off. She knew the person who pissed her off was a Jew, so she packaged up her bile in that spitball. It's nasty, but it's not anti-Semitism, not really.
Just like any other addiction!
Who says there's any "integrity" to any of what the left and their MSM shills promotes today? It's basically a bunch of lies and fraud. No, this Jewish leftism cannot be rationalized on an intellectual basis, just like any other addiction.
You can add Henry Ford, the focus of the posted article, to the list of bigots and anti-semites who were or are 'Rats!
The large majority of Jews in this country happen to be European descended. If they could trace their geneology sufficiently far, they would probably find, in most instances, that their ancestors were in Europe for over 1,000 years.
Separately, I doubt if Asian-Americans have the same tendency not to vote Republican as blacks and Hispanics have, so they would be an exception to your rule.
BTW, Henry Ford was in fact a Democrat! (Please see my post # 172.)
Why do Jews care more about what Ford did 65 years ago than what the Dems they elect today are doing to Israel? Hello! Ford is DEAD; Jimmy Carter is still alive and spewing antisemitism! And the Left is eating it up like gravy!
As for Jews, unless they are Ashkenazim--and a lot of American Jews are--at least a little bit of their blood should trace back to southwestern Asia--the basis of their right to Israel. On the same topic, a lot of Latinos are also of European descent. Non-European above was used to describe those often excluded from European (including Latinos and Jews) in the United States.
"Maybe it is the Jewish leaders that need to be educated and maybe even scolded for leading their people down the wrong political path, by Jews like you who know better. Just a thought"
It's a good thought, but Jewish congregations are very independent, and hire and fire their own Rabbis. I think a Republican rabbi would have trouble getting hired in most American Jewish congregations.
Stuff like this:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1784876/posts?page=0#0
certainly doesn't help the Republican case.
****While the Catholics, Protestants and Jews bicker among themselves like little kids in a sandbox, Muslim wolves are circling the sandbox.****
We are either going to survive this together or we are going down in flames together.
.............................................
A bright note....I wrote a very conservative opinion piece and submitted it to a Jewish newspaper - and I've been informed it will be published.
This is the second time this newspaper is publishing a conservative opinion piece from me - interesting huh?
I got a very positive response from the first piece.
****The large majority of Jews in this country happen to be European descended. If they could trace their geneology sufficiently far, they would probably find, in most instances, that their ancestors were in Europe for over 1,000 years****
Actually closer to 2000 years.
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