Politics

Waxman: Jews vote Republican ‘to protect their wealth’

Steven Nelson Associate Editor
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Democrats working to explain the loss of a “safe” congressional seat in this week’s special election to replace disgraced New York Rep. Anthony Weiner have come up with some startling conclusions.

California Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman, a prominent Jewish congressman, explained that some Jews are selecting not to vote for Democrats because “they want to protect their wealth, which is why a lot of well-off voters vote for Republicans.”

One of the more common narratives emerging after the election in New York’s 9th Congressional District is that the district’s large Jewish population was alienated by President Obama’s policies on Israel, swinging the heavily Democratic district to Republican Bob Turner.

Waxman did acknowledge the influence of Obama’s Israel policy, telling The Hill, “There are Jews who are trending toward the Republican Party, some of it because of their misunderstanding of Obama’s policies in the Middle East.” (Democrats: Special election losses have no significance for 2012)

“I think Jewish voters will be Democratic and be for Obama in 2012, especially if you get a Republican candidate like Gov. Perry,” Waxman predicted. “But there’s no question the Jewish community is much more bipartisan than it has been in previous years.”

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