The message may still be the economy. Yet the overwhelming Jewish support that helped propel President Bill Clinton to a second term reveals another agenda.
Responding to exit polls showing that some 80 percent of American Jews supported the Clinton-Gore ticket, Phil Baum, AJCongress executive director, put it best: “Given the relative affluence of American Jewry, the motivation of the Jewish voter plainly is not primarily economic self-concern.
“Rather, it seems to be a kind of nostalgic family loyalty to the interests of the working class, along with the belief that it is the primary obligation of government to intervene and protect the disadvantaged.”
The continued Republican control of Congress, coupled with the re-election of a president who has moved increasingly to the center, may represent a rejection of big government. But it is also a rejection of the “no-government” stance of the freshman class of 1994 — the congressional group that shut down the government.
Clinton and Congress now have the choice of either grinding through another four years of bitter fights or compromising.
On the table are the same domestic issues that have been tearing Americans apart — welfare reform, immigration, affirmative action, abortion rights, school prayer, the environment, foreign aid, Medicare and Medicaid.
We know where the Republicans stand on these issues. And we know that the president, determined to win re-election, has tended to waffle on critical causes he once championed.
We call on Clinton — and Congress — not to forget the poor and the disadvantaged. We call on Clinton — and Congress — not to forget the bias that still pervades our society. And we call on all elected officials to remember that protecting the needy is not only a religious value but an American value.
Beyond domestic issues, Clinton’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process may change. Faced with a Likud government in Israel that has taken a tougher stance than its predecessor on negotiating with the Palestinians, Clinton himself may decide to take a harder line.
It will be up to Jews to decide whether to support or fight Clinton’s potentially more stringent approach — or to apathetically let a small handful of lobbyists and activists decide the future for us.
Whatever your views, we urge you to write, fax or call the president and your congressional representatives. Let them know where you stand on the issues that affect the social fabric of our society.