Los Angeles - At a recent debate over which party should receive the Orthodox Jewish vote, the strongest Democratic Party defender was a man who once headed up Democrats for Richard Nixon and later supported former Republican senator Alfonse D’Amato.
The debate, held here at the Orthodox Union’s West Coast Torah Convention, pitted Democrat David Luchins, chair of the political science department at Touro College and a long-time vice president at the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, against right-wing radio talk show host Michael Medved, who, unlike Luchins, hasn’t supported a candidate from the opposing party since he became a Republican in 1980.
The charged debate, attended by some 150 Orthodox convention-goers who hailed from Canada to California, opens a window onto the voting patterns of America’s Orthodox population. While the Orthodox, who make up 10% of the American Jewish population, once voted for Democrats — in keeping with American Jewry’s standing as one of the country’s most liberal voting blocs — in recent years they have slid heavily to the right, according to the O.U.’s own data. In addition, as Luchins’s own willingness to embrace Republican candidates underscores, they are more likely than other American Jews to cross party lines.
“Orthodox Jews are much more of a swing-vote constituency and are more prepared to vote for a conservative Republican than other segments of the Jewish community,” said Nathan Diament, the O.U.’s director of public policy. “What we’ve seen over the past few election cycles is that Orthodox voters are very much issue-driven voters, with Israel and terrorism and security issues at the top of their list.”
Diament pointed to O.U. data from the past two election cycles that illustrate the Orthodox lurch to the right. In 2000, Orthodox voters supported the Gore-Lieberman ticket, but by 2004, the Orthodox community voted 70% for the Bush-Cheney ticket.
A possible wildcard in the upcoming presidential election could be the emergence of a McCain-Lieberman ticket. At the debate, Medved hinted that based on “private conversations” with McCain, the bipartisan pairing was a strong possibility.
While the Orthodox may be voting in large numbers for Republican candidates, a recently released survey of American Jewish Opinion, conducted annually by the American Jewish Committee, showed that the Orthodox still identify in greater numbers as Democrats. According to the AJCommittee survey for 2007, 42% of Orthodox respondents identified themselves as Democrats, while 30% identified as Republicans.
According to Jewish demographer Steven Cohen, there is no contradiction between the recent AJCommittee survey results and the increasing Orthodox preference for Republican candidates. “People change their vote ahead of their party affiliation, so it’s very possible that they voted for Republicans even if they haven’t changed their party affiliation,” Cohen said.
The AJCommittee survey results also show that while the Orthodox are moving rightward, America’s other mainstream denominations continue to populate the ranks of the Democratic Party in disproportionately high numbers. Sixty-two percent of Conservative Jews identified as Democrats, while only 15% said they were Republicans. And in the Reform movement, which falls on the liberal end of the spectrum, 58% of respondents identified as Democrats, while 15% identified as Republicans.
I am supporting Ron Paul for President. Jewish support for the neo-con agenda does little to help Israel.
McCain AND Joe Lieberman, again. Two losers for the price of one. Two nutty warmongers to get gentile America's hackles rising against the Israel lobby as never before, and to paint Orthodoxy as Republican reptilians- to tarnish the most religiously principled segment of US Jewry with the brush of godless ultra-Zionist neoconnerie. Great idea, Medved. I can just imagine how much fun David Duke would have with *that* ticket. Medved "converted" to the GOP inspired by Reagan. I can just imagine what Ronaldus Maximus, the man who cut his losses in Lebanon, would say about the prospect of that pair of Likudnik loons calling the shots in the White House.
Yuck!
The Conservative movement is the fastest shrinking and most Democrat movement. The Orthodox are the fastest growing and the most Republican. Interesting.
I can understand the concerns Orthodox Jews may have regarding security issues and, to some extent, social issues. However, Republican positions on education, healthcare, treatment of workers and the poor and the environment are out of synch with Jewish values. Unfortunately, when you vote for a candidate you are buying the whole package, not just his or her position on a single issue.
