Post-electoral pillow talk
Listening in on Arthur Finkelstein's analysis of his polling for the Republican Jewish Coalition, I have some questions about the polling. Suffice to say that there's a gap between his exit polling (hovering around low 60s for Democrats) and J Street's (hovering low 70s).
New York Jewish Week's Jim Besser meantime, offers his own analysis:
A 61 percent take for the Democratic nominee from the strongly Democratic-leaning Jewish community isn't something party leaders will be shouting from the rooftops – but it's also not wildly inconsistent with what we saw nationally on Bloody Tuesday.
2010 saw a strong shift to the GOP across voter groups (excluding, apparently, the African American and Hispanic communities). A 70 percent Democratic take might be the predictable outcome in a normal year; with this year's strong political currents, a 62 percent take isn't out of line.
If you look across other white voter groups, Sestak's 62 percent of the Jewish vote - if that's the correct number – doesn't look great, but it looks a heck of a lot better than the 37 percent Democratic vote for white voters in general in House races, according to a CNN exit poll. Gerstein also did a national exit poll of Jewish voters and found that overall, 66 percent of Jews surveyed voted for Democratic candidates, 31 percent for Republicans.
That's pretty good news for the Jewish Republicans, but hardly a tectonic shift.
Finkelstein is pushing back hard against Besser's take, arguing that movement was more substantial among Jews and influenced by messaging.
The Washington Jewish Week's Adam Kredo covers the back and forth between Josh Block, AIPAC's former spokesman, and Amy Spitalnick, J Street's spokeswoman, over whether J Street support made it easier or harder for candidates.
J Street has a list here of how its candidates did. RJC does a side-by-side here of its campaigns with J Street's.
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The Jew hating Republicon party managed to get out of office SIX Jews. Meanwhile, they put IN office the anti-Israel Randy Paul and Pat Toomey, and have elevated to leadership the vehemently anti-Israel Darrell Issa. Why oh why ANY Jew could belong to a party that hates the Jews just proves that we have ALWAYS been a stiff-necked people!
As to Golan’s comments about Bennet--I direct him to George Allen, whose mother was scared to tell him she is Jewish!
Maltzman, if you have anti-Semites like Obama, Sharpton, Dean and Jackson in your party you should look yourself in the mirror why you belong to such a crowd!
Meanwhile, the Israelis are cheering the election results. Anything to reign in the crypto-Taliban in the White House!
Carl Maltzman is perfect evidence of a blinkered Jew whose inability to compare the pro-Israel record of Republican presidents with that of Carter and Obama is obvious enough. Yes, there are some anti-Israel elements in the GOP ranks; however, compared to the Jacksons, Sharptons, Byrds, as well as some others, not necessarily in front ranks, the Republicans have a keener understanding of and sympathy for Israel’s struggle and their constituency is Israel-friendly, unlike that of the various components that make up the Democratic party. To have Jews close their eyes and ears to the consistent hostility of their party to Israel (in order to appease their ranks) is beyond belief.
Not that it makes a difference at this late date . . . but I notice that right wingers, when claiming that Democrats are anti-Israel, trot out Sharpton and Jackson. Problem is, Republican anti-Semites like Bush I, Ron Paul, even Pat Buchanan have ALL WON ELECTION BY REPUBLICANS! Jackson and Sharpton, have NEVER been elected to anything. So Republitards, PLEASE get your analogies straight!
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Alex Golan
11/04/10 04:27 PM
Whoever thought that Jews are the smartest people in the world only should look at the election percentages to realize that this old canard is long passe. When 60% of Jews continue to vote for candidates of an anti-Israel party that is suffused by anti-Semitic and pro-terrorist elements (Sharpton, Dean, Jackson etc.) then one should not only question their intelligence but their sanity. Not to speak of such luminaries as Michael Bennet who holds himselfout as descendant of Holocaust survivors but refuses to admit to being Jewish.
I guess you can take Jews out of the ghetto but you cannot teach them to grow a spine!