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Nov, 21, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?

Caroline B. Glick: Civilization walks the plank

Nov, 20, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness

The Kosher Gourmet By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto

Nov, 19, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality

Elliot B. Gertel: 'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?

Nov, 18, 2008

Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason

Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?

Nov, 17, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason

Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?

Nov, 14, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia

Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead

Nov, 13, 2008

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic

The Kosher Gourmet by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla

Nov, 12, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers

Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks

Nov, 11, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?

Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate

Nov, 10, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?

Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist

Nov, 7, 2008

Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality

Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy

Nov, 6, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism

The Kosher Gourmet By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes

Nov, 5, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors

Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie

Nov, 4, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law

Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East

Nov, 3, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?

Jonathan Tobin: Was He Wrong About Everything?

Oct. 31, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Our Immutable Noble Essence

Caroline B. Glick: Running against Bush

Oct. 30, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: The End of the Special Relationship?

Steve Lipman: 'Kid Kosher' Gets A Title Shot

Oct. 29, 2008

Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: GET US THE TAPE THE L.A. TIMES REFUSES TO RELEASE, AND WE'LL GIVE YOU CASH!

Dr. Ari Korenblit: Making The Write Choice for President

Oct. 28, 2008

Mona Charen: Denial runs through American Jewry

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Sell-off to capitalism or sell-out to Islam?

Oct. 27, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Are tax deductions for charitable donations moral?

Jonathan Mark: The Mystery Of The Arab-American Vote

Oct. 24, 2008

'Why aren't all religious people vegetarians?': Response by Miriam Kosman

Caroline B. Glick: Testing Obama's mettle

Oct. 23, 2008

Daniel Pipes: Obama Would Fail Security Clearance

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A fast chicken dish with an Asian accent

Oct. 20, 2008

Gary Rosenblatt: Still One Torah

Jonathan Tobin: Government 'Gifts' Are Not Free

Oct. 17, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Sukkos and the Great Meltdown

Caroline B. Glick: The disappearance of law

Oct. 16, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Copying DVDs: RIP OR RIPOFF?

Cal Thomas: Blaming the Jews (again)

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Oct. 25, 2006 / 3 Mar-Cheshvan, 5767

Assessing last week's column

By Tony Blankley


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Last week's column urging conservatives to vote in November ("No Thanks, We're Stupid") brought forth a cataract of e-mails. Initially they ran about 6-1 disagreeing with me. By Friday, when the floodtide had subsided to a trickle, the disapproval level had reduced to about 3-2. Clearly, I didn't quite make the sale.


Most of the responses fell into three large categories: 1) There's not a dime's worth of difference between the Rinocrats and Democans, 2) like children, congressmen have to be punished when they misbehave (by letting them lose), or they won't learn their lesson and will become spoiled brats, and, 3) I'm simply not going to vote for politicians who are corrupt and haven't kept their policy promises.


The remainder of the responses pointed out either: 4) I was a hypocrite because a few weeks earlier I had called for Hastert to resign ("Republican Integrity"), and now I was calling for voters to hold their noses and vote Republican, or 5) perhaps I had ended my snit with Hastert and was back on the reservation.


Of the three major responses, the weakest is the Rinocrat charge that there is not a dime's worth of difference. I won't repeat in detail the arguments about Pelosi, taxes, national security, impeachment, etc., as they have been made constantly — and cogently — by Republicans and many conservatives for the last month.


But there are demonstrable differences, which is why most of us, most of the time, chose the lesser rather than the greater evil. I would only argue, e.g. that for those conservatives (such as me) who want secure borders and no amnesty, the House Republican majority is the only group of politicians who will be able to block that next year — if they are a majority. And that is a positive good — not a lesser evil.


The second argument — parental discipline is needed for congressmen — is, I think, an unuseful metaphor. If you don't discipline your children, they are likely to grow up spoiled; if you do discipline them, they have to stay home and learn their lesson — and are then likely to grow up much better.


But if you discipline a congressional majority, it just disappears. The surviving minority is just as likely to learn from the punishment that they should behave more like the Democrat winners. That is where the me-too Republicans of the 1940s through 1970s came from. After FDR, there weren't enough conservative voters around, so Republican congressmen became more liberal in an effort to get re-elected. That didn't begin to change until Reagan in 1980.


I will concede that following such a punishment we may well get more solidly conservative candidates we can vote for in future Republican primaries. But they will have to take on either surviving Republican incumbents or incumbent Democrats — both of which are usually hard to defeat because of the power of incumbency.


It may take several years to regain a majority in the House any more conservative than the one we currently have. Some people may think it worth the wait, but I think the damage likely to be done in the interregnum is not worth it. I suppose reasonable people can differ on this. But I'm strongly inclined to believe that if, after this near-death experience, the Republican majority is re-elected on Nov. 7, they will be powerfully motivated to act more conservatively in 2007 (and they will have learned their lesson while still being a majority — and thus will be immediately more useful to conservative voters).


I can't argue with the moral absolutists. If they are aware of the policy consequences, but simply refuse to associate with (by voting for) policy-backsliding politicians, that is a principled position. They are made of sterner stuff than I.


I want each new Congress to be as conservative as then politically possible. I will freely associate with lesser evils — for the greater public good. Perhaps I am too promiscuous with the political company I will keep. But a life in politics convinces me that incremental improvement — or, at times, even not losing ground — is better than radical reversal.


Numbers four and five, above, reflect a misunderstanding (or a poor explanation by me in that column) of my intentions. I have nothing against Mr. Hastert personally. He is a good man, and we always got along well when I worked for Newt. But I was — and am — convinced that removing Hastert that first week after the Foley story broke was not only the right thing to do, but also would have maximized the Republican chances of holding the majority. The precipitous fall in the polls started at exactly that moment and may only now have bottomed out (if it has, as I hope).


Prompt action by the rank-and-file Republican congressmen (who had no knowledge of the negligence in the Speaker's office going back years in failing to stop Foley), would have been both a clear ethical statement and would have reduced the newsworthiness of the following three weeks of bad Foley news.


But whether or not it was advisable to dismiss the man in charge when something went badly wrong, there is no justification for defeating the party that alone carries the flag of conservative hopes.


For while they didn't carry that flag as far as they should have these last few years, I dread seeing the flag removed from the field.


The Democrats are more radically liberal and irresponsible than they have been at any time since 1933. The damage they will do to every aspect of federal action over the next two, four or six years will be substantial — perhaps grave. For me, defeating that danger is the highest priority. After the election, beating up backsliding Republicans will be a task I will return to with relish.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

Tony Blankley is editorial page editor of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.

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