Although I’ve seen it mentioned, from the (admittedly limited) coverage I’ve watched, no one seems to really care except to say, “Oh, and he’s Jewish, and he’d be the first.”
[ul][li]Is the media making an issue of it or not?[/li]
[li]Is Lieberman, Gore, the Democrats and/or the Republicans making it an issue?[/li]
[li]Does the voting public care?[/li]
[li]Will it make a difference one way or the other?[/ul][/li]
My opinion is it’s not being made an issue, people don’t care, and it won’t make a difference. Both VP candidates are running a clean, up-front, issues campaign (based on the debate I saw), so I’m getting the strong feeling that, although it’s a good political move to have him as a running mate, the most it gets is a footnote - it’s the issues that will matter. (I’ll let Gore and Bush prattle on about each other’s deficiencies, which is another topic altogether.)
I have one serious concern about Leiberman’s Judaism. The situation in the Middle East is, at best, unstable. The US has struggled for years to establish itself as a sort of “impartial” mediator there. The Arabs already feel we are biased towards Israel. How willing are they going to be to let us mediate when our vice president is a Jew? Note that it dosen’t matter what Leiberman’s actual views are. He may be as neutral as the day is long or even rabidly pro-Arab. The fact is, though, that the apperence of bias will be there, and this is going to complicate an already complicated Middle East Peace Process. I am not sure what to do about this, but I would feel better if the Democratic Party would at least address the issue. (I actually missed the vice-presidiential debates–did this come up?)
There’s no doubt in my mind that the issue of Judaism is one that weighed heavily in the debate on who Gore would pick as his running mate. Was it the core reason? Certainly not, but it might have been the deciding factor between two equal contenders.
The interesting thing is that this is an issue that everyone’s thinking about, but no one talks about. Certainly we can debate inconsequential issues (will he work on Saturday? Hmm…do other politicians work on Sunday?) and I think some other issues need to be brought out into the open (what will other countries think about our bias towards Israel and will this affect our relationship with them?), but overall you’re right. Not much more to say than “Yup, he’s Jewish. Never done that before.”
I think the Republicans are very wise to stay away from the issue. Being Jewish isn’t a hinderance to doing the job and if they even hint at that in any way they’re going to lose quite a number of voters.
My grandmother is voting for Bush. My parents tell me I have to support Lieberman and vote Democrat. I’m still undecided. Is Jesse Ventura running?
I will not be voting for Gore/Leiberman, and the reason has nothing to do with whether or not Leiberman is Jewish (for those who don’t know, BTW, I am an Orthodox Jew).
First of all, I never vote for President based on who the VP candidate is. That, IMHO, is very silly. While it should be a factor, it should hardly determine whether or not you vote for the Presidential candidate.
Secondly, I might have considered Leiberman as a Presidential candidate, until he did his famous flip-flops.
Yes, you will have some crackpots out there who are sure that this is the latest sign that the ZOG is in control, as well as the few Jews out there who will vote for him for no other reason, but, for the mainstream public, I’d say it will make no difference out there.
I hate being unable to find the quotes when I need them. But there were a bunch of them the day Gore named Leiberman as his VP.
I don’t profess to know what the basis of this rivalry is nor to what extent it exists, but there is a segment of the black population of America that is anti-Jew. (I don’t know how to spell anti-semantic/semetic…oi vey!) This is going to provide a real dillema on election day… Democratic Party, the typical favorite of black voters has a Jewish VP. I expect the result will be a lower than normal turnout of black voters rather than a flight to the Republican Party.
On the other hand you have the Hitler’s Youth/KKK type who will probably show up to vote Republican, much to the dismay of the Republican Party. That won’t have nearly the impact as the loss of the black voters.
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I don’t think it is going to make a big difference in this election. I do think the religious beliefs of a candidate can be important though. If someone is a devout whatever I’m going to assume that his beliefs will color his voting habits.
I think there are just enough ignorant people out there who believe the “Jews control the money in this country” story to shy away from voting for Lieberman. My mother is one of them. She would often vote Democrat because she believes in women’s rights, i.e. birth control and abortion, but she listens to Rush Limbaugh and David Duke and actually believes some of the crap they say! Mind you my mother is a relatively educated woman who has never experienced discrimination of any kind. We are from central Virginia where there is simply not a huge Jewish population. I just don’t get it.
Anyway the problem as I see it is that people are just stupid about an awful lot of things. Not to mention that they love to blame their own short comings on others, even if they have to broaden the burden to an entire group of people. Bashing Jews for their financial success in this country is not a new past time. It’s been going on for years. Reminds me quite a bit of the folks whining now about Affirmative Action, can’t seem to realize that there is enough to go around for everyone and their own personal failures are not due to a program that is designed to provide genuine aid to people who genuinely need it.
Will people not vote the Gore/Lieberman ticket because Lieberman is a Jew, I’d say yeah. But I’d also say that an awful lot of those folks intended to vote the Republican ticket anyway. Forgive me if I seem to equate Repulicans with bigots, believe me I don’t intend to, perhaps if the party didn’t attract so many bigots then it wouldn’t appear that way to people like me.
I was thinking about this & discussing it with hubby the other night.
He mentioned that, at least in NY, many black people hate Jewish people, and this animosity goes way back. He felt that at least in NY, that sentiment could lose the Dems some traditional Dem votes. NY Dopers, how say you?
