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Nov. 23, 2009
JWisdom.com: Actually, it really is all about you with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff
Nov. 20, 2009
Rabbi David Aaron: How to make every second of your life come first
Caroline B. Glick: Whither American Jewry
Nov. 19, 2009
Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Please Listen to this Godcast (5 minutes)
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: What Judaism has to say about the secret of the Mona Lisa's smile
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : When borrowing is stealing
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's failure, Netanyahu's opportunity
Nov. 12, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet By Marialisa Calta : A sweet sweet potato treat
JWisdom.com Does God get tired? with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Jews and money: When anti-Semitism isn't
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
Rabbi Berel Wein: Choosing to hear
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick The mullahs' big week
Suzanne Fields A Fallen Wall for Fallen Man
Nov. 5, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet: Three scrumptious -- but simple -- butternut squash dishes
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger: Should prayers be covered?
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
Martin Peretz: Beware, Barack. Beware, Rahm. Beware, Axelrod
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater? With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The Holocaust is now on Facebook
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Oct. 3, 2008 / 4 Tishrei 5769

House Members Vote for Job Security — Their Own: Out of 435, seven profiles in courage

By John H. Fund


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | The House vote rejecting the financial rescue package wasn't so much a partisan vote as one that divided members who have safe seats from members who face potentially competitive elections on November 4.


Of the 205 members who wound up voting for the bill, only seven — four Democrats and three Republicans — can be said to come from districts where they face a tough race. By contrast, of the 31 members retiring this year, all but five supported the package. Indeed, nearly a third of the 65 House Republicans who backed the bailout are leaving office in just a few weeks. They faced no political consequences from their votes.


A lot of political firepower will now be focused back home on the seven vulnerable members of either party who voted for the unpopular bailout. "I anticipate a flood of money accusing them of selling out their constituents to deliver early Christmas presents to bankers and fatcats," one worried K Street lobbyist in Washington told me.


The three Republicans are Christopher Shays of Connecticut, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Jon Porter of Nevada. Of the trio, Messrs. Shays and Kirk represent upper-income districts filled with savvy investors who may appreciate rather than revile their vote. Mr. Porter, on the other hand, represents fast-growing Las Vegas suburbs filled with people who likely know little about him and who soon will be deluged with ads attacking him for his vote.


The four Democrats who stuck their necks out are Jerry McNerney of California, Tim Mahoney of Florida, Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania and Jim Marshall of Georgia. Mr. Kanjorski is already in hot political water over earmarks that benefited his family. Mr. Marshall won election by only a single percentage point last year in a highly populist area. Both Mr. Mahoney and Mr. McNerney represent usually Republican seats captured in surprising upsets last year. All four have now put their political careers at risk.


Once again, the old political adage holds that where a politician stands depends on where he sits. If a legislator occupies a safe seat, there's a good chance he or she voted for the bailout bill. Indeed, except for the vulnerable seven, the Congressional leadership clearly laid a goose egg when it came to rounding up votes among politically vulnerable members.

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JWR contributor John H. Fund is author, most recently, of "Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy". (Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.)

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© 2006, John H. Fund

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