Hat tip: SWAC Girl
I was absolutely shocked to read an article in the New York Post that said that not only had John McCain cut Barack Obama’s lead in New York to five points, but also that McCain was actually polling with a majority of the Jewish vote.
This must be the first time since before the Great Depression that a majority of the Jewish vote has gone Republican. My guess is that a combination of factors are at work:Obama has had a reversal of fortunes among Jewish voters. His support has plummeted 35 points, from a lead of 50-37 to a 54-32 deficit in the new poll.
1) The New Deal generation (whose who came of voting age in 1932) has pretty much died out
2) Security concerns for the U.S. and Israel greatly influence the vote, and Obama’s weaknesses in this area are hurting him badly
3) Tolerance of anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish bigotry within the Democratic Party is finally starting to have negative repercussions
4) The proportion of Orthodox Jewish voters has grown, and like morally conservative Christians, they are pro-life and favor the Republican candidates
5) Like many voters (particularly in high cost of living areas like New York), Jewish voters are concerned about the economy and particularly Obama’s plans to raise taxes on income, investments, and estates.
6) The scandals and mismanagement brought about on the local level by Democrats like Eliot Spitzer and Jon Corzine are also reflecting badly on the national Democrats.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency is reporting that Florida Democrats are seeing increasing resistance to Obama among the normally reliably Democratic Jewish elderly. Maybe this explains McCain's expanding lead in Florida as well.
So should the symbol for excited Jewish Republicans should be called the KVELLephant?
