Romney LOST the American JEWISH VOTE by Picking Paul Ryan

[Segami]

He forfeited any real chance of winning American Jewish voters
when he chose Ryan, says Peter Beinart.




Maybe Mitt Romney should have saved the airfare. Sure, July’s Israel trip helped him with his Jewish donors and perhaps with some Christian evangelicals. But if it bought him any good will among Jewish voters, he’s just given it back—and then some—by selecting Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate.



To read the press, you’d think Israel drives the American Jewish vote. That’s a myth. An October 2008 poll by Steven M. Cohen, Sam Abrams, and Judith Veinstein found that only 15 percent of American Jews ranked Israel as one of their three top voting issues. This March, when the American Jewish Committee asked American Jews what most influences their presidential vote, only 6 percent answered “Israel,” with another 4 percent citing “Iran’s nuclear program.”



So what do American Jews vote on? The economy, of course. According to the AJC poll, it registered almost five times the number of first-place votes as did Israel. Second, with more than three times the number, was health care. Indeed, while among Americans as a whole health care has far less salience than does the economy, among Jews the margin between the two is smaller. One reason may be that Jews are simply older. As the University of Miami’s Ira Sheskin points out, 16 percent of American Jews are above the age of 65 compared to 13 percent of Americans as a whole. When it comes to health care, Jews are also big fans of government spending. According “Jewish Distinctiveness in America,” a detailed 2005 study for the AJC, Jews were more supportive than any other religious group of government health-care spending and more supportive than any ethnic or racial group except African-Americans.



Another driver of the Jewish vote is fear of the Christian right. Although the percentage of American Jews who cite abortion or separation of church and state as their top voting issue is low—a combined 7 percent, according to the AJC poll—those Jews who do care about cultural issues lean massively to the left. According to the 2005 “Jewish distinctiveness,” study, Jews are the most pro-choice ethnic or religious group in America, by far. Almost 80 percent of American Jews think it’s fine for a woman to have an abortion for any reason, which is close to twice the percentage for Americans as a whole. Jews are also the religious and ethnic group most supportive of giving birth control to teenagers and most hostile to school prayer. And this cultural liberalism produces deep hostility to the Christian right. According to a 2012 study by the Public Religion Research Institute, American Jews feel almost twice as sympathetic to American Muslims as they do toward the Christian right.







cont'


http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/14/romney-lost-the-american-jewish-vote-by-picking-paul-ryan.html

[steve2470]

1. k&r nt

[WooWooWoo]

2. he never really had it in the first place

For the most part, Jewish voters lean Democrat by a fairly substantial margin and have for years.

[cali]

7. actually it's not "fairly substantial". It's by a huge margin.

[Berlum]

3. "...fear of the Christian right..."

A fear based in a realistic reading of the seething hate and malice that ooze outward from these right-wing zealots...

...And Jesus, the Jew, wept to behold what had become of his teaching about love and brotherhood...

[MrScorpio]

4. The math dictates that most Americans Jews aren't Likunik sympathizers

He should have already known this fact when he went to Israel to pander to the Likuniks, why didn't he?

Romney has to be the most incompetent campaigner EVER to run for president.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. He can't have lost it, as he never, ever had it to begin with....

Not a big fan of sloppy writing that suggests a group of people who never supported Willard did so, just for the sake of turning a phrase.

[cali]

6. LOL! As if he ever had the remotest chance to win the Jewish vote

do people have any clue as to how heavily American Jews vote democratic?

[tclambert]

8. Well, Obama had New York state anyway. But this could help win Florida.

The senior citizen vote in Florida may be key, and Paul Ryan's open threats to Medicare may turn them against Romney. Florida has been close in the polls, mostly leaning very slightly for Obama. This could make it lean stronger. And hey, it's 29 electoral votes. 29 votes without which Romney would have a very hard time making 270.

[SmittynMo]

9. Don't forget the others

They also lost the female vote, the black and hispanic vote (general racism by the GOP), and the elderly vote. Even the tea party is in disarray. There's no one left they can insult, but I'm sure they'll find some group before it's all over. I predict a total landslide in November. The only votes R&R will get will come from the far right, who will pick the far right no matter who it is.

[Yavin4]

22. " I'm sure they'll find some group before it's all over." They Have.

