U.S. Jews Will Vote for Democrats By Ira Forman October 26, 2006
"The word “compete” implies that two or more parties strive against each other and the outcome of that competition is in question. When it comes to the 2006 competition for the Jewish vote in America, however, there is no question of the outcome. American Jews will vote by a margin of 3-1 or a margin of 4-1 for Democrats over Republicans this fall.
How could this be? After all, if you believe the recent $1 million ad campaign put on by the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), the Democratic Party is led by a bunch of anti-Israel lunatics.
It turns out, American Jews aren’t buying into the RJC’s propaganda. Despite this last minute flurry of negative advertising by desperate Republicans, Jewish voters are highly educated about the issues and they know quite precisely where the two parties and the their candidates stand.
Jewish Americans know that both parties are supportive of Israel. Despite the distortions and outright falsehoods in the RJC ads, even such leading conservatives as Bill Kristol and the ranking Republican on the House International Relations Committee, Dan Burton, have conceded that both political parties are equally pro-Israel.
Moreover, while relatively few Jews will question the intentions of the Bush Administration when it comes to Israel, Jewish Americans increasingly believe of the Administration’s ham-handed polices in the Middle East have led to a weaker America, a stronger Iran, and less security for the state of Israel.
Other issues matter to Jews as well. However, on these issues the two political parties stand diametrically opposed. These other issues are why Jews will vote in landslide proportions for Democrats this fall.
A few years back, the House of Representatives to allow prayer in schools. Nearly all Republicans voted in favor of the bill and nearly all Democrats opposed it. Just this year Republicans voted in lock step to kill a Democratic effort to prohibit coercive and abusive religious proselytizing at the Air Force Academy. One senior Republican even characterized this attempt to uphold the separation of Church and State as a “war on Christianity….”
Similarly, on the question of embryonic stem cell research, Jewish religious institutions from Reform to Orthodox have opposed the position of Bush and the majority of Congressional Republicans.
Then there are questions of economic justice. Republicans in overwhelming numbers have opposed Democratic attempts to get a straight up or down vote on increasing the minimum wage. The Bush Administration and its Congressional allies have also insisted on vast transfers of national wealth, in the form of tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% of Americans, that have resulted in an explosion of federal debt which our children and our grandchildren will have to repay.
Energy independence is central to Israeli security in the 21st century as well as our own. Yet for the Republicans, energy security has meant more tax breaks for domestic oil producers and a willingness to keep shoveling American wealth to regimes such as Saudi Arabia and Iran.
There are scores of other issues - too many to list in this piece - where Republicans are on one side and the Jewish community and Democrats are on the other. But don’t trust me. Look up the latest survey results released this week by the American Jewish Committee. This survey highlights where Jews stand on issues and their continued identification with the Democratic Party.
For the Republicans who wonder why they keep getting swamped among Jews in every election year since 1992, I can only borrow and slightly modify James Carville’s adage from that year - it’s the issues, stupid.
Ira Forman is executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC).
Published in the Hartford Jewish Ledger (October 27, 2006)
I think the following paragraph is the key reason the vote goes as it goes:
"...A few years back, the House of Representatives to allow prayer in schools. Nearly all Republicans voted in favor of the bill and nearly all Democrats opposed it. Just this year Republicans voted in lock step to kill a Democratic effort to prohibit coercive and abusive religious proselytizing at the Air Force Academy. One senior Republican even characterized this attempt to uphold the separation of Church and State as a “war on Christianity….”
Traditionally, Jews in the US have voted 2:1 for the Dems. In 2006 they voted 9:1 for the Dems. That's a huge gain for the Dems, it's not something that Forman predicted, and it's entirely explainable by the almost complete lack of competitive races in areas where Jews live.
In 2008, Jews will again vote Democrat (unless the Dems nominate Sharpton or Kucinich or some other nut), but the percentage will go back down. This is a temporary increase and a logical one -- incumbents who aren't challenged do better than incumbents are are challenged.
Bill Kristol is a conservative? Who'd have known? All this time I was fooled into believing he was a McCainiac loving moderate.
I think you're wrong as to which is the key paragraph in Forman's piece. Here is the key paragraph, not because of what it says as a stand-alone pull-quote, but because of what it introduces in the balance of the article:
"Other issues matter to Jews as well. However, on these issues the two political parties stand diametrically opposed. These other issues are why Jews will vote in landslide proportions for Democrats this fall."
If this article is to be believed as to why American Jewish people vote they way they do (and I have no reason to believe otherwise), then most American Jewish people are Socialists. Plain and simple.