Why Jews Should Not Be Liberals

by Larry Sternberg

  That there were still 20% of Jews who resisted the siren song of the Democrats in 2(X)0, may be considered as a base to build on for the future. The votes of senior citizens in Florida, as distinguished by their age and not their religion, appeared to be almost evenly split between Gore and Bush. This may reflect the attractiveness of Bush's campaign pledge to lower income taxes for all and to permit younger citizens to choose to make their own decisions on how to invest their Social Security taxes. After all, many of us grandparents want our grandchildren to get more out of the Social Security program when they retire, than many of us now realize from this program.

  Another hopeful sign for the future was reported in an exit poll conducted in the greater Philadelphia area among Jewish voters, ages 18- 29. Almost 60%% voted for George W. Bush. My hope is that this writing will lend further encouragement to young Jews to continue this change in their political affiliation from liberal to conservative.

  The closeness of the popular vote with a margin of less than one-half of one percent separating the two candidates, out of over 105,000,000 cast, can be taken as an indication that if Jews will eventually see the light as presented in this writing, they could become a decisive force for enhancing political and economic freedom in this blessed land. One would have thought that with all the Democrats had going for them in this election, peace and great prosperity, a sitting vice president with twenty-four years of federal service as their candidate, and a relatively amateurish Texas governor as the opponent, this should have been a slam dunk Democrat win.

  That it was not a Democrat win means to me that there is perhaps a growing belief among the American electorate that big government has its limitations, and that possibly it is time to try some new approaches to solving our most pressing domestic problems. Certainly there must be a number of Jews who are among this group but who are still too emotionally tied to their Democratic backgrounds to make the definitive split. My message to these Jews is to open your minds to new thoughts, to take another look at the disconnect between your Jewish religion and today's liberalism, and to not be afraid of taking the plunge to change your voting pattern.

  So we begin 2001 with a Republican president and with Republicans in control of both houses of Congress for the first time in fifty years. How much they will be able to accomplish to improve the lives of our citizens is unknown at this time. I can only hope and pray that their actions will bring credit to themselves, their families, and this country, and that the cause of freedom for all will be advanced.

  We close this writing as we began, with the premise that the highest political goal for Jews must be freedom. Freedom for Jews to live our lives as we choose, to worship our God without restraint, to recognize that to help others we must strengthen and enhance our divinely inspired system of free enterprise, and to ensure the continuation of our role as God's "chosen people" through a renewal of faith in our Jewish religion and traditions. Only by discarding the outworn and obsolete liberalism, which has served as an unwelcome surrogate for Judaism these past two generations, and still entraps too many American Jews, in this writer's opinion, can these goals be achieved. I hope that in a small way this book will provide assistance and encouragement to those who are open to making this critical change.

  POST SCRIPT

  21 OCTOBER 2004

  The most important election in my lifetime, perhaps, is just twelve days hence, and I am feeling some concern about the probable results. I simply cannot visualize or tolerate the thought that the anti-American, (progressive) liberal senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kerry, may actually become our president for the next four years and his running mate, the North Carolina politician masquerading as a compassionate trial attorney, Sen. John Edwards, may become our vice-president. Both of them stand in such contrast to our patriotic, red-blooded candidates, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, that one would think the contest should be a landslide instead of too close to call.

  The thought that keeps resurfacing in my mind, however, is can it be possible that Bush lost the campaign based on the first debate against Kerry, held on 30 September 2004? This is the one that was supposed to favor Bush, as the subject was foreign affairs, his specialty. Instead, Bush appeared tired, whereas Kerry, with his resonant voice, looked quite presidential. Bush did not get into Kerry's terrible voting record on defense issues but devoted much of his time to simply saying it is "hard work" to try and democratize Iraq after twenty years of dictatorship.

  The results were that Kerry was adjudged the winner of the debate by a large margin. His poll numbers leaped upwards, reducing his losing margin to Bush from eight points to a slim two. Was this another case, I wondered, where the Republican candidate, debating against a Democratic senator from Massachusetts with the initials of JFK, would lose the election based on that debate?

  After all, let us remember that in 1960, an incumbent vice-president, Richard Nixon, in the lead at the time, debated against a first-time Catholic candidate, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, with those same initials of JFK. That JFK, of course, was John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who went on to defeat Nixon in a very close election, aided by the "theft" of Illinois and Texas, courtesy of his father, Joe Kennedy, reportedly in collaboration with the Mafia.

