Why Are Jews Liberals?

[bhkad]

Why Are Jews Liberals?

Politics - Why Are Jews Liberals? - Book TV

Watch this and let's discuss it.

Or read this.

One of the most extraordinary features of Barack Obama's victory over John McCain was his capture of 78% of the Jewish vote. To be sure, there was nothing extraordinary about the number itself. Since 1928, the average Jewish vote for the Democrat in presidential elections has been an amazing 75%—far higher than that of any other ethno-religious group.

Yet there were reasons to think that it would be different in 2008. The main one was Israel. Despite some slippage in concern for Israel among American Jews, most of them were still telling pollsters that their votes would be strongly influenced by the positions of the two candidates on the Jewish state. This being the case, Mr. McCain's long history of sympathy with Israel should have given him a distinct advantage over Mr. Obama, whose own history consisted of associating with outright enemies of the Jewish state like the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and the historian Rashid Khalidi.

Norman Podhoretz: Why Are Jews Liberals? - WSJ.com

I agree with Norman Podhoretz that Liberal Jews have developed their own religion, a "Torah of Liberalism," so to speak.

 

[Orion]

I don't see why voting for Obama automatically makes you a liberal, including Jews for that matter. A lot of conservatives turned coat because of how bad McCain was.

 

[Cephus]

Exactly, I'm a conservative and I voted for Obama, not because I particularly liked him but because I didn't want McCain and Palin anywhere remotely close to the White House.

Lots and lots of conservatives did the same.

 

[Agnapostate]

Firstly, the premise that Jews are necessarily a politically homogenous ethnic/religious group that lack sufficient nuance to adopt any position other than unwavering support for the Israeli government should raise more than one eyebrow. Secondly, there isn't and will not soon be any major U.S. presidential candidate seriously opposed to the aims of the political regimes of Israel anyway, so pro-Israeli government individuals can effectively vote for any major political candidate without concern for any break of previous U.S. governmental policy toward Israeli affairs. Beyond that, Jews are generally liberal and would thus be more inclined to favor liberal Democratic candidates.

 

[bhkad]

Firstly, the premise that Jews are necessarily a politically homogenous ethnic/religious group that lack sufficient nuance to adopt any position other than unwavering support for the Israeli government should raise more than one eyebrow. Secondly, there isn't and will not soon be any major U.S. presidential candidate seriously opposed to the aims of the political regimes of Israel anyway, so pro-Israeli government individuals can effectively vote for any major political candidate without concern for any break of previous U.S. governmental policy toward Israeli affairs. Beyond that, Jews are generally liberal and would thus be more inclined to favor liberal Democratic candidates.

From the article.

in virtually every instance of a clash between Jewish law and contemporary liberalism, it is the liberal creed that prevails for most American Jews. Which is to say that for them, liberalism has become more than a political outlook. It has for all practical purposes superseded Judaism and become a religion in its own right.

 

[Agnapostate]

Thanks for confirming what I said, which had no bearing on whether Orthodox interpretations of the Torah and other Jewish theological principles was more facilitative of modern political liberalism or conservatism, but was instead merely a reference to the fact that a majority of Jews are liberals regardless.

 

[kansaswhig]

American Jews?

Because I can tell you who hawkish Israelis prefer...

Not Obama.

 

[Gardener]

One absolutely essential tenet of Liberalism is the desire for social justice. Post Diaspora Jews have long lived in social situations where they have been denied such by a prejudiced majority. It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to understand why Jewish people have long gravitated towards liberalism.

 

[Libs_Luv_Weakness]

Exactly, I'm a conservative and I voted for Obama, not because I particularly liked him but because I didn't want McCain and Palin anywhere remotely close to the White House.

Lots and lots of conservatives did the same.

What a load of bull****. As bad as McCain was, if you had a conservative bone in your body you would have done whatever it took to keep Obama away from the White House. What you're saying doesn't even make sense.

 

[1069]

Beyond that, Jews are generally liberal and would thus be more inclined to favor liberal Democratic candidates.

In my experience (which is admittedly limited; there are not overmany Jews in Texas), Jews tend to be more educated than non-Jews, on average.
Higher level of educational attainment correlates to liberal-leaning political views, also in my opinion.

 

[danarhea]

Exactly, I'm a conservative and I voted for Obama, not because I particularly liked him but because I didn't want McCain and Palin anywhere remotely close to the White House.

Lots and lots of conservatives did the same.

OK, I understand where you are coming from, but honestly, I could not bring myself to vote for Obama for 2 reasons:

1) I could not support a Liberal, no matter how bad the Republican running was.

2) The election was more than about Obama. It was also about Pelosi, Reid, and Congress. A McCain victory would have been better because it would have led to more gridlock in government. Where there is gridlock, you can be sure there will be much less damage to the nation.

I ended up voting for McCain, although I really wanted to "pull the lever" for Bob Barr.

So, in the end, I honestly disagree with your voting for Obama, but I understand why you did it - In order to force the Republican party to run a real Conservative next time.

 

[Dav]

Higher level of educational attainment correlates to liberal-leaning political views, also in my opinion.

