Hello,
Hope you are well. I don't know if you know, but I am fairly involved in the Obama campaign. I am writing because a number of my friends and family seem surprised that someone like me – who comes from a politically conservative, religious Zionist background – will be voting for Barack Obama. Indeed, the revelation has been greeted with the kind of deep sighs and mournful head-shaking from people in my shul that is usually reserved for news of children who marry non-Jews or get a tattoo.
The more people I talk to about this subject the more obvious it is that the argument for an Obama presidency is not merely being ignored by the religious Jewish community, but actively blocked from discussion through the power of peer pressure and assumption.
Since I pride our community on its willingness to analyze ideas on their merit, I felt it was important for those of us on both sides who have thought seriously about the subject to share our opinions. So I wanted to write (completely as a private citizen – this has not been dictated or vetted by the campaign in any way) and encourage you, especially if you are someone who feels that it is "obvious" that all religious Jews should vote for McCain, to give this email some consideration and perhaps forward it to friends who think the same way in the hope that they will respond with their own views. (I apologize in advance for my use of outlines and bullet points – too many years in school and lawyering.)
Like many people with my background, in this election I will be voting on the following issues, roughly in order:
- The security of America (tie)
- The security of Israel (tie)
3. The economic future of myself and my family.
4. Everything else.
Regarding the first two issues: I am voting for Barack Obama not "despite" his views on Israel and the threat of Islamic terrorism, but because of them.
My basic outlook is that the security of Israel and America are intertwined, and that generally anything that makes America more secure and healthy is by definition better for Israel. And in general, I take my cues on security and diplomacy in the region from the Israelis. Israeli policy in dealing with the constant existential threat from its Muslim neighbors has always rested on three pillars:
1. Be open to negotiations anywhere, any time with your enemies. Israel has in the past held successful negotiations with Syria, Egypt. Jordan, Lebanon and Hamas/PLO/Hizballah, both direct and indirect, at times when hawks in the US urged them to have no contact. These negotiations have led to two permanent peace treaties and numerous temporary ones that have saved countless Jewish lives.
2. Cultivate and engage allies in your struggle. Israel's most obvious ally is the US, but it also goes to great lengths to cultivate the goodwill of the Europeans, Africans and even moderate Arabs in the fight against terrorism, to the point of unilaterally releasing prisoners and announcing cease-fires when the Israeli government feels it is safe to do so.
3. Always keep a credible military threat on the table, and use it only when absolutely necessary. Israel has the strongest military in the region by a substantial margin. A key priority is never getting bogged down in long missions which take the focus of the IDF away from its ability to project power and invite an attack by a foolish neighbor. Similarly, Israel engages in military action only when it is actually and undoubtedly threatened.
The comparison to the current situation in America is obvious. As the Bush regime has rightly noted, the US now faces an existential struggle with the same group of actors that threatens Israel. Specifically, Barack Obama and John McCain both recognize Iran and Russia as the greatest threats facing our countries, ones which must be countered with a united international front and a credible military option. The difference between them is that the Bush administration, with McCain as it's most vocal cheerleader, has chosen to refuse negotiations, alienate allies and rashly commit all our military power to a muddled quagmire with no discernable end. Barack Obama wants to actually find out what kind of threat our enemies represent before attacking, build a coalition of allies that support our goals of international security and restore our now non-existant military deterrance by ending the massively misguided and wasteful war in Iraq. Somehow, this proven Israeli model of international security is scorned by the Bush/McCain/GOP crowd as "weak" and "naïve" while continuing the failed policies of the last 8 years is promoted as strength.
That to me is ridiculous. The Bush/McCain policies have broken our military, bankrupted our future and made Iran (and Russia) exponentially stronger due to our destabilizing adventure in Iraq and absolute refusal to take any steps towards ending our demand for oil. Giving them another 4 or 8 years to continue would be, in my opinion, madness.
The only retorts I hear from my Jewish friends to these facts are vague feelings that Obama is just "not good for the Jews", usually through some combination of fears that he is a secret Muslim/Black Panther/PLO supporter, that he is a "flip-flopper" for being inarticulate in his statement supporting Israeli claims to Jerusalem, or that he doesn't have enough of a history of supporting Israel in government.
It is, of course, everyone's prerogative to make personal judgments about the candidates. I have listened closely to Obama since the beginning of his candidacy, as I have to McCain, Clinton, Edwards, Romney, Giuliani etc. and now Palin. What I have seen is someone of exceptional forthrightness, intelligence and integrity. I do not think he is Moshiach, but I have also not seen him pander to the right (like McCain) or the left (like Edwards). Instead, I have seen him talk about unpopular topics to antagonistic groups, like promoting gay rights before conservative black churches and faith-based initiatives to left-wing Democrats. Unlike McCain and others, I have seen him resist the impulse to engage in gutter Rovian politics in order to score cheap political points. I have seen him choose a VP that can lead the country rather than one chosen only to help him win an election. He has had every opportunity to lie and pander and backtrack on major issues but he has not. So when he strongly and consistently states his support for Israel, and backs up that oral support with a voting record that is identical to McCain or Hillary's on Israel issues, I believe him. Moreover, according to everyone who knows either man, McCain is universally described as "impulsive" and someone who makes quick calls on issues "from the gut", much like our current President. Obama, on the other hand, is consistently described as calm and thoughtful, someone who considers the ramifications of a variety of options before commiting to a course of action. Which personality do you want making the call on Israel and America's safety in a complex and dangerous world?
As to the economy – in this election I may be one of the few who will not be an economy issues voter. But I own my own business, and like most Americans I hope one day to be in the highest tax bracket. When I am there, I will no doubt want to pay as few taxes as possible. But regardless of how much I make, I know that my economic and even physical security depend upon the overall health of the nation's economy. Bush has added over $32 trillion to the debt the next generation has to pay and turned a budget surplus into an annual deficit of half a trillion dollars. The wage gap between average workers and CEO's has skyrocketed to levels not seen since before the Great Depression. Like Bush, John McCain has admitted he knows nothing about the economy, and like Bush he is self-evidently much more interested in exciting overseas adventures than the boring details of steering the nation's finances. We literally cannot afford to elect someone who has promised to continue the Bush economic policies without any deviation.
Finally, as regards "everything else": America, as we all know, has been the single most welcoming country for Jews in the history of the world. After two millenia of persecution and oppression across Europe and the Arab world, America was the first (and perhaps still only) place where Jews have enjoyed absolute equality of opportunity. We and other minorities have flourished here specifically because the founding fathers instituted three "chiddushim" that the world had never seen before: a country based upon the separation of church and state, a government with checks and balances between branches of power, and a professional bureaucracy that carried out the workings of government without regard to partisan politics. For the first time everyone was officially equal under the law, and citizens were not at the whim of an absolute dictator or king. This system has served us and America incredibly well for two hundred years, and been respected by politicians of all stripes…until now. For the first time in the modern era, we have a government that is pushing the slow, steady encroachment of a politically active Christianism into every sphere of public life. John McCain, who once rightly identified the aggressive leaders of the Christian right as "agents of intolerance", has now so fully accepted their direction that he felt compelled to nominate one of their own as his Vice Presidential candidate. The Bush/McCain philosophy displays an utter contempt for Constitutional limits to executive power, shows complete disregard for the traditions of open and accountable government and has replaced impartial professionals with incompetent cronies at every level of government, from FEMA to the Attorney General. This is not good for America, and certainly not good for the Jews or any other minority in this country.
So, if you have made it this far, thank you for your time. And thanks for putting in the thought and balance necessary to make this momentous decision.
I look forward to hearing any and all responses soon!
best,
ML
