We’ve been down this road before.
I first heard this during the Carter Administration. I first heard it seriously during the Clinton years. Jews, tired of the Democratic party’s one-sided approach to Israel, will eventually bolt from the Tics. Someday. Maybe. Honest.
I’m starting to think American Jews are to Israel the way American Catholics are to pro-life politics; the theoretical tie frays when you get down to specifics; “progressive” politics beats out the purported big issue.
But Roger L. Simon thinks things may be, honestly, seriously, maybe changing, probably:
But I suspect something is brewing. [The Tics’] kind of excessive and weirdly paternalistic attitude to the state of Israel, directed so clearly from the top, seems to come out of a kind of unexamined personal animus. The long record that Obama has of friendship with virulent enemies of Israel has not gone unnoticed.
Whatever the etiology, group love affairs with political parties cannot help but be self-destructive. They may begin in a burst of mutual admiration but they will almost always devolve into a self-desturctive “taking for granted” that could only work to the benefit of one party (if that). The love affair between African-Americans and the Democratic Party has been similarly useless for blacks. In the forty years I have lived in Los Angeles, I haven’t noticed life getting significantly better in South Central, a region of the city in which Republicans are about as scarce as killer whales.
Right. See also Detroit, DC, Philadelphia and Minneapolis.
This doesn’t mean I think Jews or blacks or anybody else should become Republicans. They should think for themselves and even change sides when it’s advantageous. For Jews, Obama’s behavior is indeed a “teaching moment.” The bizarre over-reaction to a minor incident in Israel should serve as a wake up call.
I say the odds are it’s all wishful thinking. But who knows?
I’m starting to think American Jews are to Israel the way American Catholics are to pro-life politics; the theoretical tie frays when you get down to specifics; “progressive” politics beats out the purported big issue.
Not entirely true, Mitch. The key is this: practicing Catholics, the ones who actually attend Mass regularly and participate in the life of the Church, are strongly pro-life and most are pretty conservative. There are plenty of people who are variously termed things like “Cafeteria Catholics” or “Catholic in Name Only” or “Easter Christmas Catholics” who are more secular in their outlook. They tend to be far more progressive than those of us who actually participate and they skew the numbers. Especially now since John Nienstedt became the Archbishop, the pro-life message has been unequivocal in this Archdiocese.
I have long since stopped giving money to US-based Jewish Charities. They do nothing but shill for ‘Tics. I simply refuse to give money to people who are bent on supporting forces which would lead to their own destruction.
Unfortunately, most Jews are sold on Socialist Nirvana ideal that when “everyone” is equal, they will no longer be persecuted. We all know how well that worked over the last 90 years or so! Alas, the only answer to the question “What will it take for Jews to wake up?” is “blood”.
A) Inner city Blacks will never turn to Republicans. Their communities may be war zones, but what do they want to fix that? Law and order policing? Right. These communities want lighter sentences for crack dealers and think OJ Simpson was framed. Lower taxes to bring in development? Hardly. No. They want more government handouts.
B) You’re average liberal has such a hatred of the Jewish state, and only the Jewish state, it’s disturbing. But I have to give the Arabs credit. They took a small violent group of people, rebranded them as “Palestinians”, said they are a persecuted race….you know the rest.
B)
“put another nail in the coffin of the idea of Isreal” – penigma 01.13.09
Good luck with that. You’ll need to stop being the party of pissed-off white guys who think everyone else is out to get you before you can get the votes of everyone else. Till then, blacks, Jews, Hispanics see you for who you are. And they reject you in droves.
Yeah, that’s what Joe Biden, Harry Reid, and Bill Clinton said, angryclown. Oh wait, they said some other stuff.
“You’ll need to stop being the party of pissed-off white guys who think everyone else is out to get you before you can get the votes of everyone else. Till then, blacks, Jews, Hispanics see you for who you are. And they reject you in droves.”
If that’s what you actually believe, you are both a tool and clueless.
Hey, Mitch, how much of the racist, bigoted commentary on SITD is Angry Clown responsible for? 90%? More?
No, peevee and deegee contribute their fare share.