by Robert Wiener
NJJN Staff Writer

February 14, 2008

Three days after Super Tuesday, Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, braced for a challenge: how to lure Jewish Democrats into supporting his party’s presumptive nominee, John McCain.

“We feel there is a strong compelling case as to why John McCain is better than either one of the Democratic candidates on the issues and the policy differences that Jewish voters care most about,” he told NJ Jewish News.

Brooks declined to say whether McCain would be more attractive to Jewish voters than either former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is now out of the race, or former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee — who is far behind the Arizona senator in delegate strength.

But he hailed McCain as “somebody with a long record of friendship and support in critical issues and somebody who is going to resonate well across the spectrum of the Jewish community.”

Bolstering that hope with a press release, the RJC sent out an excerpt of McCain’s Feb. 7 speech to the Conservative Political Action Committee, attacking both of his potential Democratic rivals, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, for their policies on Iran.

McCain said neither Democrat would “recognize and seriously address the threat posed by an Iran with nuclear ambitions to our ally, Israel, and the region. I intend to make unmistakably clear to Iran we will not permit a government that espouses the destruction of the State of Israel as its fondest wish….”

In another part of that address, the Arizona senator was interrupted by booing when he referred to illegal immigration, reminding his audience that he sought a Senate compromise on the issue over the intense opposition of his party’s core activists.

Brooks believes the heckling from the Right helped McCain score points among Jews.

“To a number of people in the Jewish community, the fact that he was not carried off as the conquering hero of the right-wing conservative convention in DC certainly doesn’t hurt him with Jewish voters,” said the RJC leader.

Brooks dismissed McCain’s opposition to abortion rights and his strong support for continuing the war in Iraq — two positions highly unpopular to many Jewish voters.

“George Bush increased his share of the Jewish vote from 19 percent to 26 or 27 percent from 2000 to 2004 being pro-life and supportive of the war in Iraq,” Brooks said.

He said McCain needed to make Jews “feel comfortable about voting Republican. Joe Lieberman has embraced and endorsed the candidacy of John McCain, and that sends a powerful signal. People like safety in numbers. People like to feel comfortable with knowing they are not out there all alone in the Republican Party.”

He called the notion of Lieberman as McCain’s running mate “an attractive theoretical ticket. But the reality of that coming about is very remote. I think it is far more likely that Lieberman will have a major role in a cabinet position such as secretary of defense or secretary of state. Lieberman will be an incredibly important surrogate in the Jewish community.”

But Democrats have their own strategy for dampening McCain’s appeal in the Jewish community.

On Jan. 8, a day after the senator won the New Hampshire Republican primary, the National Jewish Democratic Council sent out a press release, citing a McCain quote that “a candidate’s Christian faith is an important characteristic for a president.”

The NJDC release said McCain “would prefer a Christian president” and cited his quote that “I would probably have to say yes, that the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation…”

The NJDC also attacked the senator’s “far-right voting record” on issues involving civil liberties and minority rights. The release noted that McCain’s campaign’s general cochairman, former Texas congressman Tom Loeffler, was a paid lobbyist for the Saudi Arabian government.

His rivals’ attacks notwithstanding, Brooks said he believes McCain will be able to attract moderate Jewish voters, even as he caters to unhappy right-wing Republicans view him as not conservative enough.

“Part of McCain’s job is making sure that conservatives turn out and don’t stay home,” said Brooks. “Except for the fringe, the fact that he will be running against Clinton or Obama will be enough to motivate the conservative base. They may hold their nose. He may not be their ideal candidate. But all he has got to do is make sure they turn out.”

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