The Democratic Party at Prayer: The Problem With ‘the Jewish Vote’
8th November 2016
Every presidential election produces a series of articles probing and prophesizing about the so-called “Jewish vote.” This year has been no different, with most observers agreeing that the majority of Jewish-Americans will vote Democratic.
Why are the ballots cast by Jewish-Americans, just 2 percent of the population, of such importance to politicians (and would-be politicians)? First, relative to their community’s small size, Jews contribute a disproportionate amount of money to political candidates and causes. They give half of the funds received by the Democratic Party and one quarter of the funds received by the Republican Party, according to American history professor Gil Troy. Second, many Jews live in the swing states of Florida (846,700 of 19.9 million), Pennsylvania (324,700 of 12.8 million), Ohio (173,700 of 11.6 million), and Michigan (105,200 of 9.9 million). And third, Jews tout a stellar turnout record—80 percent, on the word of several sources.
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If there is a dual loyalty among mainstream American Jewry, it doesn’t involve a tension between the U.S. and Israel. Rather, it involves a conscience-splitting conflict between the traditional liberalism of the postwar period and the identity-obsessed progressivism of the twenty-first century.