  That decisive debate, when Nixon appeared tired on TV, in contrast to a healthy-looking John Kennedy, seemed to turn the tide in favor of Kennedy. Ironically, the voting public did not know at that time that Kennedy was loaded with serious physical problems. In contrast to the TV image, on the radio Nixon seemed strong and more positive than Kennedy during this debate. Most observers believed that Nixon won the debate on radio but lost it badly on TV. The Kennedy victory in that debate proved to be an important element in his close win. I kept asking myself after the Bush/Kerry debate, was history going to repeat itself some forty-four years later? The Nixon/Kennedy contest was held before the massive American involvement in the Vietnam War, which commenced in 1964 under the Lyndon Johnson administration, and in one sense the election was not as important as the current one, where we are now engaged in a war against the fascist, murderous Islamic terrorists. So was this going to be a repeat?

  Without waiting for the final results to come in twelve days, I write now and predict that this time it will be different. This JFK is no John F. Kennedy. This JFK lacks the character, the charisma, the principles, and, yes, the patriotism of the old JFK. This Republican, George W. Bush, although not quite qualifying as a true conservative, still possesses the strength, character, and steadfastness of purpose that Nixon lacked in his campaign. This president has "balls," faith, and the wisdom to correct errors and misjudgments before they lead him in the wrong direction. This Republican, George W. Bush, will win the election for president and by more than a small margin, as the Lord God has ordained it to be.

  I shall now place the matter in the Lord's hands and trust in His Divine intervention, as needed, some twelve days from this date.

  Flash Forward to 2 November 2004.

  As I was driving home from work in the early evening of Tuesday, 2 November 2004, election day, I was listening to my favorite talk show on KABC in Los Angeles. The moderator is an outstanding, articulate conservative named Al Rantel. Al and his associates on the program, including the Republictarian, the great Larry Elder, were reviewing the early "exit" polling reports that had come in from the important swing states of Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, and other Eastern and Southern states.

  Almost without exception, these early reports reflected amazingly strong showings by the contender John F. Kerry. Even some of Bush's Southern states demonstrated close contests. One of the radio guests predicted that, based on these reports, the election would be a landslide for Kerry. Al and Larry could do little other than to try to pinpoint the reasons for this apparent Republican defeat. They and their guests agreed that, of course, Bush's lousy first debate against Kerry had turned the election on its head and assured him a loss. Why oh why, they moaned, had Bush not prepare
d himself better for that tussle, and why oh why had he looked so drawn`? If only Bush had appeared his normal confident, positive self-why, he would have blown away the dour-looking Kerry and made this election a sure Republican victory.

  For most of my sixty-minute drive home, listening to these two politically conservative commentators whom I greatly respected, I reconciled myself to the thought that history was repeating itself and I would have to get used to the idea of a "President Kerry." I switched off the radio. Even though I had placed the matter in the Lord's hands some twelve days previously, with perfect faith that He would see that the American voters would render the right decision, for the remainder of my commute, my hope was lost.

  Four years earlier, in the Bush/Gore contest, I had arrived home about seven o'clock in the evening to be greeted by my wife with the bad news that apparently Bush had lost. At the time, considering the nation was at peace, with no big problems facing us, I was rather calm. I had thought that a Bush win was a long shot, so this was no big deal. Then, as the evening progressed and the networks changed their call on Florida, I became more excited and went to bed somewhat confident that we had triumphed. This time, in 2004, with our nation at war and the result more important to our country's future, I was truly depressed as I hit our front door.

  Surprise, surprise! My wife smiled as she greeted me and said that, based on the actual results pouring in, it looked as though President Bush was going to win-not by much, but by enough. I could hardly believe my ears. What about those early exit polls? It seems they had either been manipulated to make it appear that Kerry was leading or the samples had been inaccurate, or the networks had magnified the tentative findings, or whatever. No matter the reason, they were all proving to have been totally, and I mean totally, wrong. Not only was Bush winning Florida handily, but he was leading in Ohio and close in the other swing states of Michigan and Pennsylvania. Aha, I breathed-the Lord was still on the job, making sure that His blessed United States of America would not chart the wrong course and wind up in the wrong port.

  History was not repeating itself. The debate was not the determining factor, although admittedly it had tightened the race. The majority of the American voters had apparently retained sufficient smarts and wisdom to plow through all the gobbledygook generated by the liberal media and all the scurrilous attacks launched against Bush by the liberal monied people, and they had weighed in on the side of righteousness, morality, strength, and patriotism, by reelecting George W. Bush as president. And for the first time since 1988, the winner had received more than 50% of the popular vote. It was 51%, to be exact-more than 60 million votes.

  Not only did the president receive a resounding vote of confidence, but the Republicans gained four Senate seats and a like number of House seats. Was this a real mandate to the Republicans to make some meaningful changes and reverse the enormous growth of government? With the war in Iraq against the radical Islamic terrorists still far from over, it would be difficult to reduce defense expenditures. But given the enormous size of the federal budget, perhaps there was room to make changes in our tax, education, and welfare systems and many of the ineffective programs that consume our tax dollars without giving value in return.

