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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
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Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
May 11, 2009
/ 17 Iyar 5769
To win votes, listen to voters
By
Clarence Page
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
As much as Republicans have been suffering electoral blues lately, a different kind of affliction seems to be rising in Democratic ranks like a swine flu. It's called overconfidence.
Exhibit A is in the title of a new book by famous Democratic consultant James Carville: "40 More Years: How the Democrats will Rule the Next Generation."
Memo to authors: Beware grand predictions. Remember Shelby Steele's big title of a year ago: "A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can't Win." Ah, yes, he could.
Now this: "40 years?" Careful, James. A decade ago George W. Bush's guru Karl Rove described a vision of 40 years of Republican dominance. His dream didn't work out so well.
It's not hard to see from where Carville's confidence comes. The Grand Old Party has seen much grander days. A mere 21 percent of Americans identify themselves as Republicans recent ABC News/ Washington Post poll. That's the lowest since 1983. Independents are trending Democratic and as few as five states have solid Republican pluralities.
Long-term demographic trends are not on the GOP's side, either. The electorate is getting less white, less rural and less Christian -- three important elements of the Republican base. And Carville is on target to note that turnout for Democrats by young voters in 2004, 2006 and 2008 bodes well for the party's long-term prospects.
But as Democrats should know, bad news has unexpected ways of happening. That's why we call it "news." New issue always can erupt in the way that Iraq, congressional sex scandals and Hurricane Katrina in Bush's second term helped bring the left back to life.
Earlier this month, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia and Sen. John McCain of Arizona launched the National Council for a New America, an effort to rebrand and expand the Republican Party, with a "town hall" meeting in Virginia. Invitees and participants included Govs. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Sarah Palin of Alaska and Haley Barbour of Mississippi, as well as former Govs. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Jeb Bush of Florida.
Romney, Cantor and the new group's Web site emphasized the need to "listen" to voters' concerns and ideas. But prominent social conservatives like former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins complained that they and other "values voters" were left out. Rush Limbaugh, never known for understatement, called Cantor's call a "scam" and invoked memories of Hillary Clinton's "listening tour" in her New York Senate campaign. "We do not need a listening tour," he said on his radio show. "We need a teaching tour. That is what the Republican Party, or, slash, the conservative movement needs to focus on."
The party's leaders became victims of their past success with issues like same-sex marriage, immigration and abortion. They lost touch with changes in the electorate, changes of which Team Obama and Democratic congressional leaders have taken full advantage in 2006 and 2008.
Back in the 1980s, Democrats seemed to be as cast out into the wilderness as Republicans look today. Moderate groups such as the Democratic Leadership Conference, in which young Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and Sen. Al Gore of Tennessee were prominent members, listened and learned ways to lure back the "Reagan Democrats."
Today, Democrats have regained the Whites House and both houses of Congress, even though voters who call themselves "conservative" still outnumber those who call themselves "liberal" by 33 percent to 21 percent. In fact, those percentages have not changed much in three decades. Democrats have been able to win elections by winning more votes from the 45 percent who call themselves moderates.
Since Republicans have not had to win as many votes from self-described moderates, the "vital center" of America's electorate has been less vital to them. That's changed. Republicans once again find themselves reaching out to the middle while trying to hold onto their base. McCain failed in that goal last year, losing about 20 percent of self-described Republicans to Obama, according to exit polls.
Conservatives bristle at Republican efforts to rebrand, but the party needs to define itself with something besides Obamaphobia. They can learn a lot from how Democrats turned their own fortunes around, after they learned to listen to the voters again.
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