Morgan writes on Jewish voters...a MUST READ

Last Friday our lovely and gracious host, Z, posted an article written by syndicated columnnist, talented author--and fellow Jew--Mona Charen. The title of the article was, "Do American Jews really love Israel, or just Democrats?" I knew right then and there that Mona was venting her spleen in anger at Jewish voting patterns which invariably run Democrat. I know this anger well, BELIEVE ME!

Historically speaking there are understandable reasons for Jews voting Democrat. Entire books could be written about the subject so I'll just touch on one of the most important of Jewish cultural concepts, Tikkun Olam.

Literally translated, Tikkun Olam means to improve the world or perfect the world, depending on who you ask. The concept sprung up from the notion that we Jews (and righteous Gentiles) need to prepare the world for the coming of the Mesach, or Messiah. In my opinion THAT'S where the trouble begins.

Those who fall into the 'improve' category will tend to view the Ten Commandments and the other moral laws of the TANAKH (Hebrew Bible) as highly personal in nature and directed at individuals. The improvers tend to give far more to charity and have higher moral standards. They willl never view such personality traits as dishonesty through a political lens. To these people the ends do not justify the means. People who fall into this category are routinely infuriated at the torrent of lies propogated by political leftists and populists of EITHER political party. They are very Conservative and vote Republican or Libertarian with few exceptions.
Those who fall into the 'perfect world' category are overwhelmingly Democrat because that's the political home of forced collectivism. The world CANNOT be perfected with so many unnruly individuals on the loose! That's the major reason so many of the early Marxists and Communists were Jews. Communism was a Utopian movement which demanded collective effort and sacrifice. For a people so horribly abused by centuries of massacres and anti-Semitism, Communism sounded like a fair deal. Finally, they had a vehicle through which to force Tikkun Olam. Many never took the time to notice that communism's basic tenents violated every one of the Ten Commandments. Uggh.

Now that we know a little about Tikkun Olam, let's move to Mona Charen's article about American Jews, the Democrat Party, and Obama. Mona wrote:

"Last week, 7,000 members of the storied AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) rose to their feet to honor Barack Obama a total of 13 times. The first standing O, lasting more than a minute, greeted the senator as he took the stage -- before he had even begun to count all the ways he plans to become a "true friend of Israel." They gushed. They cooed. They were carried away...Someone needs a cold shower."

I understand that AIPAC is purportedly an organization of Americans--mainly American Jews--who look out for the best interests of Israel against the Arab interests in Washington. Mona's article screams out the question WHY DID THEY SOIL THEMSELVES OVER OBAMA WHEN HE'S THE LEAST FRIENDLY CANDIDATE TO ISREAL TO APPEAR ON THE NATIONAL SCENE IN DECADES?!

Rush Limbaugh explained it best when he said, "those organizations which aren't EXPLICITLY Conservative WILL BE liberal or leftist! Why? Because Liberalism is the easiest and most gutless choice available." Leftists dominate AIPAC just as they dominate any organization not explicitly Conservative. Leftists are always leftists first, and any other loyalty is relegated to a distant second place. This is why the AIPAC gathering roared for the anti-Semite Obama.

She went on to write:

"Yet 61 percent of American Jews, according to a recent Gallup poll, prefer Obama to McCain. True, this is a drop from the 78 percent who voted for John Kerry in 2004, but it still qualifies as slightly deranged, under the circumstances."

I don't believe these figures for a minute. It's been my personal experience that polling "Jewish opinion" is a miserably flawed science. My old Rabbi, Rabbi Peres, once told me that as the former leader of one of the largest conservative congregations in our city he was NEVER asked for his political opinions, nor was he asked by a reporter or pollster for a phone list for his congregation. It occurs to me that this just MIGHT be a good method for polling Jewish political opinions! He went on to tell me that most of the Jewish reporters, teachers, and college professors attended the Reform Synagogues, which are liberal, and well...that's also a good way to get a list of Jews to call for opinions. Guess which way that'll skew? I have the sneaking suspicion that this is the lazy pollster's method for getting Jewish "opinion", and I'm not the only Jew who feels this way.

A pollster could also call all of the Horowitzs or Cohens in the phone book. There are two problems with this method. First, if this is done in highly conservative Jacksonville, or anywhere in the south, the outcome will be skewed conservatively. The opposite will be true if this is done in L.A., NYC, or Boston. The second problem is WHO you''ll reach when you call the house. More often than not, the person you reach at home is a woman, and most women vote Democrat. The cell phone number which isn't in the phone book belongs to the person at work, and they tend to be Republicans.

I'm not saying that polling Christian opinion is any easier, it's every bit as devilish to be accurate there. Imagine if you only polled Southern Baptists and called that Christian opinion? Or how about United Methodists? As it turns out it's far easier to get accurate polls on the sexes or distinct racial groups. The 17% shift was probably accurate, but the base figures are probably WAAAAAY off.

My guess is that Obama will get no more than 40% of the Jewish vote this election, and that will be his own fault. Sadly, John McCain will play almost no role in Jewish voting this election, he inspires no one. Barack's negatives on Israel, and his anti-Semitic ties will tell the story.

Morgan

Thanks, Morgan....I've had EXACTLY that sentiment you mention at the beginning of your excellent piece, about your "improve" and "perfect" category. Excellent thinking and explaining. I hope you write more for us here at geeeeeZ! This is just terrific and I know the readers will find it so, too! You are a great blessing! z