Just wanted to add something to Sydney's brilliant commentary. Judaism is a conservative religion. The tragedy is that the majority of Jews today don't believe in Judaism but secular liberalism. They don't believe that the Torah is divine but that it was written by man. If a Jew actually believes in Judaism and votes for the Jewish values Hashem has given us in the Torah he could not in good conscience vote Democrat. I'm not thrilled with the Republicans either but I have nowhere else to go. The Democrat party houses the anti-Israel, anti-American, anti-Semitic and the pro-Palestinian. Remember that Hamas and Hezbollah vote Democrat. The evil terrorists who want to destroy America and Israel vote Democrat. They have voiced their preference in many interviews. They were very big Kerry supporters. I'm sure they would love any of the top three candidates running. They want someone who they can manipulate and take advantage of. A coward like Clinton who did nothing while we were repeatedly attacked so that he could be loved by the UN and the international community. Someone who would be weak on National Security and weaken our military. The Arabs love that. The Democrat party consistently votes for the promotion of indecency and perversion, sexualizing our children at younger and younger ages. Just look at the California legislature and the disgusting bills they pass. The desire to redefine marriage, a Holy institution, is being attacked by the Democrat party. The unrestricted murder of babies is promoted by the Democrat party. I know that most people who read the Forward will vote for Democrats and that I will not change anyone's mind. I have liberal friends who sound like right wing conservatives when you hear them talk about issues pertaining to criminals, prison sentences, marriage, parental consent, taxes, partial birth abortions, or what should be taught in schools, yet they always vote democrat. It's ironic that most of these liberals I know actually live their lives and raise their children in a much more conservative manner then how they vote. Besides they send their kids to private schools where their children are safe from our indecent legislature. (But now that I think about it most of the legislators send their kids to private school too.) When I ask them about the legislation their legislators support and vote for I find that most are unaware. They then tell me that they don't personally agree with the legislators but they still can't change their vote. Liberals don't want to be bothered with facts. They FEEL that Republicans are evil or bad or selfish or some other childish nonsense, so they feel better about themselves by voting Democrat. I understand the psychology or is it pathology? I just want Jews to be honest and clear about the kind of values they support when they vote Democrat. It's not Jewish values.
There does seem to be a push by Republicans to ppush the concept that the support by the Democratic Party of Israel is weak. This is a result of fear of Iran. I believe that going to war with Iran will do more than almost any action to endanger Israel. it will unit the Muslim community and free Iran to use all weapons at their disposal. I do not believe that any Presidential candidate would not strongly support Israel's security
"There does seem to be a push by Republicans to push the concept that the support of the Democratic Party for Israel is weak." This needed no "push by Republicans" but only the continuing support of third world (including Arab) hatred of both America and Israel by the Dirty Thirty of the House of Representatives, 29 Democ-rats and Ron Paul. Democ-rats have proven themselves beneath contempt. As "Steven" puts it so well, the Democ-rat legislators and judges impose leftist values on the public but isolate their own children and themselves from these sick values by sending their children to private schools and moving to gated communities which keep the Democ-rat voting riff raff out. Their financial support comes from union thugs, Hollywood and Broadway degenerates (actually Pallywood degenerates if one considers the pro-Arab movies they make) and tort shysters. Both the union thugs and tort shysters weaken the ability of America to economically compete in world markets and they want to see unemployment rates pushed up to French percentages to make more Americans dependent on government programs and their sickening Party. No matter your perspective the Democ-rat Party is bad for America and horrible for Jews. Defeat it at all levels!
Even McCain and the more liberal and secular elements in the Republican Party routinely kowtow to the Christian Right. Big name (or should one say, big money) preachers may know enough to hide their anti-Semitism, but it's still a major feature of their cosmology, along with disbelieving evolution, male chauvinism, homophobia, and belief that these are the End Times. Smart Jews should have nothing to do with such nonsense.
Go to http://scriptures.lds.org/bm/contents and search for "Jew" in the Book of Mormon; check out 1 Nephi 10:11, among other citations; and then explain how any member of the Jewish community could vote Republican...
"However, Republican positions on education, healthcare, treatment of workers and the poor and the environment are out of synch with Jewish values." - I prefer a politician who minimizes the government over a politician who promises to make my religious values the law of the land. The first ammendment separation of church and state is an established American tradition. Better to build schools, hospitals, nonprofit lawfirms, soup kitchens, and land trusts privately than to create a religious values test for politicians.
Of course serious Jews are Republicans. How could any Jew support the anti Semitic democratic party. The democratic party is run by Rev Al Sharpton who is an open anti Semite who murdered Yankel Rosenbaum in a pogrom supported by the then Democratic mayor of New York. Every Democrat running for President has begged to be endorsed by Sharpton. 80% of Muslims vote Democrat because they know the party is anti Israel. Democratic activist Cindy Sheehan says the Iraq war is a Jewish plot supported by Jews who are loyal to Israel and not the US. The Democratic party has a KKK leader Robert Byrd in the Senate. It's concience is Jimmy Carter who considers Israel and apartheid state and condemns Israel as being two Jewish and believes Jews are Christ killers who must be condemned for rejecting Jesus.
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