Jewish Dem crosses lines to back Republican in N.Y. Special

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: The Hill

New York state Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D) will cross party lines Wednesday and endorse Republican businessman Bob Turner over fellow Jewish assemblyman David Weprin in the election to fill former Rep. Anthony Weiner's (D-N.Y.) congressional seat.

Hikind, a conservative foreign policy hawk who also has a local radio show, is influential in the district's large Orthodox Jewish community. Has backed Republicans before, endorsing President George W. Bush's 2004 reelection.

Weprin and Turner are in what seems to be a close race in the Democratic-leaning district that encompasses parts of Brooklyn and Queens. Turner released a poll last week that had the race tied, prompting the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to release their own internal poll showing Weprin up by eight percentage points. The election is next Tuesday.

The Orthodox Jewish vote is a big wild card. Weprin himself is an Orthodox Jew but has not yet coalesced support around his campaign. The community is more conservative than other Jewish communities around the country, especially on foreign policy and social issues, and tends to vote as a bloc depending on who their leaders support. The district had the biggest swing of any in the country towards Republicans in 2004: After giving Al Gore 67 percent of the vote in 2000, it gave Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) just 56 percent of its vote in 2004. Obama took 55 percent of the vote in 2008.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/179841-jewish-dem-crosses-lines-to-back-republican-in-ny-special

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Ed Koch too is endorsing Turner only as an indirect protest vote against

the Obama Administration's position towards Israel which to some appears evenhanded and fair, and to others, pro-Palestinian.

The Jewish democrats are singling one issue to get a candidate who, if elected, will decimate Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. But Israel will be all right . . . .

[Freddie Stubbs]

2. Although President Obama is not in danger of losing the majority of the Jewish vote,

losing even a small percentage of Jewish voters can spell doom in places like Florida.

[JackRiddler]

16. Funny way you have of putting it.

There are also those (a majority of the world) to whom the Obama admin's position on Israel looks supine as usual, although nothing is ever enough for the hardline Israeli annexation faction. When the massive US taxpayer subsidy for that country is on the table, then we'll talk.

And Israel is hardly served in the long run by further encouragement of its land-grabbing, aggressive ways.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Earlier "news" on this ass: Dov Hikind Hates Gay Marriage So Much He’s Willing to Suspend Party Alle

Dov Hikind Hates Gay Marriage So Much He’s Willing to Suspend Party Allegiance

8/23/11 at 12:08 PM16Comments.Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, an outspoken Orthodox Jewish Democrat, is so opposed to marriage equality that he might back a Republican in the race to fill Anthony Weiner's House seat. David Weprin, Hikind's fellow Assembly Democrat, supports the right of gay couples to marry, and that's a main reason he lost Hikind's support for the Sept. 13 special election. Hikind, you may recall, recently wanted gay people and other non-Jews barred from recognition at a Holocaust memorial in his district.

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/08/dov_hikind_hates_gay_marriage.html

[ifyousayso]

4. Oy!

And this man is a Democrat? Oy!

[NOMOREDRUGWAR]

5. This guy is a DINO

nt

[TomClash]

6. That's not surprising but ironic

Turner lives in Breezy Point, which is kind of a poor man's Hamptons on the water in Queens. It's a restricted community - the likes of Hikind (Orthodox jew) would never be allowed in.

I'm not big on either one, though if it were my district I'd obviously vote for Weprin.

[iamthebandfanman]

7. yay for religion!

not.

[Nihil]

8. How come he wears a "D" after his name with behaviour like that?

> endorse Republican businessman Bob Turner

> endorsing President George W. Bush's 2004 reelection

> conservative foreign policy hawk

> The district had the biggest swing of any in the country towards Republicans in 2004

:wtf:

[Freddie Stubbs]

10. Because Democratic voters in his district keep nominating him

[karynnj]

13. Like Leiberman, he probably doesn't fit in either party

It is interesting that the district had the biggest swing between parties between 2000 and 2004. I wanted to find the 1992 number to see how much Leiberman being on the ticket could have impacted the 2000 results, but couldn't find it. Weiner never got less than 59%. That does suggest that Kerry's 56% was negatively impacted by the endorsements.

[alp227]

9. The Hill chose to title it with dog-whistle anti-Semitism?

Or is this Fox News or the Drudge Report? Was it really necessary to point out how Hikind is Jewish the way that people like Michele Bachmann are Christian? Yes I know this is in a heavily Jewish district...but still...and why is there a sentence fragment "Has backed Republicans before, endorsing President George W. Bush's 2004 reelection." printed here?

[karynnj]

12. Yes, it actually is

Hilkind, beyond his official role, seems for years to have been an Orthodox community leader.

The reason for has endorsed GWB is because it suggests that he was not like the majority of the Jewish population in the US still with the Democrats - and that his reason was likely 100% that he is a Leiberman Democrat - for lack of a better identifier. However, even with their endorsements Kerry and Obama won pretty easily in the district. (Just 56% is still a landslide)

In terms of whether people followed him, the results in 2004 and 2008 vs 2000 show that he had some affect. (Consider that 2000 was atypically high due to Leiberman on the ticket and the affect is not that huge. It is interesting that Kerry did better than Obama, which suggests that within this insular community there is likely some racism or concern about any Islamic influence in Obama's background - as 2008 was far better than 2004 for a generic Democrat.)

[No Elephants]

11. Do Israelis vote based on what is best for America, as opposed to what is best for Israel?

[Honeycombe8]

14. Oh, dear. I just don't understand what positions Obama has taken that are viewed as anti-Israel. nt

[JackRiddler]

17. Anything short of pro-annexation extremism is "anti-Israel" to the pro-annexation extremists...

and they are in the ascendant in Israel (and thus among Israel's automatic supporters here).

[AngryAmish]

15. DTM