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Sept. 29, 2008

Rabbi Eli Gewirtz: Lehman Brothers and the Day of Judgment

Rabbi Leiby Burnham: Apples, Honey and You

Sept. 26, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The shofar and the Echo of Sinai

Caroline B. Glick: A road paved on reality

Sept. 24, 2008

Greg Crosby: Home for the Holy Days

Ethel G. Hofman: Rosh Hashanah Favorites: Old-fashioned taste, reduced calories

Sept. 23, 2008

Caroline Glick: Liberalism or lives!?

Michael Ledeen: Dear President Ahmadinejad

Sept. 22, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: I gave a check to a local merchant, but it hasn't been cashed in months. Probably they lost it. Do I have to tell them?

Diana West: We are losing Europe to Islam

Sept. 19, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: On harvesting success

Caroline B. Glick: It is time to act

Sept. 18, 2008

Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Is camping the panacea to save Jewry from self-destruction?

Craig Gordon: Was SNL hilarity too much for Hillary?

Sept. 17, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: The Whole World Is Watching

The Kosher Gourmet By Linda Gassenheimer: East meets Southwest in this quick meal: MEXICAN-ASIAN TOSTADOS

Sept. 16, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. : Into the fire

Everything's Relative : Your Official Jewish Guide to the 2008 USA Presidential Election

Sept. 15, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Enabling risky behavior

Diana West: A day that will live in ... accommodating Islam

Sept. 11, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The skeleton in my closet

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein: Persecution and systematic destruction of Christians in the Middle East must be stopped

Sept. 10, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: There's Something About Sarah

The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Manweiler: Who needs Chili's when you have these? Recipes for Mexican that taste great and are dietetic! Our commitment to freedom

Sept. 9, 2008

Daniel Pipes: Must counterinsurgency wars fail?

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.:

Sept. 8, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: How far must one go to help somebody out of a contract?

Barry Rubin: Waiting For Something

Sept. 8, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : How far must one go to help somebody out of a contract?

Barry Rubin: Waiting For Something

Sept. 5, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: What does 'doing the right thing' entail?

Caroline B. Glick: The master strategist

Sept. 4, 2008

Ron Kampeas: Biden, Palin take lead in clash on Mideast issues

Bruce Dancis: With humor as their weapon, the Three Stooges took on Hitler

Sept. 3, 2008

Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg: Productive school years don't just happen

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Quick lamb stew serves up flavors of India

Sept. 2, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Costly Advice

Caroline B. Glick: Calling Israel's bluff

JWisdom: Wandering in Wonder by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

August 29, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: 20/20 sightlessness

Caroline B. Glick: When history is not repeated

JWisdom: Blessed or Cursed: It's Really Up to You by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

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 July 10, 2008 / 7 Tamuz 5768

(Un)conventional wisdom

By Cal Thomas


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | It is understandable that those who think President Bush has done a poor job want to replace him with a Democrat they think might do a better one. What is not understandable is why voters, who think Congress has performed poorly, would vote to keep the Democratic majority in place and, according to many polls, expand it.


The latest Rasmussen tracking poll finds that a pathetic 9 percent of the public think Congress is doing a good or excellent job, a record. A majority of voters — 52 percent — think Congress is doing a poor job, which ties a record.


Even Democrats disapprove of the performance of the Congress led by their party. Among Democratic voters, approval of Congress fell from 17 percent to 13 percent in the poll. Unaffiliated voters are the most critical of Congress with just 3 percent giving it a positive rating and 63 percent of these independents saying Congress is performing poorly.


Given these astounding figures, why do polls show that as of now a majority of voters intend to vote for the Democratic candidate in House and Senate races? In a recent McLaughlin and Associates poll, 43 percent said they would vote for the Democrat and just 34 percent would vote for the Republican. Twenty-three percent were unsure.


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A USA Today/Gallup Poll taken in mid-June found that 52 percent favored Democratic candidates and 42 percent favored Republicans. That's down from 55 percent for Democrats and slightly up from 41 percent for Republicans in a February poll.


Polls taken by ABC News/Washington Post and NBC News/Wall Street Journal reflect similar numbers.


How can this be? If a contractor working on your house fails to do the job and overcharges you in the process, does it make sense to keep paying the same company while it adds additional incompetents and crooks to cause further damage?


The reason Republicans don't benefit from voter disaffection with Congress is that Republican incompetence — ranging from sexual indiscretions to illegal activities — remains fresh in their minds. Republicans promised they would do things differently. They'd bring "change" to Washington (always be careful when you hear politicians talking like that). Instead, Republicans caught the same Potomac fever that infected the Democrats who ran the House for 40 years prior to 1994 and the Senate, off and on, for much of that period.


If Republicans are going to take advantage of voter disgust with the Democratic Congress they are going to have to take the equivalent of a blood oath. A new "Contract with America" won't suffice. Neither will a "we've learned our lesson" from the current Republican "leadership" who are part of the problem that brought on the Democratic resurgence.


For a GOP comeback to have a chance, several things must happen.


First, John McCain must take a page from Harry Truman's 1948 campaign in which he lambasted the Republican "do-nothing Congress." McCain should say what a do-SOMETHING Democratic Congress would do if it retains its current majority and gains a Democratic president: raise taxes, boost regulations, further limit our liberties, haggle with terrorists and advance a social agenda (including unrestricted abortion and same-sex marriage) that is anathema to most Americans.


Second, Republican delegates to the St. Paul convention in September should demand their party's congressional leadership be replaced by Republicans who would renew core party principles: low taxes, smaller, less expensive and more effective government, personal responsibility and accountability, encouragement of individual initiative and programs that help people out of poverty rather than sustaining them in poverty.


Third, Republicans must pledge to limit themselves in office as the Founders intended. If they won't approve term limits, GOP members should pledge to get themselves out of Congress after no more than four terms in the House and two in the Senate, less time in any place where an infectious disease rages diminishes chances of exposure and illness. They also should begin a discussion and debate about the proper role of the federal government. The Founders had that debate. It needs to be renewed in our time. Government is out of control.


Only dramatic and believable actions like these will restore public confidence in Congress and possibly restore Republicans to a majority they will only then deserve.

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Cal Thomas Archives

JWR contributor Cal Thomas is co-author with Bob Beckel, a liberal Democratic Party strategist, of "Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That is Destroying America". Comment by clicking here.

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