Israel Matzav

It's the money, stupid!

Here I've been wondering why the Democratic party is so obsessed with the seemingly insignificant Jewish vote. It's not the vote. It's the money, stupid!

Where the Jews stand on Obama matters not just because of the Jewish vote, which is significant in key swing states such as Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio, but also because of Jewish money. The 2012 presidential election will be the first since a Supreme Court ruling allowing unlimited corporate giving to candidates. The Obama campaign has said it will need more money than ever because big business tends to lean Republican.

Obama captured 78 percent of the Jewish vote in 2008, and estimates over the years have reckoned that Jewish donors provide between one-third and two-thirds of the party's money.

2% of the population of the United States contributes between one third and two thirds of the Democratic party's money. Let that sink in. Then read this.

The stakes are high for the Obama campaign. According to some estimates, nearly 60 percent of the money raised by the Democratic National Committee is donated by Jews, and any drop in support for the president’s re-election could endanger the campaign’s ambitious goal of raising $1 billion.

Earlier this week, a few dozen members of Obama’s regional finance committee met with Jim Messina, the campaign manager for the Obama 2012 effort. According to one bundler present, they discussed how Obama can win, even if the economy remains in the tank, and how the campaign can attract the smaller, grass-roots donors. The topic of Israel didn’t come up once.

What could go wrong?

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Campaign 2012, Jewish money

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:16 AM