Exit polls in Florida are showing that Jews only made up one percent of the electorate in today’s Republican primary. Since that is down from three percent in the 2008 GOP primary, Nate Silver of the New York Times concludes that this may show a lack of enthusiasm for the Republican field among Jews. That might mean, he writes, there may be reason for Democrats to think Jewish resentment of President Obama’s attitude toward Israel may not be carrying over into the 2012 election. But Democrats would be foolish to seize on such flimsy evidence for proof they are not in trouble with Jewish voters.
It is true that a drop in GOP Jewish registration shows none of the candidates generated enough Jewish buzz to get more voters to switch party affiliation as in 2008. But the comparison is unfair, because the man who drove that mini-surge in Jewish Republican voters was Rudy Giuliani. Though he flopped in the Florida primary four years ago, the former mayor of New York was a big favorite of the Jewish and pro-Israel community. None of this year’s Republican crop can claim that kind of loyalty from Jews, but the ultimate winner of the GOP nomination will have one thing going for him: he’ll be running against an incumbent president who is rightly viewed by many Jews as having distanced himself from Israel.
Florida is a state where Jewish swing voters could affect the outcome in November. That’s why Obama is trying so hard to make Jews forget his record of non-stop quarrels with Israel’s government in the last three years. Any Republican, especially a relative moderate like Mitt Romney, will be well-placed to take advantage of this Democratic problem.
On the other hand, Gingrich maligned Romney of force-feeding Holocaust survivors treif food. And if Romney can't generate Jewish enthusiasm the way Giuliani did, it is in fact durable evidence that he isn't animating Jewish voters, and does suggest he may have a problem in the general election. n n nMake no mistake, I'm voting for Romney because he is the most Conservative electable candidate. However, we ought to be able to convincingly sort out the preponderance of his support. That will never be due to the Jewish vote. n n
Really? n n"Whenever I feel afraid nI hold my head erect nAnd whistle a happy tune nSo no one will suspect nI'm afraid. n nWhile shivering in my shoes nI strike a careless pose nAnd whistle a happy tune nAnd no one ever knows nI'm afraid. n nThe result of this deception nIs very strange to tell nFor when I fool the people nI fear I fool myself as well! n…" n n nHowever, to be fair, none of us are getting any younger year by year.
Jews don't turn out to vote in a Republican election, and this is bad news for Obama somehow? n nNext you'll be telling me how this is good news for John McCain.
What a bunch of wishful thinking by democrats. The reality is that in the large counties where there are huge groups of retired Jewish elderly, they are overwhelmingly registered democrats. They are not going to change for the primary. It is my understanding that Florida is a closed primary. n nBut it also doesn't mean when it comes to the general election that these registered democratic Jewish elderly are going to vote for Obama. Quite frankly they may not vote at all. Another point too, for the Jewish-republicans it doesn't' matter to them who would win the primary. Since Ron Paul was no where near the top they had no problem with whomever won,as far as Israel-issue is concerned. The reality is, whether the candidates like to admit it or not, the top Republican contenders really do all sound alike.
Well, at least they didn't turn out and vote for Pat Buchanan. n"I can't figure this out! How do they expect us to work these idiot fangled vote counters??" n"Hershel, that's the vending machine!" n