Friedman is definitely a fool. But he is a very useful fool for the Dems. He is trying to do damage control as they cannot have Jews rethinking their allegiance to the Dem party.
I am not sure how much of it is wishful thinking, but I am one of those who thinks we may be seeing early signs of a shift in party loyalties buy Jews. The shift is being driven partly by Dems increasingly open connections with anti-semites, and partly by the death of those whose loyalty is due to Truman recognizing Israel, and Roosevelt saving the Jews in WWII (not exactly true, but try telling them that).
A shift from 70% Dem voting to 70% Republican voting in less than 20 years would cause so much trouble for the organized Jewish pressure groups (e.g. ADL) and the press that relies on them for regular denunciations of Republicans as racists.
How will discussions in the Catskills go? Will there be a desertion while on vacation or will the Jews continue to adhere to their ingrained habit?