Young, Orthodox Jews Pushing GOP to the Right as the Older Brothers Urge Moderation

Orthodox JewsNathan Gutman wrote an extensive article:  Some of the party’s biggest Jewish donors are taking the lead in pushing for  a more moderate conservative party following the Republicans’ defeat in last  year’s presidential election. At the same time, grassroots Jewish supporters,  many of them Orthodox, are finding a new home among socially conservative  Republicans who populate the Tea Party movement and the Conservative Political  Action Conference.

The emergence of a substantial Jewish presence in the party’s hard-right wing  is reflected, among other ways, in the daily prayer minyan and kosher food  options that have popped up at the CPAC meetings in the past two years — catering to the strongly Orthodox bent of these Jewish conservatives.

Together with their fellow right-wingers, these Jews are pushing back hard  against the post-election call by more establishment, big-business oriented  Republicans for a degree of moderation, especially on social issues. A  major paper issued recently by the Republican National Committee that calls  for such changes — a report that has been commonly dubbed “The Autopsy” — has  become a particular focus of their ire.

“I don’t feel very Republican these days,” said political operative Jeff  Ballabon, the man behind CPAC’s kosher meals and Sabbath prayer services,  adding, “Who needs two Democratic parties?” The RNC autopsy report can be used,  he said, “for confetti in the next [Republican] convention.”

Ari Fleischer, one of the co-authors of “The Autopsy,” in many ways  exemplifies the older, more familiar image of the establishment Republican Jew.  A former chief White House spokesman during the administration of George W.  Bush, Fleischer works today as a media consultant for the National Football  League and other sports enterprises through his company, Ari Fleischer Sports  Communications. He is also on the board of directors of the Republican Jewish  Coalition, a central gathering point for many in the mainstream Republican  Jewish establishment.

“I very much see the old edict of tikkun olam as what needs to guide  Republicans as we move on,” Fleischer told the Forward, using the Hebrew term  for “repairing the world.” The key to winning back voters, he said, is for  Republicans to keep in mind those in the society who are still struggling.

Fleischer pointed to statements by failed 2012 GOP presidential standard  bearer Mitt Romney as examples of mistakes that cost the party the voter support  outside its base. Romney’s declaration that 47% of Americans back President  Obama because they “believe that they are victims [and] that government has a  responsibility to care for them” loomed large among those mistakes, he  said.

Fleischer also cited Romney’s idea of “self-deportation” of undocumented  immigrants. “The Autopsy,” which Fleisher co-wrote with four other activists,  champions “comprehensive immigration reform” as key to winning support among  Latinos.

FacebookTwitterEmailGoogle+StumbleUponLinkedInShare
Facebook Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com