JustASC

Writing in The Guardian, Richard Silverstein asserts that Palin’s Christian rhetoric will prove a turn-off for Jews:

Frankly, candidates like Palin are the Jews’ worst nightmare. The sentiments she expresses are part of a vestigial memory we internalise about what intolerance and bigotry sounds like. This certainly doesn’t rise to the level of flat-out anti-Semitism. But we know when we’re not wanted, and as non-believers we’re not wanted in the evangelical Christian worldview, except as enablers of Jesus’ final coming…

…Until now, McCain enjoyed the highest poll ratings [among Jews] of a Republican presidential candidate in a long time (around 32%). No longer. With Palin on his ticket he can kiss a good deal of that Jewish vote goodbye. Sure, he’ll still retain 20-25% of the hardcore true believers. But forget the rest.

I’m not so sure: it depends what he means by “the rest.” For 60 to 65% of the Jewish vote, what they know about Palin only confirms why the vote Democratic in the first place. Not sure what he means by “hardcore true believers,” but I’ll venture he combines committed Republican Jews, single-issue pro-Israel voters, and Orthodox Jews whose issues are a combination of Israel and family values. Probably less than 25%, if recent history is any judge.

But if McCain attracts the Republican Jewish Coalition’s target of 40%, it will be anxiety over Obama’s pro-Israel record, real or imagined, that pushes the Jews in between into the GOP column. And if so, Palin’s version of Christianity will only help the GOP’s cause –  Evangelicals are seen as staunch allies of Israel, so much so that mainstream pro-Israel activists, even among the liberals, are willing to give them a pass on their theological nurishkeit. 

Oh, and one other factor: Tour the condos, and you’re less likely to hear complaints about Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson than you are about Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. And just try arguing that the only thing Obama shares with the latter is their skin color. These retirees have their own worst nightmares.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 4th, 2008 at 4:31 pm and is filed under JustASC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.