Invasion of the body snatchers, Part II

Yesterday at my synagogue, the Rabbi (a moderate fellow) asked the members of our ultra-liberal congregation whether they felt like aliens or outsiders in this country as a result of the election, in which 51 percent of the electorate, but only 24 percent of Jews, voted for President Bush. My answer would have been something like this:

There’s nothing new here. Republicans have mostly been winning presidential elections for years and Jews have mostly been voting overwhelmingly the other way. Meanwhile, we have prospered and become even more integrated into this society and culture. The only thing that’s different now is that, this time, the Michael Moore’s of America managed to whip liberals into hating the Republican candidate. It is past time to take a deep breath and get on with enjoying life in this country.

Unfortunately, this was not the answer of the several people who responded to the Rabbi. In fact, some of them wanted to turn the question around and ask Jews who voted for Bush whether they felt like aliens or outsiders in relation to their fellow Jews who so strongly supported Kerry.
Yes, I suppose I do (after all, here I am written “invasion of the body snatchers” posts). I know I’m surprised and a little disappointed that so few Jews voted for this great friend of Israel. However, unlike many of the folks on the other side around here, I feel no real contempt or animosity towards those (Jewish or not) who voted for the other guy.
But my guy won. Would I feel differently towards opposition voters if he had lost? Maybe. However, I’ve voted for the loser more often than for the winner in my life. The only time I can recall feeling contempt or animosity was back in 1972, when I was a leftist. Is that just a coincidence? I doubt it.
HINDROCKET adds: Our friend Roger Simon thinks Jews may have come through for President Bush better than is generally believed, based on unofficial data for Beverly Hills, one of the country’s most heavily Jewish enclaves. Roger says, based on information from “a secret source highly placed within the California political establishment,” President Bush’s support in Beverly Hills increased from 20% four years ago to 42% this year. Roger concludes:

I received several emails explaining how the exit polls had undercounted Jewish voters for Bush. That seems to have been true.

As Drudge says: Developing.
DEACON responds: I’m glad to hear this, and hope it pans out. As I said, the low 24 percent figure for Jewish support surprised me.

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