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The Spectacle Blog
As John Tabin points out, the Republican victory in New York’s 9th congressional district suggests that the American Jewish community’s love affair with Barack Obama might be over.
Commentary editor John Podhoretz, in fact, joked on Twitter that in 2008, “hip young Jews took old Jews to the polls to vote for Obama. Next year, they will be locking them in nursing homes.”
And even though Jews account for less than 2 percent of the overall U.S. population, this matters, Podhoretz observes, because of Jews’ outsized influence in Democratic Party politics.
“Democrats depend on Jewish givers for a wildly disproportionate share of campaign funds,” he writes.
Even if Jewish disaffection nationally is less than in NY-9, that would still be wildly harmful to the national party’s interests. Tens of millions of dollars are at stake.
And the Jewish vote can make a difference in two key swing stakes, Florida and Pennsylvania. Obama won both in 2008, but is doing badly in recent polls. If he loses both, he loses the election. Even if he loses just one, he probably goes down to defeat as well.
Jews make up 4 percent of Florida’s population but probably closer to 7 percent of the electorate (since they’re almost all of voting age), and 2.3 percent of Pennsylvanians.
If, say, a third of the Jews who voted for Obama in either state in 2008 decided to vote against him in 2012 — or not to vote at all — that could be game, set and match for the president.
NY-9 also matters because it demonstrates the surprising resilience of social and cultural conservatism. It suggests that, despite tremendous (and often irresistible) cultural pressure, America isn’t yet ready to abandon its Judeo-Christian heritage and become just another declining secular Western country a la France or Germany.
Indeed, according to The Matzav Network, Weprin was defeated for three reasons: the weak economy, Obama’s hostility to Israel, and
third, the one that will get little if any play in the mainstream media except frivolous debunking: The voters in NY-09 rejected David Weprin’s vote in favor of same-gender marriage. Yes, yet again we see a reliably Democrat area rebel against Democrats pushing same-gender gay marriage.
NY-9 is home to a significant number of politically engaged religious or orthodox Jews for whom the institution of marriage is fundamental and essential. And so, for them, Democrat David Weprin’s vote to transform the institution of marriage in accordance with modern-day notions of “fairness” and “equality” was anathema.
“NOM played a major role in this election, helping to organize the Jewish and Hispanic communities to coalesce with Republicans, conservative and other pro-family voters,” explained Brian Brown, president of the National Organizatin for Marriage (NOM).
We mounted the first and largest independent expenditure campaign in the race to make marriage a key issue, and we succeeded.
David Weprin is not going to Congress for one reason: He listened to Andrew Cuomo, Michael Bloomberg, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and a few billionaires on Wall Street, and went along with them to redefine marriage.
Weprin foolishly believed them when they promised to protect him from any fallout over his vote to redefine marriage… NOM is responsible for defeating countless same-sex marriage advocates and electing hundreds of candidates who have pledged their support for traditional marriage…
Once again voters have said: ‘Don’t Mess With Marriage!’
View all comments (6) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by John R. Guardiano
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/09/14/ny-9-a-win-for-marriage-and-cu
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NotALibertarian| 9.14.11 @ 1:31PM
Gay marriage could destroy the Democrat Party as we know it, if Republicans would just handle the issue more aggressively.
Derek Leaberry| 9.14.11 @ 2:37PM
I wonder if Mr. Guardiano's analysis might get him booted from David Frum's anti-conservative conservative site where he sometimes posts. As most conservatives know, Frum has contempt for all cultural conservatives and especially Christians.
Oldefarte| 9.14.11 @ 3:22PM
Paul supporters are not PAULISTAS......they're instead PAULESTINIANS : '....Trump on NY Upset: Obama 'Just Doesn't Get It' Wednesday, September 14, 2011 10:48 AMBy: Newsmax Wires...Following is a statement that New York businessman Donald Trump released exclusively to Newsmax today regarding Republican Bob Turner’s stunning victory in the special election in the 9th Congressional District Tuesday.“I must admit that I have done a lot of promotion throughout my career, but my foray into robo-calling this past week on behalf of Bob Turner in the congressional district where I grew up was a unique first experience which I am happy to see helped produce a historic result.“I was honored when candidate Bob Turner came to meet with me to discuss his campaign this past month. During our meeting in Trump Tower, Bob discussed his pro-growth platform of low taxes, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and his plan to promote small businesses both within his district and nationwide during his term in Congress.“I was impressed that Bob got 40 percent against an entrenched Anthony Weiner a year ago based on hard work and a clear pro-job growth message. Bob Turner is the kind of guy we need in Congress if we are going to make America great again.“This time Turner, a successful private businessman, was running against a career politician who could never make it in the private sector and has no idea how jobs are created. I was also pleased that Bob’s message on protecting our national security put a strong emphasis on our relationship with Israel in a predominantly Democratic district that gave Barack Obama 55 percent of the vote in 2008.