That's not entirely true. Post-graduates tend to lean liberal, but college graduates in general lean conservative.

Anyways, I have no idea why Jews are so liberal. I would say it's because they're a minority and thus enjoy "victim status" within the Democratic Party, but many minorities, such as Cubans and the Vietnamese, heavily lean Republican.

 

[winston53660]

In my experience (which is admittedly limited; there are not overmany Jews in Texas), Jews tend to be more educated than non-Jews, on average.
Higher level of educational attainment correlates to liberal-leaning political views, also in my opinion.

Well it was the Fascists that did try to exterminate the Jews so I can see why as a culture they might tend to lean towards the Marxist end of the spectrum.

 

[StandUpChuck]

Higher level of educational attainment correlates to liberal-leaning political views, also in my opinion.

Yeah, that's kind of BS in my opinion.

 

[1069]

Yeah, that's kind of BS in my opinion.

It could be that I came by this belief because nearly all the Jews I know are associated with the University in one way or another.
They all seem to be from upper-middle class to affluent backgrounds, as well.
Admittedly, my perspective is extremely limited.
This is not a city with a large Jewish community.
Perhaps if it were, I'd have a much broader perspective.

edit:

Oops. I now see you were addressing my statement about education and liberalism, not education and Jews. :lol:

Well, I mean... why do you think it's BS?
Aren't there a lot of conservatives who don't even want their kids to go to college at all, because they don't want them to be exposed to liberal ideas?

 

[MyOwnDrum]

That I can tell you in one word:

Tradition!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRdfX7ut8gw"]YouTube - Fiddler on the roof - Tradition ( with subtitles )[/ame]

 

[Joe1991]

Post-graduates tend to lean liberal, but college graduates in general lean conservative.

statistics from the '06 election:
CNN.com - Elections 2006

 

[PeteEU]

Might have something to do with conservatives always bringing up anti-semitic stuff like this!!! :2wave:

 

[ReverendHellh0und]

In my experience (which is admittedly limited; there are not overmany Jews in Texas), Jews tend to be more educated than non-Jews, on average.
Higher level of educational attainment correlates to liberal-leaning political views, also in my opinion.

:lol: that's just dumb. :lol: seriously, what basis do you have tht more education makes you more liberal?


Links to ANYTHING other than a haphazard passing comment for "your team"? :lol:

 

[ReverendHellh0und]

statistics from the '06 election:
CNN.com - Elections 2006

Lol... What happens to your picture when you change 2006 to 2004?




:lol:

 

[ReverendHellh0und]

Might have something to do with conservatives always bringing up anti-semitic stuff like this!!! :2wave:

:lol: seriously?


Poll: 31% of Europeans blame Jews for global financial crisis - Haaretz - Israel News


You need to look at yourself before you attack American Conservatives... :lol:

 

[1069]

statistics from the '06 election:
CNN.com - Elections 2006

I think in the 2008 election, things might've been skewed a bit because the vast majority of blacks who voted, voted for Obama. And many of them did not have a high level of educational attainment.
In the 2006 election, things were a little weird because everybody was just so sick of the damn neocon monopoly on Washington.
Both of these elections were non-representative of the norm.
In both elections, many people voted uncharacteristically (ie, people who formerly considered themselves republicans voted for democratic candidates, etc) or people who wouldn't ordinarily have voted at all, did (many blacks who had never voted in any previous election did turn out to vote for Obama, thanks in large part to his campaign's outreach programs into poor neighborhoods).

that's just dumb. seriously, what basis do you have tht more education makes you more liberal?

One has only to look at the fact that states with the lowest median incomes and the lowest levels of educational attainment are consistently red states (deep South); consistently blue states have some of the highest median income levels, and the highest levels of educational attainment (East and West Coast).

The redder the state, the poorer and less educated its residents.
The bluer the state, the better educated and more affluent its residents are likely to be.

 

[Cephus]

What a load of bull****. As bad as McCain was, if you had a conservative bone in your body you would have done whatever it took to keep Obama away from the White House. What you're saying doesn't even make sense.

If there had been any actual conservatives running, as opposed to the neo-con nonsense coming out of the Republican Party, I would have voted to keep BOTH out of the White House, but since we effectively have a two-party system in the United States and either the Republicans or Democrats were going to win the Presidency regardless, I voted for the lesser of the two evils. I hated both choices, I just didn't want McCain to be able to stack the Supreme Court with any more far-right justices and I didn't want Palin anywhere close to the highest office in the land.

 

[ReverendHellh0und]

One has only to look at the fact that states with the lowest median incomes and the lowest levels of educational attainment are consistently red states (deep South); consistently blue states have some of the highest median income levels, and the highest levels of educational attainment (East and West Coast).

The redder the state, the poorer and less educated its residents.
The bluer the state, the better educated and more affluent its residents are likely to be.

I suppose you have a link from somewhere not "daily kos" or the huffington post do ya? :lol:

 

[Dav]

statistics from the '06 election:
CNN.com - Elections 2006

Thanks for proving my point... as you can see, while the Democrats did very well in 2006, among college graduates they were tied with Republicans, and it was a closer margin among those with some college.