Explaining The Jewish Vote

I found this to be a very interesting article at Powerline to help explain why the Jewish vote went to a man who appears to be decidedly anti-Jewish:

Over the years, Scott and Paul have lamented the perversely liberal voting habits of American Jews. We Republicans keep hoping that more Jewish voters will see the light, but, as Don Feder notes, it certainly didn't happen in 2008:

Once American Jews discovered that voting Republican was crucial for the survival of the Jewish state, they'd naturally align themselves with the party that actually believes in national security, we were assured.

It never happened.

After this year's election - in which Barack Hussein Obama got 77% of the Jewish vote - we can confidently say it never will. Once again, in 2008, most American Jews voted their religion - liberalism.

Some minorities have a clearer perception of where their interests lie. According to the American Muslim Task Force for Civil Rights and Elections, nearly 90% of Muslims voted for Obama, only 2% for McCain - smart Muslims, dumb Jews.

Part of the problem is that, contrary to popular belief, most American Jews don't really care much about Israel:

The [American Jewish Committee's 2008] survey highlighted another reality. Among American Jews generally, support for Israel is a low priority.

When asked: "Which one issue would you most like to hear the candidates for president discuss during the 2008 presidential campaign," 54% said the economy, 11% picked health care and only 3% chose Israel.

Feder concludes, I trust somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that it's time to give up on trying to persuade secular Jews to vote for Republicans:

The Republican Jewish Coalition should close its doors. Its budget, and anything else the GOP spends on wooing Jewish voters, should be equally divided between building more Orthodox Jewish day schools (thereby encouraging the Orthodox to have more children) and transporting evangelical Christians to the polls on Election Day.

That would do more to help Israel and to assure Jewish survival than the money wasted quadrennially on trying to bring a message of reason to the mega-meshugeneh.

There's much more; read it all.

I guess this would explain it. I'm not sure what great, grand conclusions can be made if this is true, but I thought it was worth passing along. Any of you Jewish readers out there: did these guys get it right? Feel free to drop a comment to educate me!

There's my two cents.