Thursday, June 23, 2011

Is country finally fed up with self-serving Jews? Massive over-representation in Congress shrinks, but Zionists hope to solidify control at top

From:
Decline of Jews On Capitol Hill Could Mean a Loss of Power

(Forward) -- by Nathan Guttman --

Washington — One of the possible consequences of New York Rep. Anthony Weiner’s Twitter-gate affair is another decline in the number of Jewish representatives in Congress.

The massive overrepresentation of Jews on Capitol Hill, long a source of pride for the community, has been shrinking in recent years and could drop in the coming election cycle from 41 to the mid 30s, a level last seen 15 years ago.

Analysts differ over whether this reduction heralds a significant decline in Jewish power or, instead, simply reflects short-term individual circumstances...

But even if the decline in representation continues, experts believe its impact on the Jewish community would be marginal. “At the end of the day, it won’t matter much in terms of the Jewish agenda,” said Kurt Stone, political science professor at Florida Atlantic University and author of two books on Jews in Congress. On the issue of Israel, Stone explained, there is almost a wall-to-wall consensus in Congress. On social issues that are dear to the community, much depends on the broader makeup of Congress, since Jewish priorities on domestic issues are largely aligned with those of the Democratic Party. Still, Berlinerblau believes that it is important to have “at least some Jews on the Hill” in order to make sure the community’s voice is heard. He points to the case of atheists, who make up the same portion of American society as do Jews, but have no representation in Congress. Their interests, he argued, are barely heard.

The 112th Congress, which began in January, started off with 13 Jews in the Senate and 28 in the House of Representatives. This number has already dropped by two, with Weiner’s resignation following a lewd photos affair and with the retirement of California Democrat Jane Harman, a veteran pro-Israel representative who left for a post as head of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

But even before Harman and Weiner’s departure, the current Congress had seen the number of Jewish lawmakers shrink. In the 2010 election cycle, seven Jewish lawmakers lost their seats (Senators Russ Feingold and Arlen Specter of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, respectively, and Democratic House members John Adler of New Jersey, Alan Grayson of Florida, Paul Hodes of New Hampshire, Steve Kagen of Wisconsin and Ron Klein of Florida). Meanwhile, only two seats were gained: Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal in the Senate, and Rhode Island Democrat David Cicilline in the House. The total number of Jewish representatives dropped to 40 from 45.

The hit taken in 2010 is largely viewed as part of the broader anti-Democratic atmosphere that caused massive losses for the party and led to a Republican takeover of the House...

Democratic activists who have been doing the math point to a potential loss of another four to six Jewish seats: Apart from Weiner and Harman, both already departed, Connecticut Independent Joe Lieberman and Wisconsin Democrat Herb Kohl have announced that they will not seek re-election to the Senate. Another possible loss comes from California, where Jewish House members Howard Berman and Brad Sherman, both Democrats, could be forced to fight each other because of the redrawing of congressional districts following the 2010 census...

But the Jewish community could be making up for the seats lost by seeing more of its members reach top political leadership positions.

On the Republican side, majority leader Eric Cantor holds the highest position ever held by a Jewish member of Congress. The Democrats, meanwhile, boast a number of high-level Jewish politicians: Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York, who ranks third in the Senate leadership; Florida Democratic House member Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was recently elected chair of the Democratic National Committee, and Steve Israel, who heads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for the upcoming elections...MORE...LINK

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