“From the time of our meeting, Bob piqued my interest not only in his campaign but the larger message that this race could send to Barack Obama. As I stated in my robo-call, which was primarily played to Democratic households because campaign polls showed I had very high favorable ratings with these folks, “If you don’t like what’s going on in Washington, if you don’t like what’s happening with Israel, because Israel is being treated very badly and very unfairly by the Obama administration, vote for Bob Turner. Trust me, they’ll notice. Electing Bob Turner on Tuesday will be a shot heard ‘round the country.”“I am quite familiar with this district, having grown up in Jamaica Estates, Queens. The seat Turner now takes was once held by Geraldine Ferraro and Chuck Schumer and was only open because disgraced Anthony Weiner was forced to resign this past June amid scandals. My father Fred Trump, a great businessman, was one of the few Republicans in our neighborhood when I was growing up., Bob Turner is in fact he first Republican to hold this seat since 1923. An astonishing feat!“So why did this happen? The voters in NY-9 were faced with two very different options yesterday. One was a liberal Democrat who championed all of Obama’s policies, which have failed this country and precipitated our economic problems. Further, not only did the Democrat have absolutely no private sector experience like Obama, but he also had the exact mindset of Obama – any and every problem can be solved by another government program, more spending and tax increases.“On the other hand, Turner understands how to promote growth, entrepreneurship and free enterprise, and that a robust, growing economy is the way to fund and strengthen our obligations to seniors in Social Security and Medicare. Further, Turner rejected the Middle Eastern appeasement policies of Barack Obama, which have proven to be constant pressure on Israel, ineffective diplomatic overtures to Iran, and public support of the Ground Zero Mosque. “It goes without saying that Obama will not get the message. In fact he will continue to double down on his anti-prosperity policies. Only this past Monday did he release yet another plan under the guise of a ‘Jobs Bill’ which promises to raise taxes on those who actually hire workers and have capital. He just doesn’t get it.“His first trillion dollar stimulus bill was a complete failure by his own measure, as the unemployment rate is now 9.1 percent with real unemployment at over 19 percent. This new bill also promises immediate construction jobs again, just like his first stimulus. Yet as Obama already has told us, “shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected.” Unfortunately for America, Obama is all out of any real solutions that can in fact promote economic growth because all he knows is government and reckless deficit spending.“Obama also will continue to pressure Israel unfairly, all the while claiming that he is a true friend of Israel. From the outset of his term, Obama has exerted undue public pressure on Israel to continue making concessions to the Palestinians. He has also increased aid and military cooperation with the Palestinians despite the Palestinian Authority unifying with the terrorist organization Hamas. Obama even somehow tied his administration’s attempts to stop the Iranian nuclear program to progress on the ‘Palestinian question.’“Further, Obama used the great occasion of killing bin Laden to demand that Israel go back to the indefensible 1969 borders. All this has accomplished are continued demands by the Palestinians and now the rest of world against Israel, culminating in next week’s U.N. Resolution unilaterally declaring Palestine a sovereign state without any denunciation of terrorism or recognition of Israel’s right to exist.“While the Obama administration claims to be fighting the Resolution, he has yet to put any public demands on either the Palestinians or the U.N., an institution that America funds with over 22 percent of its budget. Obama has proven during his term that without America’s steadfast and public support, Israel will be placed in a corner by the rest of the world. “The message from my old neighborhood is loud and clear. Americans from both parties are not only strongly opposed to Obama’s failed economic policies and Islamic appeasement, but are also looking for a new path. We need candidates with real private sector experience who know how America became great. Bob Turner’s victory was the first shot heard around the country, with many more to come in November 2012.”....'
Clint| 9.15.11 @ 7:05AM
WTF ?
Clint| 9.15.11 @ 7:16AM
Go Sell Your Sand To The Arabs RINO-CINO Israel Firster Fart Man.
Dr.Ron Paul,
“Israel is our close friend. While President Obama’s demand that Israel
make hard concessions in her border conflicts may very well be in her
long-term interest, only Israel can make that determination on her own,
without pressure from the United States or coercion by the United
Nations.
“Unlike this President, I do not believe it is our place to dictate how
Israel runs her affairs. There can only be peace in the region if those
sides work out their differences among one another. We should respect
Israel’s sovereignty and not try to dictate her policy from Washington."
mzk1| 9.15.11 @ 1:36PM
If you don't like what you idiotically refer to as Israel-firsters, why do you like Sarah Palin? She's as "Israel-firster" as you can get.
If she gets in, she's got my vote.