New GOP Leader Chosen: What Every American Jew Should Know About John Boehner

This afternoon, the House GOP voted to elect Rep. John Boehner (OH) as the new House GOP Leader. The facts are clear: Rep. Boehner has for years advocated positions that run counter to the issue agenda of the vast majority of American Jews.

On the jump, please find Ten Things Every American Jew Should Know About John Boehner.

UPDATE: we respond to feedback.

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Ten Things Every American Jew Should Know About John Boehner

1. For School Prayer and Amending the Constitution: Rep. Boehner supported a school prayer amendment to the United States Constitution in 1997 (H.J.Res. 78), 1999 (H.J.Res 66), and 2001 (H.J.Res. 52); voted to permit school prayer "during this time of struggle against the forces of international terrorism" (House Roll Call Vote 445, Nov. 15, 2001); and voted to only allow federal aid to schools that allow prayer (House Roll Call Vote 85, March 23, 1994).

2. For Forced Religion in Anti-Poverty Programs: Rep. Boehner voted to permit taxpayer-funded anti-poverty programs to require aid recipients to join in religious activities. (House Roll Call Votes 16 and 17, Feb. 4, 2004)

3. 100% Against a Woman's Right to Choose: Rep. Boehner received a "0%" pro-choice score from NARAL Pro-Choice America in 2005.

4. For Religious Employment Discrimination: Rep. Boehner voted to permit taxpayer-funded anti-poverty programs to engage in federally-funded employment discrimination. (House Roll Call Votes 15 and 17, Feb. 4, 2004)

5. Against the Rule of Law in Ten Commandments Case: Rep. Boehner voted to prevent the Justice Department from enforcing a court order to remove a 5,000 pound Ten Commandments monument from Alabama's state supreme court. (House Roll Call Vote 419, July 23, 2003)

6. Against Common-Sense Environmental Safeguards: Rep. Boehner voted for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (House Roll Call Vote 122, April 20, 2005); voted to gut the Endangered Species Act (House Roll Call Vote 506, September 29, 2005); and voted to weaken the National Environmental Policy Act (House Roll Call Vote 242, June 15, 2004).

7. For More Religious Employment Discrimination: Rep. Boehner voted to permit taxpayer-funded job training programs to engage in religious discrimination when hiring and firing employees with federal funds. (House Roll Call Vote 46, March 2, 2005)

8. Against Confronting Proselytizing at the Air Force Academy: Rep. Boehner voted against an amendment to squarely address religious coercion and proselytizing at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. The amendment criticized "coercive and abusive religious proselytizing" of cadets at the Academy while observing that "expression of personal religious faith is welcome" throughout the military. (House Roll Call Vote 283, June 20, 2005)

9. Led the Effort to Inject Religious Employment Discrimination into Head Start: Rep. Boehner added a controversial amendment in September to a previously bipartisan School Readiness Act which would "allow federally funded early-child-care providers to discriminate on religious grounds," according to The Forward. The Forward notes, "The federal government transfers about $6.7 billion annually to 19,000 Head Start providers in 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia." Jewish groups opposed to the measure, according to The Forward, include the "Anti-Defamation League, the Union for Reform Judaism, the American Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Committee and the National Council of Jewish Women."

10. Pushed Ohio Schools to Embrace "Intelligent Design:" People For the American Way reports that Rep. Boehner and fellow Ohio Republican Rep. Steve Chabot wrote to the Ohio school board claiming that legislative language required that references to "Intelligent Design" be included in Ohio's science standards. In fact, such language was removed from the relevant education bill before it became final.

Comments

[Daniel]

Time to pray now more than ever!

[Dan]

Did anyone expect that any leader of the Republicans would be interested in looking out for the interests of anyone but the Fascist Theocrat administration?

[DJNY]

Thanks for the info. What is his stand on the "war on Christmas"? Does he think it's the work of the "liberal elitists," also known as Jews?

[Michael Berlin]

In other words, he's a Republican.

[rick]

Common Sense enviromental law? Drilling in the ANWR is the only thing that makes sense! I wonder who here cares more about an area no one goes to or visits then their country

[sparrow]

Sounds like a good Rethuglican theocrat.

[rockygabriel]

Boehner Has To Get Out More Often

"Drilling in the ANWR is the only thing that makes sense!"

Yes, let's expend more energy than we would get out of it to destroy a national park. A few months of energy are that worth it. Anything but green technologies!

[Cheese]

Drilling in the ANWR is the only thing that makes sense! I wonder who here cares more about an area no one goes to or visits then their country
rick

Lots of people visit The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - just not any morons that you would know.

[The Ringmaster]

Boehner Shares Broad Network of Lobbyist Ties With Tom DeLay

More: http://circus-minimus.blogspot.com/

[soybomb]

Against the Rule of Law in Ten Commandments Case

I thought the Ten Commandments were a Jewish thing. Or was Moses a Baptist?

[darrelplant]

"I wonder who here cares more about an area no one goes to or visits then their country."

Or spelling.

[Ned]

Let's not forget that he handed out the bribes on the floor of congress for the tobacco lobby.

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/01/09/boehner-western-union/

[The Exalted]

i came here expecting to find some gross anti-semitic background, instead i find that, shocker, he supported republican themes and bills.

i dont really see how any of this is particularly alarming to jews either, except insofar as it is alarming to all intelligent people, and in the sense that the general republican plank is alarming to all intelligent people.

[herbert straub]

Thought Tom DeLay was badWe're going from bad to worse.

There is 9 months worth of oil in ANWR...

But hey, when you're "addicted to oil" and the President is an ex-oilman, you just GOTTA drill there!

sigh...

[DAS]

I thought the Ten Commandments were a Jewish thing. Or was Moses a Baptist? - soybomb

We Jews call them the "Ten Sayings" and have 613 commandments. Some of the "10 commandments" are things that apply to all people, but some are particular to us Jews, e.g. resting on the Sabbath day -- so we are perplexed that some of the people who are so insistent on having these monuments nonetheless are not, e.g. Sabbath observers -- not that, according to Jewish law, they have to do so, but why they should be so insistent on propagating monuments to a law they themselves do not follow is rather odd. And these monuments come dangerously close to being idols -- and idolatry is prohibited by the "10 commandments".

Also prohibited is taking the Lord's name in vain. To this end, many refuse to swear oaths, instead choosing to give their testimony under affirmation -- of course, under Jewish and secular law, lying under affirmation is still a sin/crime ... but if you take an oath and invoke God, even if you simply make an honest mistake in testimony, then your oath would be in vain. Also taking the Lord's name in vain is saying the wrong Benediction -- I would daresay those who believe "Jesus is Lord" and then voice an indication, by name, that Jesus made their football team win, are taking their Lord's name in vain.

I wonder if these judges who are so insistent on posting "10 commandments" monuments discourage oath taking in their courts lest someone take the Lord's name in vain? I wonder if they are careful to render thanks unto God for that which is God's but not to do so in such a manner as to invoke God in vain?

By hypocritically making an idol out of one of our Jewish documents which they don't even follow, they insult our religion. At least that is how I feel about those monuments.

[DAS]

Boehner Shares Broad Network of Lobbyist Ties With Tom DeLay - The Ringmaster

And yet the mainstream media (well, NPR at least is reporting our side, for once) insists on spinning Boehner as the "reformist" choice.

[DAS]

i came here expecting to find some gross anti-semitic background, instead i find that, shocker, he supported republican themes and bills. - The Exalted

Some Jews, for instance, would consider Intelligent Design to be rather blasphemous. Indeed, some Jews (not me -- I rather like the Design Argument ... it may be wrong as science, but I like it as metaphysics), e.g. Runes, find all Design arguments to be blasphemous.

History has shown that the kind of "feudalist" policies supported by the Republican party of today -- weakening the wall of separation between Church and State, moving away from a dynamic capitalist economy maintainable only by government intervention toward an economy based on inhereted wealth (e.g. weakening government regulations and eliminating inherentance taxes), etc -- lead to increased anti-Semitism.

We Jews thrive in vibrant, capitalist societies with freedom of religion and economic opportunities for anyone with merit. Class-based societies with quasi-official religiosity tinging public life are generally not good for us Jews.

Consider how we did in the Middle Ages ... not too well, nu?

[No One of Consequence]

The posters upthread are correct when they suspect idolatry in the 10 Commandment monuments. Genuflecting and praying before them was nothing short of worshipping a false god -- it was most certainly contrary to Christianity. Indeed, as that poster points out, the law doesn't even apply to them. Jesus, claim Christians (I should know), was the fulfillment of the law. Love thy neighbor as thyself trumps the 10 (and it is obviously broader in scope and depth).

These issues are important for Jews and Christians both. School prayer isn't about freedom but about a state-sponsored conversion effort. Worse, the "Christianity" these people espouse has little to do with Christianity. Thus, idolatry, taking the Lord's name in vain, and approval of the vilest foreign policies are all acceptable to them. If there isn't a penis involved, in fact, they're not likely to find that God applies to the situation.

And I do believe that the Air Force Academy issue would be specifically important to Jews -- it was Jews being harrassed there, after all.

[zoe kentucky]

Also, it should go without saying that we Jews support having a strongly reinforced wall between "church and state." (The name says it all.)

[Joyce Bowen]

Every time I read about the direction this country is taking, I think about where I live -- the heart of the witch trials. If we keep it up, the gallows will be ressurected and they'll be preaching from the hillsides. One need only read history here in the Salem, Massachusetts Courthouse to send shivers up one's spine.

What is happening to our country?

[Daniel Q Blog]

10 Commandments as idol worship is about the worst argument I have ever heard...ever.

When the Torah is read, Jews bless it, and carry it around as prized possession. Also, many synagogues have the 10 commandments on their arks or other places...

[Jonathan]

I just saw an interview with John Boehner and Jim Lehrer, and this guy reminds me of the kind of political crooks they have in Latin America. He is in no way looking out for the American people, and I have never come upon a US politician who is so blatantly bent on pursuing personal interests. He did not give a straight answer to one of Jim Lehrer's interview questions. When asked about his stance on use of "budgetary earmarks", he avoided the issue and answered "I have not used earmarks and never will", and that there were some earmarks that had value. As the interview went on I thought I was listening to the speech of a politician in Brazil. If John Boehner represents the future of our country we are in deep s--t, because he will make sure that money allocated for benefiting our country will end up in campaign election coffers. And I am a Republican!

[Jerry]

The following website has summaries of approximately 150 lawsuits, formal complaints, etc filed by Jehovah's Witness EMPLOYEES, who claimed religious discrimination:

EMPLOYMENT ISSUES UNIQUE TO JEHOVAH'S WITNESS EMPLOYEES

http://jwemployees.bravehost.com/

[Steve Johnson]

" Posted by: Joyce Bowen | February 04, 2006 at 12:00 AM

10 Commandments as idol worship is about the worst argument I have ever heard...ever.

When the Torah is read, Jews bless it, and carry it around as prized possession. Also, many synagogues have the 10 commandments on their arks or other places..."

Perhaps the Talmud and Kabbalah should be discussed too.