Why the Chosen People Chose Obama
My friends Laura and Pam are both Jewish women who voted for Obama. Aside from this, they are as different as day and night.
High school buddies, Laura and I grew up in the same type of cookie-cutter house. Our first-generation Russian parents both worshiped the American ground they walked on.
Laura still lives in the New York 'burbs with her accountant husband, having raised two great kids. Her social obligations are limited to donating to her synagogue and, of course, the requisite Democratic vote. Her kids are working hard to achieve the American Dream.
Now, Pam is a different story entirely.
A Berkeley colleague, Pam was raised a Red Diaper Baby in Chicago. Her parents ensured that Pam and her siblings were steeped in party doctrine.
Pam's doctors were black and her preschool multiracial. Her parents rejected their Jewish religion, preferring to take the kids to socialist meetings rather than shul.
When Pam came to Berkeley for grad school, she fit right in. Embracing her parents' ardor for all things Left, Pam participated in various radical groups.
Pam raised a son on her own, making sure to transfer her revolutionary beliefs onto him. When he wrote a high school paper lionizing the Black Panthers, Pam couldn't have been prouder.
A burning question on many people's minds is why Jews like Laura and Pam vote for the Democrats. It's especially puzzling why Jews flocked to Obama, given his ties to anti-Semites who abhor Israel.
But I think that the problem with most discussions is that the Lauras and Pams of the world are lumped together. Liberal Jews and Leftist Jews are worlds apart.
In general, liberal Jews' support of Israel is unequivocal. Leftist Jews detest Israel, blaming that country, as well as the U.S., for all of the world's evil. Listen to how Pam expressed it: "I wouldn't care if Israel disappeared off the face of the map."
Laura wants a kinder, gentler America. Pam would love nothing better than capitalism slashed and burned.
My concern about Obama's "Jewishness" being exploited is that this presidency has "disaster" written all over it. It's already a fiasco, with record debt, renewed terrorism, and the Feds swallowing up our health care.
I think this point needs to be clear: It's the Leftist Jews, a minority among Jews, who are enamored with Marxism. Rather than see the nightmare created by statism, these aging Peter Pans won't grow up and shed their adolescent fantasies.
In fact, people like Pam revel in the prospect of bringing this country down. While liberal Jews are the sheep, it's the Leftists who are the wolves.
Their hubris and unquenchable thirst for power bears no resemblance to any garden-variety liberal I know. Certainly, the radical Jews around Obama would be an alien life form to my dear liberal dad. He loved this country and Israel with every fiber of his being.
In contrast, Pam is luxuriating in the radical transformation happening right before her eyes. She sees the dreams of her parents coming to fruition.
Pam knew exactly whom she was voting for when she pulled the lever for Obama. And it wasn't the First Jewish President, since she couldn't care less about her religion.
A frequent AT contributor, Robin is a recovering liberal and a psychotherapist in Berkeley.
Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/05/why_the_chosen_people_chose_ob.html at May 22, 2010 - 12:28:27 PM CDT
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