A contributor to the Conservative Voice explains why his Grandma Ida eventually abandoned the Democratic Party – and says it also helps explain why John McCain would be the better choice the Barack Obama:
Forward to Election Day 1984. Ida Miller, the lifelong Democrat, who served the Party as an election judge for four decades, punched the ballot box next to the name Ronald Reagan. She knew something in 1984 that most Jews still refuse to believe in 2008. The Party of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy no longer existed.
My father recalls her exacts words when she shocked him with the news she voted for Reagan. “This is not the same Democratic Party that I came of age in,” she said. Four years later with her eyesight deteriorating, my father assisted her in the voting booth. She told him in Yiddish, “Vote for Bush.” That would be the last ballot she would ever cast. …
Obama has a positive record regarding Israel during his three years in the senate. However he has already demonstrated that he will have advisors that will undoubtedly be negative for the Jewish state. Obama has already said he wants to meet with the President of Iran, a man who continues to call for the destruction of Israel and is the leading sponsor of terrorism world wide. These facts in conjunction with his inability to recognize that America is at war with Islamic extremists, shows he will be a disaster not just for Israel, but the United States.
On the other hand, Republican John McCain has a three decade record of pro-Israel policies. He has a vast understanding of the threats Islamic extremism presents to America as well as the Jewish State. There is no doubt he would be a great friend to the Jewish community.
So what will American Jews do? Place person over political Party and vote for proven friends, such as Kirk and McCain, who recognize the dangers that threaten Israel and America? Or do they simply vote for the candidate, who has the “D” next to their name, ignoring the very reasons why our immigrant parents and grandparents taught us about the political process and why it is crucial to our very survival?
If only Jews would ask themselves, “what would Grandma Ida do?”
