March 6, 2012

Jewish Dems React to Super Tuesday Results

Listed in: Other Domestic Policy, NJDC News, Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC- Tonight, an all-star field of Republican heavyweights consisting of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), and anti-Israel Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) are competing in ten states for the GOP presidential nomination. Before the polls even close, one thing is clearer than at any point in this campaign: the chasm separating these Republican candidates and American Jewish voters has never been greater.

“The Republican candidates have been fighting as hard as they can to drive away all American voters—independents, women, and in particular, American Jews,” said NJDC President and CEO David A. Harris. “We don’t need to know the precise outcome from today’s contests, because the result will be the same; Americans—and Jewish Americans especially—will be further repelled from the GOP as a result of each candidate trying to outdo the next by taking increasingly extreme positions. In the weeks and months leading up to this Super Tuesday, the Republican candidates demonstrated repeatedly that there is a wide chasm separating them from the majority of American Jews. Thus it should surprise no one when the vast majority of American Jews support the Democratic ticket—and President Barack Obama in particular—in November.”

The 2012 Republican presidential field stands firmly opposed to the policies supported by most American Jews:

Mitt Romney—who now describes himself as “severely conservative”—continues to flip-flop away from the positions he occasionally mildly adhered to, positions of concern to the American Jewish community. Today he doesn’t believe in global climate change, he’s strongly anti-choice, and he happily employs a key surrogate with a singular record of voting against Israel’s interests. [NJDC, February 13, 2012]

Rick Santorum has a dreadful record when it comes to respecting many of the causes supported by the majority of American Jews, such as the separation of church and state, a woman’s right to choose, and public education. [NJDC, February 22, 2012]

Newt Gingrich has amassed a record on domestic and foreign issues that conveys to most American Jews that he will fight against the programs and policies they support. [NJDC, January 23, 2012]

Ron Paul—who has acted recently as Romney’s attack dog [NJDC, February 23, 2012]—has a uniquely anti-Israel voting record along with a pattern of behavior that distinguishes him as one of the most ardent opponents of the U.S.-Israel relationship on Capitol Hill. [NJDC, May 13, 2011]