Bagels & Ballots: The Aftermath
The Jewish Vote: As a Republican wave swept the House of Representatives, 66% of Jews voted Democratic, a survey shows. Jew-liticos will bid adieu to five Jewish incumbents and need to make connections with new unknown Tea Partiers. (The Forward)
Tell Me More: Struggling to make sense of Tuesday evening’s events? The Forward’s opinion page has Katha Pollitt, Paul Rogat Loeb, Dovid Efune, Irin Carmon and Jonathan S. Tobin writing on the meaning of it all. (Forward Forum)
This Year in Jerusalem: As you know by now, Republican Marco Rubio won the three-way race for Senate in Florida. Since then, he’s said some conciliatory things about working with the Dems in congress — and is preparing for a trip to Israel this Sunday. (YNet) By the way: this YNet article mentions that upstate New York’s new congresswoman Nan Hayworth is Jewish. She’s not, but her husband is.
Whose Election? The PLO is alleging that Israel interfered in the elections, with one official saying that the Republican winners “prove that Israel played a role in these elections and cooperated with U.S. elements in order to use the results to thwart the negotiations. More than anything, this testifies to the Israeli government’s intentions in regards to the peace process.” (JTA)
Taking Heat: President Barack Obama said in a White House press conference yesterday that he received a “shellacking” in the midterms. He added: “ I think it’s important to point out as well that a couple of great communicators, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, were standing at this podium two years into their presidency getting very similar questions because the economy wasn’t working the way it needed to be and there were a whole range of factors that made people concerned that maybe the party in power wasn’t listening to them.” (White House)
Looking Ahead: As the midterm results are winding down, 2012 presidential speculation is rising. Already, Donald Trump has said that he’s considering a run.
On the other hand, Senator Russ Feingold, a Jewish Democrat who just lost his seat to Ron Johnson, has ruled out a bid to unseat Obama. (Politico)
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