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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/36271/full/36271/same-old-question-for-republican-jews-what-next/ <br /><br /> <b>Same old question for Republican Jews: What next?</b> <br /> Friday, November 28, 2008 | by <p>eric fingerhut </p> <br /><br /><p>Republican Jews must broaden their message, reach out to younger voters and work to make sure the party doesn’t turn too conservative.<br /><br /> That’s what some GOP Jewish officeholders and activists say they need to do after a fifth consecutive election in which the Republican presidential candidate has failed to win more than a quarter of the Jewish vote.<br /><br /> Many political observers thought the Republicans had a chance to take upwards of 30 percent of the Jewish vote in 2008 because the GOP nominee had a strong pro-Israel record (and a relatively moderate domestic one) and was facing a Democratic candidate with a thin foreign policy background. Repub-lican outreach to Jews — whether it was the messaging from the McCain campaign or the multimillion-dollar print and broadcast advertising effort launched by the Republican Jewish Coalition — focused almost exclusively on the two candidates’ records and promised policies regarding Israel and Iran.<br /><br /> One leading state Republican lawmaker believes that was a mistake.<br /><br /> “The lesson to be learned is we have to communicate with Jewish voters” about other things besides “who’s more pro-Israel,” said Adam Hasner, the majority leader of the Florida House of Representatives and the state’s steering committee co-chair for McCain. “We did a poor job talking about anything other than Israel.”<br /><br /> He said Republicans could attract Jews by doing “a better job of talking about our comprehensive plan” for energy independence, noting that the simplistic “drill, baby, drill” mantra repeated by Republicans during the final weeks of the campaign did not appeal to many in the Jewish community.<br /><br /> “Jewish voters are very demanding,” Hasner said.<br /><br /> Former Bush Jewish liaison Jeff Berkowitz agreed with Hasner that a “big opening” exists for Jewish Republicans on “energy security,” arguing that Democrats are “torn between fighting climate change and ending dependence on foreign oil,” while the GOP has “smart” and comprehensive solutions.<br /><br /> Larry Greenfield, the director of the Republican Jewish Coalition’s California region, said his party must “apply Republican principals to issues of the 21st century and the increased competition of the global economic environment. Voters are looking for ways that limited government, lower taxes and other long-standing Republican principals will help drive American economic growth and success in a changed world.”<br /><br /> The national director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Matt Brooks, said that an expanded focus is probably on the horizon as the RJC plans for the future.<br /><br /> “Post-9/11, everything has been very foreign policy and security driven,” Brooks said. But the RJC has always tried “to respond to the marketplace” of ideas, he said, which is why “other important issues,” such as the economy, are likely to be more prominent in the organization’s efforts as they attract more attention from voters.<br /><br /> That doesn’t mean Republican Jews still won’t emphasize Israel.<br /><br /> U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), whose election this month as House minority whip is likely to make him the most prominent GOP Jew on Capitol Hill, said in an interview that he believes Jews, like everyone else, want to see “practical solutions” to problems in areas such as the economy and health care.<br /><br /> “American Jews want to see the economy rebound,” he said, but added that a top priority for him in Congress is ensuring a “stronger U.S.-Israel relationship.” Cantor said he would be “very outspoken” if President-elect Barack Obama did anything to undermine those ties.<br /><br /> While a number of GOPers say their strategy for winning Jewish votes relies somewhat on reacting to the new administration, it also depends on the future of their party.<br /><br /> Texas state Sen. Florence Shapiro said she doubts Sarah Palin will be the GOP nominee in 2012. “She was fresh and new,” which is why she garnered so much attention, Shapiro said. But “I think four years from now, there will be many Republican candidates” and “I don’t see any Republican standard-bearer.”<br /><br /> Greenfield said the party should focus on “governors who have practical experience in problem solving” and “who think outside the box.”<br /><br /> “After the 1976 [presidential] loss, we turned to Ronald Reagan, and after the 1996 loss we turned to Gov. [George W.] Bush,” Greenfield said, pointing to Republican chiefs of state such as Gov. Tim Pawlenty (Minnesota), Gov. Mark Sanford (South Carolina) and Gov. Bobby Jindal (Louisiana). “Some of these governors are stars already.”<br /><br /> Greenfield also said that voters in general “are more moderate,” pointing to the passage of Propositions 8 and 11 in California, and that the Republicans can capture Jewish voters displeased with “a risky new left, a hard-left Democratic Party.”<br /><br /> Fred Zeidman, who has co-chaired Jewish outreach for the last three Republican presidential campaigns, said he is confident that the Republican message on economics and foreign policy appeals to the Jewish community.<br /><br /> But he said only a moderate voice on social issues can capture a greater share of Jews. “If we hang to the right, we won’t get that,” he said.<br /><br /> Another former Bush White House liaison, Noam Neusner, suggested that Republican Jews concentrate more of their efforts on newer, growing Jewish communities. A strategic communications consultant, Neusner said Jewish Republicans need to “get away from New York and the coasts” because it is difficult to recruit supporters in overwhelmingly Democratic areas such as the Upper West Side of Manhattan.<br /><br /> Instead, he said, focus on Jewish communities in other sections of the country — such as Phoenix, Las Vegas and Atlanta — where Republicans don’t stand out and Jewish Republicans can more easily find kinship with others who have similar political beliefs.<br /><br /> Republican political consultant Jeff Ballabon cited the growing, more politically conservative Orthodox community and recent immigrant populations from places such as Russia, Syria and Iran — their backgrounds lead them to generally support a more hawkish foreign policy — in arguing that a much greater percentage of Jewish voters will be up for grabs in future elections.<br /><br /> Ira Forman, the executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, said he’s seen no polling data that younger Jews as a whole are moving Republican, but acknowledged that Orthodox Jews are more aligned with the GOP. Still, he doubted that Jewish Democrats have anything to fear from Republicans.<br /><br /> “The party itself has to change its message” to attract Jewish voters, Forman said. “Its dominant ideology of the past 30 years is not going to make serious inroads in the Jewish community.” </p> <p> </p>

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