Heya, kids, here are some numbers that I find interesting and that you might find interesting, too. Princeton Survey Research Associates International, the same firm that does the Pew polls, just loves numbers!
Here are some:
36 - This is the percentage of Americans who believe that the United States should simply stay the hell out of Arab-Israel negotiations. Please count me as part of that 36 percent.
37 - The percentage of Americans who think that Barack Obama is doing a good job in terms of foreign policy. Bare in mind the next time that some pro-Obama ideologue starts telling you what a fine job that he's done via foreign policy that almost two-thirds of Americans disagree.
37 - The percentage of independent voters who approve of Obama's overall performance.
34 - The percentage of independent voters who approve of Obama's foreign policy.
The Reason-Rupe national telephone poll conducted live interviews with 1,000 adults on cell phones (500) and landlines (500) August 6-10, 2014. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percent and it was executed by Princeton Survey Research Associates International—the same firm that does the Pew polls.It is time to move beyond the old politics of the American Jewish past. We owe the Democratic Party nothing. Our loyalties need to lie with those who are loyal to us.
You can find the Reason-Rupe poll here:
http://reason.com/poll/2014/08/14/42-percent-of-americans-think-obama-has
If the Democratic Party insists upon providing venues for anti-Semitic anti-Zionists to spit in the face of their Jewish patrons and friends, perhaps this would indicate a proper moment to simply relieve ourselves of this burden.
And make no mistake, the Democratic Party has become a tremendous burden on the well-being of the Jewish people.
Those of you who follow the Arab-Israel conflict from a pro-Jewish perspective know exactly what I am talking about. For example, just over the last 24 hours we come to learn that the Obama administration is holding back military aid to Israel during a time of war.
This is not the behavior of either an ally or a friend, but it is fully consistent with the Democratic Party in the Age of Obama viz-a-viz Israel. What we are witnessing, and which some of us are encouraging, including me, is a "time-out" between American Jews and the Democratic Party.
We do not need to support people who honestly do not care if Israeli kibbutzim and townships are bombarded by Hamas rocketeers.
We do not need to bolster people who aren't quite sure if Jews are moral enough to warrant their support.
Israel did not start this fight and Israel did not want it, yet the Obama administration holds Israel responsible to such an extent that it is actually willing to withhold armaments, during a time of conflict, to its lone, sole actual ally in the entire region.
Y'know, it was not all that long ago that Obama told American Jewish leaders that they should tell their family and friends in Israel to search their souls to see if they honestly want peace. I was deeply offended at that callous presumption at the time, but I do now agree that it is time for the Jewish people - particularly in the diaspora - to search our souls.
I think that we need to search our souls in order to determine if the political loyalties of our past match the needs of our people in the future.
I think that this is a mighty fine question and one that should be seriously considered.
Particularly as Obama seeks to hobble Jewish means of self-defense.
