Jewish Electorate Institute: Biden +37 among Jewish voters

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

Considering that Biden is as pro-Israel as it gets for a Democrat, this is none too good for him. Imagine what would have happened had Sanders gotten the nod.

Is someone going to tell him?

I hope the mods never ban Beet, because for every 150 race-baiting concern trolls he posts, there's at least one comedy gem like this.

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

I'm Jewish, which doesn't qualify me particularly, but here goes...

1. Location. Jewish Americans live predominantly in urban/Suburban areas. Those areas (especially the urban ones) are predominantly Democratic.

2. Social views. Reformed and Liberal Jews have social views that align with liberal mainline Protestant denominations. They were not pulled to the right like white Evangelical Protestants. Non-religious Jews (like me) also share these values.

3. Cultural views. We experience some of the "otherization" that applies to many minorities and immigrants, though nowhere near the same degree. But a Jewish American is much less likely to identify with conservative, white culture than they are to identify with other minorities and immigrants. We are likely to identify with urban, white "ethnic" groups, however, and those groups can be quite conservative. This is probably where a lot of the 30% Trump support is coming from.

4. The alt-right is repulsive, and I have seen this movement push conservative family members who were long-time Republican supporters to the Democratic side. I have no poll data, but I suspect that if you asked Jewish people, 90% of us find the alt-right terrifying, and we see echoes of things that were... unpleasant for us. Yes, you have your Ben Shapiros and your Stephen Millers, because we aren't a monolithic group.

5. Israel. Yeah. We have to talk about that. I don't even have a good grasp of Jewish American opinions on Israel. It's all over the place. I think Israel has a right to exist, and I also think that Netanyahu is an evil, blood-thirsty monster, and the West Bank settlements should be dismantled with haste. My view is probably fairly mainstream, if on the left side of mainstream. I have family in Israel. I would very much like Israel to continue to be a thing. That doesn't mean I think Likud should just get a free pass, and the US should let Israel do whatever they want. Democrats align comfortably with these views. The people who do vote Republican because Israel are Orthodox communities, and if you look at 2016 precinct maps of, say, Brooklyn, the Orthodox neighborhoods stick out like a sore thumb in deep red.

There's a whole bunch of other stuff, but I think that covers a lot of it.