DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS: WHO SUPPORTS ISRAEL MORE?

When I was growing up in the US, it was almost gospel that if you were Jewish you voted Democratic. The Democrats were the party that supported Israel (Harry Truman recognized the Jewish state over many objections) and the separation of church and state, while the Republicans were the party that was 'too Christian,' and was also considered to be less interested in Israel, or worse. Not to mention that most Jews agreed with the Democrats on most other 'social issues.'

Over the last 25-30 years, that has started to change, as parts of the 'liberal agenda' on social issues became more widely accepted, as many Jews came to believe that Republican economic policies (Reaganomics and its progeny) were better suited for them personally than was the welfare state, and as the two parties started to compete for the pro-Israel vote. As an American Jew to whom support for Israel was issue number one, I voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980 (and would have voted for Richard Nixon in 1972 if I'd had the right to vote then), because I felt that the Democratic candidate that year (Dhimmi Carter and George McGovern, respectively) was not pro-Israel, and would have sold this country down the river had they been given the opportunity. For the record, I still lived in the US then.

But until very recently Jews who voted Republican usually did so quietly on their own and usually did so due to special circumstances (a particular candidate on the Democratic side with whom they were disenchanted). Outside of the ultra-Orthodox community, Jews were often embarassed to admit it if they voted Republican. And most Jews were registered Democrats regardless of what lever they pulled in the elections. Most Jews who made political contributions contributed only to Democratic causes. No one ever openly questioned whether the Democratic party as a party supported Israel; it was taboo to even raise the issue. Some people would like to keep it that way.

In the last eight years, the Democratic party has veered sharply to the left. Organizations like MoveOn.org and blogs like DailyKos and Huffington Post are only a small part of a radicalization of the Democratic party that includes the rise to prominence of the likes of Cindy Sheehan and Al Sharpton. The radical left has gained a strong influence on the party - the only time that comes to mind in which the radical influence on the Democratic party was anywhere near as strong is the late 1960's. The Internet has spread that radical mindset through the core of the Democratic party. (If you question that statement, follow some of the links above). Much of the Jewish community - especially the 'organized' Jewish community for whom the Democratic party has always been a comfortable place - is trying to pretend that the Democractic party is still the party of Lyndon Johnson and Scoop Jackson (for whom I campaigned in 1976). But it's not.

For me personally, this came home with the defeat of Senator Joe Lieberman in the Democratic primary in Connecticut by radical leftist Ned Lamont. Although I have voted Republican several times, I have never felt as uncomfortable with the Democratic party as I have felt since that primary. Jimmy Carter could be dismissed as a bitter one-term President. Lamont's ideological hold on the Democratic party (along with that of George Soros and Michael Moore and others) cannot be dismissed.

Through a series of ads in Jewish newspapers, an organization called the Republican Jewish Coalition is trying to make the Jewish community confront reality. I am reproducing some of the ads in this post.... Continue reading....