  And what about the reported swing to the Republican ticket by American Jews`? A swing it was not, but it was still a modest improvement. Exit polls showed a possible 25% of Jews voting Republican, as contrasted with just 19% in 2000 and a very weak 11% in 1992. So there was some progress, particularly among under-forty and Orthodox Jews, in seeing the political light. It remains a challenge to continue to strive to turn on that political light for more Jews, to help them connect the dots between the principles of their religion and political conservatism.

  What will happen next, no one knows. I hope for the best. In the meantime, I will continue my personal mission of trying to politically convert American Jews from their godless liberalism to a more Godcentered conservatism, for the benefit of not only this nation but American Judaism itself.

  SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

  As the author, I have chosen to list here the writings that I have found useful in the writing of this hook. This bibliography is by no means a complete record of all the works or sources that I have consulted. It indicates the substance and range of reading upon which I have formed my ideas. It is intended to serve as a convenience for those wishing to pursue their own inquiry deeper into the subject of this book.

  Books.

  Abrams, Elliott. Faith or Fear. New York: The Free Press, 1997.

  Adler, Morris. The World of the Talmud. New York: Schocken Books, 1963.

  Birmingham, Stephen. Our Crowd. New York: Dell, 1967.

  Bork, Judge Robert. Slouching Towards Gomorrah. New York: Regan Books, 1996.

  Cahill, Thomas. The Gifts of the Jews. New York: Nan A Talose, 1998.

  de Sola Pool, Rabbi David. Why 1 Am A Jew? New York: Nelson, 1957.

  de Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1987.

  Dershowitz, Alan. Chutzpah. New York: Simon & Shuster, 1991.

  Dosick, Rabbi Wayne. Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief; Tradition, and Practice. New York: HarperCollins, 1995.

  Johnson, Paul. History of the Jews. New York: Harper & Row, 1987.

  Kedouri, Elie. Editor. The Jewish World. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1979.

  Kirk, Russell. The Conservative Mind. New York: Gateway Edition, Ltd., 1978.

  Kristol, Irving. Two Cheers .for Capitalism. New York: Basic Books, 1978.

  Kung, Hans. Judaism. New York: Crossroad, 1992.

  Kushner, Rabbi Harold. Who Needs God? New York: Summit Books, 1983.

  Lapin, Rabbi Daniel. America'ti Real War. Sisters, Oregon: Multinonah Pub., 1999.

  Lipset, Seymour Martin and Earl Raab. Jews And The New American Scene. New York: Harvard College Press, 1994.

  Lott, Dr. John. More Guns, Less Crime. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998.

  Mayo, Bernard. Jefferson Himself. Charlottesville, Virginia: PUBLISHER, 1942.

  Murray, Charles. Losing Ground. New York: Basic Books, 1984.

  Podhoretz, Norman. The Prophets: Who They Were, What They Are. New York: The Free Press, 2002.

  Rivkin, Ellis. The Shaping of Jewish History. Charles Scribners, 1971.

  Rothschild, Michael. Bionomics. New York; Henry Holt & Co., 1990.

  Schlessinger, Dr. Laura. The Ten Commandements. New York; Harper Trade, 1998.

  Schwarz, Dr. Fred. Beating the Unbeatable Foe. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub., 1996.

  Simon, Julian and Herman Kahn. The Resourceful Earth. New York: B. Blackwell, 1984.

  Sombart, Werner. The Jews and Modern Capitalism. New York: The Free Press, 1913.

  Sowell, Thomas. Visions of the Anointed. New York: Basic Books, 1995.

  Spero, Shubert. Morality, Halakha and the Jewish Tradition. New York: Yeshiva University Press, 1983.

  Steinsaltz, Rabbi Adin. The Essential Talmud. New York: Basic Books, 1976.

  Tamari, Dr. Meir. With All Your Possessions: Jewish Ethics and Economic Life. New York: The Free Press, 1987.

  Hertz, Dr. J.H. ed. The Pentateuch and Haftorahs. London: Soncino Press, 1973.

  Van den Haag, Ernest. The Jewish Mystique.New York: Stein & Day, 1969.

  Weyl, Nathaniel. The Jew In American Politics. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1968.

  Williamson, G.A. The Jewish War/Josephus. New York: Penguin Press, 1981.

  Wouk, Herman. The Will to Live On. New York: Cliff Street Books, 2000.

  Lecture.

  Wyschogrod, Michael. Lecture at the Symposium "Conservative Trends in American Jewish Life." Spring 1964.

  Prager Perspective

  Commentarv

  Judaism

  Moment

  Outpost

  Reform Judaism

  Freeman

  Imprimis

  National Review

  Upside

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  Larry Sternberg, Why Jews Should Not Be Liberals