Now we know why (((Mark Levin))) and (((Ben Shapiro))) are suddenly frantic to get back in the good graces of the Trump-supporting Republicans. The message has clearly been delivered, as this Jerusalem Post article demonstrates that Israel is gradually becoming aware that the Democrats are actively anti-Israel, while the Republican masses are done pursuing Israeli interests at the expense of American interests:
The problem on the Republican side of the aisle then is not that the party has turned against the Jews. The problem is that a large contingent of prominent Jewish Republicans has decided to commit political suicide.
Back in the mid-1970s, disgusted by the radicalization of the Democratic Party, particularly in connection with its prosecution of the Cold War, a significant group of predominantly Jewish intellectuals led by the likes of Irving Kristol and Norman Podhoretz came to the conclusion that they could no longer maintain their loyalty to the Democratic Party – which had been their political home for decades. With the rise of Ronald Reagan on the Republican side of the aisle, these prominent Jews broke with the Democrats, called themselves neoconservatives, and cast their lot with the GOP.
Some members of this group received influential appointments in the Reagan administration. Others used their intellectual skills and their media outlets to set out the intellectual basis for much of Reagan’s foreign and economic policies.
These Jewish Republicans enjoyed a far less congenial relationship with Reagan’s successor George H.W. Bush. But all the same, by and large they remained loyal Republicans. For their efforts they were appointed to significant positions in the George W. Bush administration.
After the September 11 attacks, prominent Jewish Republicans like Bush’s deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz rose to national fame as they were widely credited – and often credited themselves – with shaping Bush’s counter-terrorism policies, including his decision to overthrow the Iraqi government and to make democratizing the Islamic world the goal of his counter-terrorism strategies worldwide.
Their star rose as quickly as it fell. As the public soured on Bush’s war policies, the first to be blamed for his failures were the Jewish Republicans who had been so outspoken about their roles in shaping his policies.
Some of the criticism was substantive and deserved. Much of it was bigoted.
The Republican establishment, for its part, remained staunchly loyal to Bush’s policies. Both John McCain and Mitt Romney supported them to varying degrees during their presidential bids.
That support was not shared by Republican voters, however. Over Obama’s eight years in office, the Republican base and as well as lawmakers became increasing hostile to the democratic interventionism championed by the Bush administration and disaffected with the war in Iraq.
Seemingly unaware of the shift, the same Jewish Republican policy-makers and writers most identified in the public mind with Bush’s failures went into the 2016 race assuming that as was the case in 2008 and 2012, the party would choose a candidate that largely supported their views.
Two prominent Republican candidates, Sen. Marco Rubio and Gov. Jeb Bush, met that expectation.
But contrary to their expectations, Rubio and Bush were flops. The voters rejected them. The two candidates that secured significant support – Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, were outspoken opponents of Bush’s policies.
Rather than repeat their practice from 1992 and accept the will of their fellow Republicans, this year the most prominent members of the Jewish Republican elite have opted to attack Trump and his voters.
That is, they have decided to commit political suicide.
Wolfowitz, along with Bush’s second term Treasury secretary Hank Paulson and several prominent lower level Jewish Republican policy-makers, announced they are voting for Clinton. Most members of the Jewish Republican elite have sufficed with refusing to endorse Trump. Some have become his most outspoken and vituperative critics.
Objectively, their behavior is irrational. With the radical takeover of the Democratic Party, these Republican rebels cannot hope to receive influential roles in a Clinton administration even if she throws some table scraps in their direction. And by attacking Trump and his voters, they are dooming themselves to political homelessness for at least a generation.
The prominence of Jewish Republicans in the Never Trump camp is liable to impact more than their personal career prospects. It is liable to adversely affect Republican attitudes toward Jews as Jews. And to their disgrace, the Jewish Republicans at the heart of the Never Trump camp are playing right into this unhealthy dynamic.
This week the Intelligence Squared debating society held a public debate in New York. The debate was posted on Real Clear Politics website.
Two sides debated the proposition that the American elites are to blame for Trump’s rise. Arguing in favor of the proposition were two Christian journalists – Tim Carney and Ben Domenech.
Arguing against it were two Jewish journalists – Bret Stephens (a former Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief) and Jennifer Rubin.
Both Rubin and Stephens voiced their support for Clinton’s controversial assertion that half of Trump’s supporters are deplorable, unworthy of attention, un-American and irredeemable.
For their part, Domenech and Carney argued that Stephens and Rubin were ignoring the social and economic dislocation of the lower middle class. They argued that the suffering of members of this group has caused millions of Americans to feel betrayed by their political elites and turn to Trump to put a stop to a political game they believe is rigged against them.
Two-thirds of the way through the event, Carney brought up religion.
Carney allowed that many of Trump’s supporters are indeed bigoted. However, he said that “as a Christian,” he couldn’t accept that they are irredeemable because Christianity teaches that all men can be saved.
Rather than grant his point or simply ignore it, Rubin chose to respond in the name of Judaism. In so doing, she turned the debate into a contest between Christianity and Judaism.
Incorrectly arguing that Judaism does not believe in repentance as a road to redemption, Rubin pointed to herself and Stephens and said sardonically, “We Jews just believe in good and evil. We don’t believe that everyone is redeemable.”
The Christians won the debate in a knockout.
The heart of the problem, of course, is that far too many Jews, like (((Bret Stephens))) and (((Jennifer Rubin))), don’t give a damn about America or about Americans. Which would be fine; neither do most Somalis or Argentinians. The problem is that US-based Jews have been influencing US foreign and domestic policy to the detriment of Americans for the last seven decades, and Americans are now increasingly aware of this. Hence the rise of Donald Trump and the rise of the Alt-Right, among other things.
That’s why Jewish Republicans like (((Levin))), (((Shapiro))) and (((Goldberg))) are so uncharacteristically out of tune with the American electorate. Their behavior is proof of the wisdom of the Christ they reject, who warned us that a man cannot serve two masters.
Israel has nothing to fear from America, but anyone who insists on trying to convince Americans to continue acting against their own national interest eventually will, whether one prefers to regard them as an foreign enemy or a domestic one. Just as those who oppose Zionism are anti-semitic, anyone who opposes nationalism is an enemy of that nation.
Regardless, it should be readily apparent that anyone who first seeks “what is good for the Jews” rather than “what is good for the Americans” is no genuine American. In fact, it is very clear that they hate America and Americans.
“The non-Europeanization of America is heartening news of an almost transcendental quality.”
– (((Ben Wattenberg))), Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute