Regarding our piece on John Boehner: we've seen many comments along the lines of, "Why single out American Jews? Aren't John Boehner's miserable positions on the environment, choice, and religious liberty cause for concern for every American?"
True enough. But a couple of points....
1. Our mission -- the mission of the National Jewish Democratic Council -- is to educate American Jews about the myriad ways the Democratic Party is the natural home for them when it comes to the issues... and in turn, to relay key concerns of American Jews to Democratic leaders.
2. Issues of choice and the environment are certainly just as important to Americans in general as they are to American Jews (though it's worth noting that American Jews are just about the most pro-choice demographic you could find). But poll after poll has shown that American Jews feel particularly strongly about the separation of church and state -- a concern Jews share with other minority faith adherents... Hindus, Muslims, etc., as well as atheists. While threats posed to any American's religious liberty endanger every American's religious freedom, the fact is that American Jews rank religious liberty -- and the separation of church and state that ensures it -- high on their list of domestic priorities.
Bottom line: sure, many/most right-thinking Americans share the concerns we outlined in "Ten Things Every American Jew Should Know About John Boehner," whether they're Jewish or not. But for American Jews, the religious liberty concerns we outlined strike a particular chord. And hey, that's what we're primarily here for -- to educate American Jews.
As for John Boehner, in the immortal words of The Who: "Meet the new boss; same as the old boss."
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