Why are so many Jews liberal?
That is a very interesting symposium. Come to think of it, at an earlier date I answered a fairly similar question, and I believe that my answer there dovetails with the themes in this thread: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;... As a Jewish conservative, I have read a great deal about how what is called "liberalism" has come to predominate among my coreligionists. For anyone who would want to read in detail about it, I don't believe that there is any better source than the book mentioned at the beginning of the symposium: "Why Are Jews Liberals?" by Norman Podhoretz. I would conclude on this note: If I was convinced that Judaism and "liberalism" were pretty much identical (which seems to be a common theme among anti-Semites of a neo-fascist or radical Islamist type and all too many of my "liberal" coreligionists), I would not remain Jewish. I am convinced beyond all doubt that there is simply too much countervailing evidence within Judaism itself for that particular notion to withstand serious scrutiny.
Liberals (and Conservatives), why do lefties hate Bush so intensely?
This was by a poster on the History Channel message board - and this guy made a lot of sense - so I thought I would show you his post: Why do Liberals hate President Bush so much? By John Hawkins Why do they hate him so much? They'll give you every reason in the book for it, but in my opinion, most of it is really all about four things: #1) A lot of Democrats felt cheated after Gore lost in Florida. Were they cheated? Absolutely not. But, they FELT cheated and they got angry at Bush because of it. #2) Many Republicans absolutely despised Bill Clinton and part of the animus towards Bush is just payback. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that this is really the primary driving factor behind the impeachment talk. They're desperate to try to impeach Bush, for anything and everything they can come up with, because the Republicans impeached Clinton. #3) During the Vietnam war, the libs protested incessantly, they spit on soldiers, and they became radicalized. It's the same dynamic this time around, except back then, it was Lyndon Johnson who was really responsible for getting the war into full swing. So, there was more bi-partisan blame for them to spread around. The war in Iraq is Bush's war all the way and so most of the venom is getting aimed at him. #4) The Democrats are out of power and that's making them more bitter, more willing to accept conspiracy theories, and more angry at the guy who has beaten them, George Bush. Bonus Answer: The left has actually been nasty, angry, and vicious for a long time now. For example, they absolutely hated Ronald Reagan's guts and had few qualms about saying so. So, why didn't people notice it more back then? Because there wasn't a new media out there to report it and the old media, as they do today, protects "their side." A kooky or vicious comment by a liberal is much, much, more likely to be buried, minimized, or completely ignored by the MSM than a similar comment by a conservative. The difference is that now there's an alternative media that reports things that would have been swept under the rug 10 or 20 years.