“blacks used to be republicans, and they switched in a single election to the democrat party” (1936)
Maybe it is time to update the question.
What would make Jews conservatives?
Such political shifts happen - in fact they are constantly happening at different speeds among different demographics.
So what factors do you think would be most influential, in swinging this particularly influential demographic?
I went looking to see why analysts think blacks changed their party affiliation, and here are some theories:
- “Bread and butter” issues during the Great Depression. The New Deal was effectively sold.
- Leadership arose within the Black community - i.e. Arthur Mitchell and Adam Clayton Powell.
- Outreach. High profile public and symbolic gestures by Eleanor Roosevelt supporting Blacks and rejecting rascism.
-Recruiting and organizing in the black community (Communists had been organizing the Black community for 20 years prior, and were prominent in the Roosevelt coalition). Mass migration of Blacks from the South to Northern cities occurred because of the Depression (greatly accelerated by New Deal policies which rapidly displaced cotton), where Democrat Party machines incorporated them as they had other waves of immigrants.
Even with those factors and the dramatic realignment, 25-40% of Blacks continued to vote Republican, until the second major realignment in 1964, when Johnson supported the Civil Rights Act, and Goldwater opposed it (based on States Rights infringements). From 1964 on, we have seen Blacks become consistently the most solidly Democrat demographic - 85 to 95% for Democratic Presidential candidate ever since.
Honestly, the more a Jew today is informed about economics and maybe is involved in some way, and the stronger his or her personality or convictions, they should vote conservative. And some do.
Being an “out” Jewish person, that is, my friends and family know how I lean, sometimes people will “confess” to me that they voted for the R guy too, but they are not ready to tell the world.
But it’s a hard demo to crack. One relative told me he doesn’t trust people to give to help the poor. This guy DOES, he donates his money and time to charities. But he doesn’t trust others to do so, so he is ok with the government taking from the rich (he would fall into that category according to obama) to help the poor. It’s a head shaker.
And they will align with the NYT or the mass media. They consider themselves well informed, well read. They suck it up like Hashem wrote the NYT. I was once approached and asked by one female relative, “You’re not part of the [said in a voice tinged with disgust] Tea Party, are you?” I asked her what she thought the tea party was, and I told her that it wasn’t a party, it was just a symbolic revolt against both parties in power with the name Taxed Enough Already. She had no idea. She thought it was sometimes deep and Christian fundamentalist. I told her that it is mainly about returning to the freedoms in the constitution, where a lot of the crap thrown down to us by the government is unconstitutional. They buy everything they read in the paper. And if they step out of the shtetl on a subject, friends will mock.
There is a long tradition of clannish ness with Jews. Like with american blacks. Both these groups close ranks a lot to outsiders. Even innocent outsiders. Again, I know this from personal experience. I grew up in a mostly Jewish neighborhood. 60% of the kids at my elementary school were Jewish. I take after my German jewish grandma and have blonde hair and blue eyes. My grandfather, after surviving the camps, changed our name. When I would play at a friend’s house, the parents were very stiff and polite to me. I would never have thought there was anything wrong at all, everyone was kind and nice. But when the parents found out I too was Jewish, I became part of the family. There was a warmth and a “family” feel, where they relaxed around me.
I would say that there are more Jews voting conservative now than ever before, but it’s still a hard demo to crack. And yes, they all think Sarah Palin is stupid. Also, most Christians or non religious think Sarah Palin is stupid. I’d say 3/4 of America are pretty sure she is stupid. I’m not all that happy with Sarah’s recent choices, but I know she is NOT stupid. Boy did the media win THAT one.