The 1%, and if people actually use their brains to vote that would be their share of the electorate.

[The Wizard]

10. The Orthodox

vote Republican because that's what their Rabbis tell them to do. They believe Church and State are intertwined and laws should be based on religion.
They completely deny that they are not the dominant religion and that conservative support for Israel is based on the belief that when Jesus returns all the Jews will move back to Israel to either convert to Christianity or die in the end times. Ain't blind faith great? It saves adherents the trouble of thinking.

[RockaFowler]

11. Most Jews (like me) are not Zionists

So when someone tells me they are a friend to Israel I laugh at that. They couldn't care less for Israel or the Jewish People. Heck they want to convert all of us anyway. Why are they so enamored with Israel??

[PCIntern]

12. Respectfully disagree with your post in its entirety. nt

[jillan]

15. Same here - while I do care about Israel, my main concern is the US and it greatly upsets me

when our friendship with Israel interfers with our standing - and safety - in the world.

I was thrilled when Obama stood up to Bibi - and laugh at all the rw nutjobs that were in horror over this.

[TomClash]

13. LOL

Republican presidential candidates make the pilgrimage to Israel to appease Christian conservatives. It has little to do with most Jewish voters. That's a vote he has little chance of getting anyway.

Jewish voters are not part of his Florida strategy and he's not winning anywhere else with significant concentrations of Jewish voters.

[WI_DEM]

14. Even before this pick Obama was getting nearly 70% of the Jewish vote

so actually he never had a shot at it anyway.

[ananda]

16. Was Roms ever going to get the Jewish vote?

nt

[hifiguy]

19. Only the Ultra-Orthodox

who are as blinded by religion and kooky in their own way as the Xtian right. Jewish voters in the US are overwhelmingly liberal and Democratic and have been nearly forever.

[VPStoltz]

17. Don't Mormons have a little surprise for Jews at the "rapture?"

[BlancheSplanchnik]

20. I don't know about Mormons, but the Evangelicals do.

That's why the christofascists pander to the Likudnik demographic, I think.....Israel and the Jews have an important "role" *ahem, coff, choke* to play in the final uplifting of the Christofascists; like pedophiles grooming a targeted child, the most fanatical fundies have a self-interested focus on Judaism---they also exploit Likudnik hatred of Arab-anything for their own war mongering.

--but I don't think the Likudnik view has the impact (what little impact there ever was) that it did during the bsbush/9/11 years though.

(just my take on it all, here......)

[HopeHoops]

18. It wasn't there to begin with.

[pink-o]

21. Well, he's got Sheldon. Only Jew he needs, I guess!

And BTW, am I the only person who takes umbrage with the text of that article that says "It's the economy, ***of course***." Of course what??? Cuz everyone knows how we are about money? Or should I give the benefit of the doubt--the writer isn't pulling this tired old stereotype out of his ass, he's making a point that the economy is the most important issue to all voters in this county...?

Anyway, let me put the whole idea to rest re Jews and money. Come to my house. Well, not technically mine, because I rent my little 200 sq ft domicile, so I can live in the city I love. I drive an 11 year old Corolla, and that's not even my first choice of transpo--that would be my Trek FX commute bike. I work a service job with very little prestige, and not a whole lotta wages, but it affords me an immense amount of freedom and travel ability.

And guess what? My Great-grandfather was an Orthodox Rabbi, so I have Ashkenazi cred up to my eyeballs! And I don't give a flying crap about accumulating material wealth.

Sick of that meme!

[DCKit]

23. Benefit of a doubt. The desire for a healthy economy is a shared value. It certainly is here.

The continued health of the economy impacts the ability of all Americans to work and make enough $$$ to house and feed themselves, educate their children and pay for health insurance. That's all the people interviewed were saying.

Maybe our Jewish citizens are simply more pragmatic, better educated and less likely to fall for the "God, Guns & Gays", Women's rights and social austerity (Welfare Bad!) BS than the average (R) evangelical? It was a question about the economy and the same issues we talk about here every day. Each one of the greater concerns expressed in that poll speaks to that.

[Behind the Aegis]

24. Can't lose what you never had. It's like claiming Mitt lost his integrity. Like 7-UP and caffine...

...Never had it! Never will! (insert throaty "ha-ha-ha&quot

Perhaps more people should keep this in mind.