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.
I fully agree and concur.
Not sure where these white shoe types came from here recently.
I really think internal Dim polling shows an impending surge of Jewish voters finally having enough of the party of Al "kill the Crown Height diamond merchants" Sharpton and Jesse "Hymetown" Jackson.
****Any Rabbi or any other religious minister that stands up and spews his personal politics during services should be told to stick to religion. All of us need to speak up. Being silent will get us destroyed. Read history everyone.****
It is also violating the tax code.
*****I'm a conservative Republican Jew and I spent 8+ years working in local, state, and federal politics with hundreds of Christian GOP friends. I can assure you that American Jews do not hate the Christian GOP. That's a myth put out there by Liberals and the MSM.****
Absolutely. I was never taught to hate Christians on either side of the political spectrum.
On the other hand, my Christian husband was taught in church not to shop in stores owned by Jews.
Well, obviously he didn't listen too well - he married me.
I wish we could all stop wondering why this one group always hates that one or this other group ALWAYS votes a certain way.
Because the word "alwsys" almost never applies.
Except I am always looking around for dark chocolates.
(Sorry, folks, I just think we need to lighten up and celebrate that we come together as conservatives from wherever we may hale.)
You win more friends with a bit of honey than bile.
Christians, Jews, gays, blacks, all of us better unite ASAP for we have a common enemy, Islamic terrorists, that want us all dead. While we're ranting at each other, our enemies are plotting and, IMO, that includes Liberals. Our free speech and other freedoms will be history if we don't unite against our common enemies.
This brings up one very salient statistic that many in the Jewish Left don't want too many Jews to know: Blacks in the United States are almost four times as likely as whites to harbor antisemitic attitudes. (That's from a poll conducted by the ADL itself about ten years ago.) Since blacks make up such a large and reliable part of the Dim constituency and any significant loss of that black support would be fatal to their national electoral prospects, the Dems have pandered to the likes of Sharpton and Jackson at the expense of Jewish interests.
As for the "impending surge of Jewish voters finally having enough," that's a valid point. I've seen numbers indicating a noticeable trend among Jewish voters switching from self-identification as Democrats to independents. Many believe that a significant portion of these new independents will eventually come over to the GOP.
> Many believe that a significant portion of these new
> independents will eventually come over to the GOP.
I suspect those many have not met Texas House member Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, or Georgia state Rep. Ben Bridges, R-Cleveland.
Memo: Stop Teaching Evolution (It's A Plot By The Jooooos!)
Dallas Morning News ^ | 2/14/07 | Robert T. Garrett
Posted on 02/14/2007 12:43:16 PM PST by steve-b
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1784876/posts?page=0#0
I have heard from good Jewish friends, that the main reason Jewish vote goes democrat, is that they are intimidated by the Christian right. They see how Christians (who are mainly Republicans), travel to the Land of Israel and go about in their missionary efforts to convert Jews into Christians. That is one main reason my friends believe American Jews vote democrat. I say, in that frame of mind, would it not be the lesser of two evils to vote Republican? And then I am surprised to hear them say that Clintoon was so good to Israel!
Also, my b-i-l has saved THOUSANDS of dollars from the Pubbie congress tax laws for small busineses, yet he voted DEMOCRAT because he knew the Democrt-ick woman who was running! So he is willing to throw THOUSANDS away in the futre for voting for an aquaintance that wants to take money away from him. PATHETIC!! And they say the Jews are so smart....HA!
Right, and having an Obama:Islamist (hiding under the guise of Christian) in the democratic ticket should awaken many Jews to change their party affiliation.
Yet, how much damage can the Muslims do, when the media and the President and everyone who has a voice in gov. are so focused on not hurting their feelings. Instead of accepting that Islam has declared war on the USA and others, our politicians want to pretend that they won't rise in an uglier way against us, in a near future. That is if all continues under the mesmerizing effect of being "tolerant" towards the most intolerant group in history. They may be fewer than the rest of the world, but they are actively working, while we are sleeping.
"Second, during the 1920's through the 1950's, white-shoe Amercia was extremely anti-Semetic, and as a result, many Jews connected with the civil rights movement." THAT IS REASONABLE!
Now, let's show them what liberal democrats say about them, let's educate them, so that they may understand that it is not to their best interest to support the Demorats.
That's funny, I don't know of any diamond merchants who live in Crown Heights.
Yes, please ask them to educate themselves on what the likes of Clinton truly think of them as a People. We need to educate Jewish voters, that democrats are as evil as can be - ready to "get in bed" with Islam at the drop of a hat.
Now can someone please explain to me how Clinton was so good to Israel? We should be thankful that his buddy Arafat copped out of that "peace" agreement that Clinton tried desperately to have him sign with his personal Israeli lapdog Ehud Barak.
HA. And I don't know anyone named "Hyme."
For those that don't know what we're talking about:
In 1991, in the middle of the black-Jewish Crown Heights riots, Sharpton railed on the pulpit against "the diamond merchants right here in Crown Heights."
Anti-semetic code, much like "bankers"
For a liberal source on Sharpton:
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w070129&s=kirchick013107
The problem with calling it the "Jewish vote" is that there is no more a 'Jewish vote' than there is a 'Christian vote.' Jews break down like all politics breaks down these days -- the more often you pray the more you vote Republican.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-06-02-religion-gap_x.htm
It's a factor/variable, not necessarily a controlling one. If Blacks vote 90% for the Dems, I would suspect that there is more at play than just religious attendance. And yes, there is a Jewish vote, just ask AIPAC.
Christian tourism from the US (or other friendly nations) to Israel benefits the Israeli economy and is encouraged by the Israeli government. There haven't been any problems to speak of in Israel in terms of "missionary efforts to convert Jews to Christians." In fact, I believe that proselytizing is illegal under Israeli law.
So how do Christians vote? Are they a monolith?
AIPAC gets support from a very limited Jewish constituency. 9 out of 10 Jews have no ideas who they are or what they do, let alone support them.
So are you a fan of the Mearsheimer and Walt article "The Israel Lobby?"
The Liberal Democrat Party has never been for the people. The Liberal Democrats are out for themselves to satisfy their own personal needs for power and to feed their twisted egos. IMO, they could care less about our country, our freedoms, our security, or our brave troops. They pay lip service to whomever is stupid enough to buy into their self-serving propoganda.
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