Why did Mitt Romney really go to Israel? It probably had little to do with undecided Jewish voters.

[salvorhardin]

Last edited Fri Aug 3, 2012, 06:24 PM - Edit history (1)

A running motif in all these stories is that an organization known as the Republican Jewish Coalition plans to spend more than $6 million on an ad campaign to woo Jewish voters away from Obama. A well-reported Miami Herald story by Marc Caputo reveals that the group has reserved $1.6 million in television time in Florida in September. It all sounds impressive until you realize that well over $2 billion will be spent on the 2012 presidential race—mostly for television ads in battleground states like Florida. An explicit TV message aimed at Jewish voters invariably will be lost in the blur and will probably be seen mostly by Christians, for obvious demographic reasons.

The larger message here—and this transcends the clichés that surround the Jewish vote—is that math matters on the political beat. [div style="display:inline; background-color: #FEFDCB;"]Mitt Romney did not spend a weekend in Israel because he was obsessed with winning over 45,000 Jewish voters in Florida and 15,000 in Ohio. Instead, his motivation for the Israeli interlude was presumably fund-raising, evangelical voters, and foreign-policy posturing.

That’s why irresistible story lines (as Sage Deli goes, so goes South Florida) need to be resisted—especially if the numbers add up to bupkes.

Full story: http://www.cjr.org/swing_states_project/why_mitt_romney_went_to_israel.php?page=all

Yep. With only 6% of Jews identifying relations with Israel as their top electoral issue, and Jews comprising a scant 1.7% slice of the American pie, it's a pretty safe bet that anytime a politician cozies up to Israel it has little to do with the Jewish vote.

[1-Old-Man]

1. It might be good to ask yourself what sort of policy promises Reagan made before election

As I recall it was Israel that was complicit in the Iran Contra deal, the one which was stuck by Reagan before the 1980 election took place. You really have to ask yourself, what kind of promises Romney has made to who during his pre-election visit. It wouldn't be the first time a Republican nominee went out and cut deals that he would put in place if elected.

[patrice]

2. "Evangelical voters" need to know that PNAC/American Exceptionalism is still on the End Time$$$$$$$$

job.

Think about it, how else could PNAC communicate this to all of the various American Exceptionalists all over the U.S.A. Plus, HOW does this candidate talk to THOSE churches without feeding a fire-storm on the internet?

Dog-whistling and Plausible Deniability have become highly refined "arts" with the aid of click-trails and fund-raising databases.

[HopeHoops]

3. He wanted a bagel with cream cheese and some of that pink stuff they put on top of it.

[Behind the Aegis]

4. "it's a pretty safe bet...

...that anytime a politician cozies up to Israel it has little to do with the Jewish vote."

YES!

Too bad so many don't pay attention to that FACT.

[maddezmom]

5. And polling confirms that Rmoney will not get the American Jewish vote

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014178759

[JI7]

6. it was always about the evangelical voters, but it says a lot he is still trying to get his base

rather than try for the indies.