Day 2 (Jonathan Gottfried): Is it Time for Jews to Vote Republican?

From: Jonathan Gottfried To: Paul Gottfried Subject: Jews have an interest in a secular society; the Christian Right does not

Dad,

You suggest that certain aspects of the parties’ environmental and foreign policy platforms (which I had pointed out as distinguishing factors) resemble one another.

With respect to the Kyoto Protocol, the 95-to-zero Senate vote in 1999 on the Byrd-Hagel resolution may not have been the Democratic Party’s finest moment. Yet, as you know, the Senate has never actually rejected the Kyoto Protocol since it has never been submitted for ratification. In 1999, the Senate merely voted—prior to the conclusion of Kyoto negotiations—in favor of a broadly worded statement that the United States should not be a signatory to any agreement that (i) did not apply similar emissions standards to developing and developed nations, and (ii) harmed the United States economy.

That Democratic senators voted for Byrd-Hagel does not place them in the same category as S. Fred Singer or the Bush administration. In addition, while both Democrats and Republicans may have voted for the same bill, their reasons likely differed (organized labor for the former and big business for the latter). And although Schwarzenegger may nominally be a Republican, he broke with Republicans in California’s legislature to join the Democratic majority and to pass that state’s recent emissions bill. I still believe that there is a stark contrast between the parties when it comes to the environment.

With respect to foreign policy, you point out that Clinton used the military during his presidency, for example in Kosovo and Sudan. While recognizing that Clinton “did not stumble into any engagement quite as disastrous as the Iraqi War,” you nonetheless place both Bush and Clinton’s international forays into the same category of “nation building.” Setting aside the question of whether that appellation can credibly describe U.S. efforts around the Tigris and Euphrates, there exist greater differences between the two presidents’ policies than simply the number of body bags they’ve produced.

The United States acted with NATO in Kosovo, after UN military intervention had failed, and without the vociferous opposition demonstrated by much of the world against the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Bush’s actions demonstrated contempt for long-standing American allies, while Clinton’s actions—although perhaps no more legal under international law – at least involved genuine diplomacy. Perhaps most importantly for me, the American claim to be pursuing humanitarian objectives in Kosovo was more plausible than in Iraq. Once again, I see meaningful differences between the parties’—or, at least, the presidencies’—foreign policies, even if both parties have “meddled beyond our borders.”

I’m sorry for dwelling so long on the environment and foreign policy and for straying from the topic at hand—the Jewish connection to Republicans and Democrats. You’ve written that Jews have moved further and faster to the left than their Christian counterparts over the past decades, and you attribute this political shift to American Jews’ perceived victimization at the hands of their non-Jewish neighbors. This suggests that Jews were, at one time, more conservative. So why have we become more sensitive (or, from your perspective, more paranoid) of late?

We agree that Jews have a tendency to view themselves as the objects of malice and that Jews must move beyond a negative definition of themselves. There seems to be a need to define oneself not just in relation to the “other,” but in fear of this “other.” Perhaps that’s a consequence of Jewish history, or perhaps of not being among the religious majority. However I don’t see how Jews’ casting their vote with non-Jewish Republicans helps any more than their casting their vote beside non-Jewish Democrats. In addition, I question whether Jews have long-term allies in the “effusively philosemitic and passionately pro-Zionist” Christian Right.

Most Jews view Israel as an end unto itself, not a means to achieving the second coming of Christ. Moreover, the Christian Right’s respect for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are well and good; yet I question whether that respect extends to modern-day Jews when the Christian Right advocates a Constitutional amendment for school prayer. Ultimately, a religious minority has an interest in a secular society. I guess you’ve helped me to realize that, despite my earlier comment about whether American Jews share political views as Jews, we may all have an interest in secularism.

Yet I still don’t see a good reason why Jews should hide the Manischewitz, order a mint julep and vote Republican.

NEXT: Jewish concern with the Christian Right is a silly diversion