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"It is better to take refuge in Adonai than to trust in human beings; better to take refuge in Adonai than to put one's trust in princes." -Tehilah 118:8-9



A Cantor in the White House

A Jewish Vice President.

This isn't exactly a new idea to the American political landscape, and in the election year of female and black-muslim candidates, a Jewish guy is bound to make the bottom of the "Most Controversial Candidates" list. The idea of a Jewish Vice President of the United States, however, is a topic worthy of some serious discussion.

I could boil my punditry down to some rather stereotypical blanket comments about Americans not voting for Jews, and Jewish Americans being paranoid about having a member of the Tribe in such a seemingly "high powered" government post, (so high powered, in fact, that John Adams, the first Vice President, spent the majority of his tenure developing a sore tuchus and staving off levels of mental boredom known best to those working in corporate offices 9 to 5) but I won't, because I don't think it is my job to reinforce already common thought patterns and the personal opinions of others that too often tend to be taken as fact. The mere idea of a Jewish American VP candidate is worth more than a simple toss-off of, "No Bible-belter will vote for a Jew," or "If he gets into office, they really will think we run the world." Take the idea seriously for a moment: A Jewish Vice President. And a Republican to boot. What would that mean? What kind of statement would that make about the psyche of our nation?

As the sampler says, "actions speak louder than words." I could quote Cantor non-stop and still be wrong about him when all is said and done because, like any other politician, he could just renege on every word his speechwriter penned. I can, however, remark on the fact that he spoke at a One Jerusalem event in Israel, during which he quoted Ben Gurion in Hebrew. A Jewish American Congressman attending a conference promoting the unification of Jerusalem as a Jewish capital. A Jewish American Congressman speaking Hebrew in public. Is this guy totally unique, or has the Jewish American psyche has come a long way, baby? Jewish American voters will decide that one, should Cantor get the nod, that is.

But what will gentile American voters think of a Jewish American-Jew? Is it finally okay to not be Jerry Seinfeld? Can Jews drop the hyphen and bring their faith out of the closet without being held under suspicion? Perhaps Cantor's VP nod will shed new light on exactly how suspicious gentile Americans are of their Jewish counterparts-- and vice-versa. If the McCain-Cantor ticket wins, will the victory make Jewish Americans think twice about how they are viewed by their gentile neighbors?

Or will it just give the muslims another excuse to blow us all up?

If McCain pulls Cantor for VP, you'll have a race that pits a flag-waving Vietnam Vet and a religious Jew against a black muslim with fundamentalist roots and (possibly-- any news on Hillary yet?) a 60s hippie with a communist agenda. The ideological battle of the past 40 years will rise to the surface. Lines will be drawn in the sand. It will literally be the most clear-cut election this nation has ever witnessed: Capitalism vs. Communism; Democracy vs. Socialism; Judeo-Christianity vs. Islamic Atheism. Can we boil it down any further? After this November, I doubt there will be any more water in the pot.

That is, if Cantor gets nominated.

However, if things stay as they are, which, by the nomination-to-be of Barack, we already know things are far from status-quo, then we are bound to be plastered into even thicker layers of ridiculousness and confusion. If Cantor were nominated, the results of the ensuing election would make clear who we want to be and where we want to go as a nation. Could the American voter handle that much responsibility? Or would it just be easier for them (and McCain) if the Republicans picked yet another gentile Joe-Schmo running mate?

Perhaps its really a question of what demons we want to face. The Jewish people are called out to be a light. Cantor's nomination would shed a light--and possibly a lot of it--on the ideas behind the idealogues and the values that are really at stake in this election. As it is, the mere idea of his candidacy is already forcing many conservatives and Republicans to question how much longer they want to remain hiding in the dark.

Eric Cantor for VP: A Conservative Grassroots Movement

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posted by Shoshana @ 7:19 PM

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