A few weeks ago, I received a letter from House Democratic Party leader Dick Gephardt, urging me to become a member of the Democratic Party.
As I stood reading the pitch, something revolutionary occurred to me: I realized I had absolutely no desire to become a Democrat!
Shocking, but it’s true. Sorry Mom, sorry Dad; but these days I am flirting with the idea of becoming a Republican. Well, sort of.
I am still the nice liberal Jewish boy my parents brought me up to be, raised as I was in the shadow of their Hippie Revolution. When it comes to social and domestic concerns, I am strongly pro-choice and I oppose the death penalty. If a homosexual couple wants to get married or even raise a child, all power to them.
Nevertheless, if an election were held tomorrow between Republican President George W. Bush and former Democratic Vice President Al Gore, I would vote for the former this time.
Why? Because the Republican Party in general, and conservative pundits and thinkers in particular, are now the biggest advocates for Jews and Israel. That is probably the main reason behind my transformation.
At a time when the Oslo peace process is in tatters; when most of the Arab world seems bent on Israel’s destruction and when anti-Semitism has once again raised its ugly head in a pro-Arab, liberal Europe, Jewish self-preservation should be the most important topic of the day.
If that is the case, we must ask ourselves: Who are the staunchest supporters of Israel? It would appear to be conservatives.
A couple of cases in point: Out of 23 members of the House and Senate who voted against a recent pro-Israel resolution, 21 were Democrats.
Additionally, according to an article in the New Republic, only 64 percent of Democrats say they actively sympathize with Israel compared to 83 percent of Republicans.
Kissing the screen
I read newspapers and political magazines incessantly; I regularly watch political talk shows. Time and again, conservative pundits not only support Israel, but make its case eloquently. And time and again, liberals are more apt to sympathize with the Palestinians.
Conservative pundits Alan Keyes, Joseph Farah, Fred Barnes, Brit Hume, Bill O’Reilly, Cal Thomas, George Will, and many, many more overwhelmingly support Israel and seem genuinely concerned about anti-Semitism in the world today.
This is not to say that there are not strong Democratic supporters of Israel. But the Republicans seem much more heartfelt in their support.
What’s more, historically Jews don’t vote Republican, yet many Republican politicians have been supporting two of the most important issues for many Jews — Israel and the fight against anti-Semitism — without expecting a “thank you” vote in return. As for some Democratic politicians, I wonder how many of them support Israel to keep their Jewish voters on board?
Once you find yourself tempted to kiss the screen every time Keyes talks about Israel on TV something really weird starts to happen. I’ve started having thoughts like, “If conservatives are 110 percent correct when it comes to Israel and the Middle East, what else might they be right about?”
I don’t have the space to delve too deeply into this, and I do realize that there are some Republican stances with which I could never agree. But one issue in particular highlights where I think conservative ideology is correct, namely, the idea of personal responsibility and of accountability.
I began to realize that a big reason the latest Palestinian intifada began was partially because the Clinton Administration never demanded that the Palestinian Authority abide by the Oslo agreements. Because the P.A. was never held accountable for its actions, its leaders broke every single clause of the Oslo Accords.
Now, for the first time the Americans led by Bush have finally demanded the Palestinians be held accountable for their actions. For the first time since 1993, the onus is no longer on Israel to take actions (read, make concessions) in order to keep the peace process on track.
I plan to keep an open mind and support whichever politicians make sense to me, despite their party affiliation. I am not a Democrat nor a Republican but rather an independent. However, the days when the term “conservative” or “Republican” made me recoil in horror are long gone.
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