Also, when asked, my Jewish friends have said that they won’t vote Dem just because there’s a Jew on the ticket! It’s nice, but the other issues are more important. However, it seems to me that I’ve heard plenty of black people say they would vote for ANY black person on ANY ticket, simply because they were there. Why is this? Does anyone have insight?
Frankly, after comparing the VP debate to the Pres debate, I really wish I could vote Cheney/Lieberman into the White House (or Lieberman/Cheney?). The other two can go insult each other and dodge questions on Jerry Springer.
Just speaking as a Jew, it doesn’t make a difference to me. The VP has two functions. He takes over of the President dies…but Gore and Bush are both young and healthy, so I don’t expect that to happen (granted, they could pull a Kennedy, but I’m just not that scared). And, he breaks ties in the Senate, but if he loses the VP race, he’ll probably still keep his Connecticut Senate seat anyway…and if he wins the VP race, his replacement will be appointed by Connecticut’s Republican governor, meaning that either way, a 101-vote Senate vote will contain 1 Lieberman vote and one Republican vote.
So Leiberman is, to me, a complete non-issue in the race.
“However, it seems to me that I’ve heard plenty of black people say they would vote for ANY black person on ANY ticket, simply because they were there. Why is this? Does anyone have insight?”
I think you are mistaken there. Probably not the black majority, but certainly the vocal black leadership is so anti-Republican that they can’t see past the label of Republican vs Democrat. Look at Clarence Thomas, an excellent example of a black man making it to the top post in our judicial system and he was banned from speaking to the NAACP because, basically, he is a Republican in many of his beliefs. He is not the only one. I have seen it where the NAACP (pre-Kweisi Mfume, so hopefully that is changed) and vocal, self-proclaimed, ‘black’ leaders are saying that being a black Republican is betraying your race. This is obviously ludicrous, to condemn someone for having a different belief system, but it happens.
I think what you would get if say Colin Powell had run on the Republican ticket would be a loss of the KKK vote for Republicans and a loss of the black vote for Democrats, but not a crossing of the two, just a failure to show at the polls on election day.
Well, several posters have mentioned the Middle East situation, and that a Jewish VP would seem like we are baised. No kidding? How about a Jewish Female Secratery of State? (Who is currently trying to negotiate with Barak and Arafat). that’s a double whammy isn’t it? Do most Arab people in the Middle East see this as a good thing? Probably not, but there she is anyway. The VP being Jewish should not be a factor in the election, and I don’t think it is.
BTW, I disagree with the earlier poster who mentioned that black voters may not turn out to vote Dem since there is a Jew on the ticket. I think most voters care more about what effects them personally, and will vote for what they believe will make their lives better.
I don’t believe that Rush has ever said anything of the sort.
EJsGirl
Agreed (in terms of depressing turnout). Immediately after the selection of Lieberman, Bill Tatum wrote an editorial in the Amsterdam News (the leading black newspaper in the city) stating that “jewish money” had purchased the vice-presidential nomination. (He is, BTW, married to a Jew). And Farrakhan’s comments are well known.
JustAnotherGuy
You are correct in limiting your comments to the black “civil rights” leadership. I recall at the time of the Clarence Thomas hearings that the majority of the black people supported him.
tradesilicon
I don’t think Albright can be accurately described a Jewish.
There are some political analysts who believe Lieberman was not only selected to help distance Gore from Clinton (since he was the first Democrat to criticize Clinton for his perjury) but also to help Mrs. Clinton secure the Jewish vote in her NY Senate race.
It was a very smart move, IMHO, although not one I particularly appreciate, being a secular Jew. Judaism has everything to do with it.
-The Republicans are seen as the party of the Good Christians (Christian Right, etc.) and God-fearing folks.
-The Republicans are seen as the part of the moral I’d-never-get-a-hummer-in-the-Oval-Office type people.
So, bring in the only Democrat who can counter on both of these terms.
Here we have Leiberman talking more about God than any man since Ralph Reed, and he can do it without alienating the Jewish vote. Ralph Reed I feel tends to scare Jews, as he tends to advocate school prayer and the like. So, we now cast doubt as to which party is the True Party of God and we don’t alienate the Jews at the same time. I mean for God’s sake, the ADL told him to tone down the religiosity!
Also, he is one of the Dems who crossed lines to impeach Clinton. Again, he can talk about his religion because being an Orthodox Jew he doesn’t threaten anybody (except maybe the Reform Jews). He is a true Boy Scout – nobody can pin any mud on this man, despite the fact that he looks and sounds like a Muppet. So, cast doubt as to which party is the Party Which is Less Likely to Hire Interns Who Can Suck the Chrome Off a Trailer Hitch.
For me personally Lieberman was a good choice and not because of his Judasim. Mainly because of his overall reputation for being a “stand-up, stick to your guns” kind of guy. At least this is supposedly the reputation he has among his peers. He seems to be respected for his convictions by most everyone. That quality is refreshing considering the other candidates we have to deal with during this election. I know it isn’t practical to judge a candidate on their “character” alone. If that were true then we’d rarely be able to elect a president. Most every man by the time he gets to the position of running has compromised himself in some way. The truth is I don’t really care how many women the president sleeps with or whether or not he has a couple of cocktails after dinner. What I think is important to know about our president is that he will always put the welfare of his country first above his own ambitions. That he will always do his best to see that EVERY citizen can feel safe in the knowledge that their government is here to serve and protect them. I don’t think we’ve had a man like that in a very long time.