264 Comments
Aug 29Liked by Joshua Hoffman

1. When citing the reasons why you fear the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish impact of a Harris administration you forgot to mention her choices as Jewish liaison, Ilan Goldenberg and Islamic liaison, Nasrina Bargzie. Both of whom are very anti-Zionist and anti-Israel.

2. "Your esteemed friend who has antipathy for Trump (like many)" seems to forget about all the good which was accomplished under Trump's first administration

A. Jerusalem as the Capital

B. Sovereignty over the Golan Heights

C. Abraham accords

D. Economically strangling Iran

E. No WARS in the Middle East

3. "Defending democracy" as some of the previous responses have already clearly stated, these past four plus years have CLEARLY shown which party is a threat to democracy and it's NOT former President Trump.

A. Coordinated censorship amongst the O/B/H administrations, the MSM and Big Tech against parents at school board meetings, pro-lifers, physicians and scientists (with respect to Covid), conservatives, conservatives on the Supreme Court, Hunter Biden's laptop and the Biden crime family, etc etc

B. Pretending that an obviously cognitively fit Joe Biden was actually running this Country.

C. The coup against Joe Biden by leading democrats and big party donors.

D. Nominating an individual (Kamala Harris) who had been the least popular VP of all time, with zero votes, who has been disliked by staffers for years, who has flip-flopped on numerous positions, who's not given a SINGLE interview until today and who is being coddled by the media just as Biden was tucked away in his basement during the 2020 election.

At least Trump was properly nominated by we, the citizens, of this great country!

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This! Exactly! My first time voting Republican and happy to do it.

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Same.

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You won't get a chance to be sorry because Harris will win and your special interests will be weighed carefully against the special interests of others, possibly against some others who haven't been weighed at all in the past but should have been.

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I would rather walk barefoot on hot coals than vote Republican.

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Why? Can you give sensible, rational reasons or just Leftist nonsense and lies?

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Read Project 2025. Trump stands for everything I oppose. He wants to "drill, baby drill" during a climate crisis. He has said he is willing to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. I will never vote for the party of big corporations, big oil, and big health insurance companies. If you have any friends or relatives who are not wealthy and also happen to be seniors or people with disabilities, think about the impacts of Project 2025 on them. Trickle down economics is a scam, and we need to reverse it all the way back to undoing the Reagan tax cuts.

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Wow, so much of what you've written is nonsense, starting with attributing "Project 2025" to Trump. That's not his. He has said so repeatedly. There is no "climate crisis." That's just a Leftist grift. The Dems are now the party of big corporations, big oil and big health insurance companies. The Reagan tax cuts HELPED this country. My God, you're so misinformed, it's tragic.

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That’s what he is saying now . Look at the authors and sponsors of P2025. Former Trump administration. Have you seen the interview in which Trump says women who have abortions should get the death penalty? Do you know what is going on in the states like Idaho , Texas ..P2025 is here. Trump is lying. He is a known habitual liar . He cares for himself . Period . End of sentence. This is not some made up liberal narrative.

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If you genuinely believe there is no climate crisis when 97% of scientists recognize there is one, we really have nothing in common and nothing to discuss.

Trump is trying to distance himself from Project 2025 because it has become a political liability. However, it was drafted by people who support him and advise him daily.

The Reagan tax cuts only helped the wealthy. They started a 40-year war against the middle class and starved critical social programs from the funds they need. Trickle down economics has always been a scam. We need to go back to the policies of the New Deal and Great Society, which reduced income inequality and produced the strongest middle class this country ever had.

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Hi Laura. From everything I have seen and read it is the Democratic Party that is more in line with the heavy hitter monied elites these days. If you doubt that all you need to do is watch the vast amount of speakers and sponsors along with Hollywood elites from the DNC. Also look at the commercials from CNN’s recent debate with Harris one of which is Pfizer. You might also recall the party that was the biggest pushers of the Covid vaccines and the drug companies whose net worth ballooned up into the billions practically overnight. Republicans are a long way from perfect but don’t you find it at least a little encouraging to see so many of the people Trump is surrounding himself with were not that long ago life long democrats (Elon Musk, RFK, Tulsi Gabbard, Nicole Shanahan, etc). This includes Trump himself who up until 2015 was also a democrat. Maybe you could open your mind a bit to allow you to compromise your Republican dislike by knowing that since the Democratic Party has moved so far from their core values that has led to so many currently aligned with Trump who are really just more moderate centralist democrats. I am still a registered democrat myself but can barely recognize my party these days so I will be pulling the lever so to speak for Trump come November 5th.

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First, my name is Laurel, not Laura. Second, the Democratic Party is a big tent that encompasses many different subgroups. I am part of the progressive wing which opposes the alliance with big corporations and "monied elites." This view is found mostly among grassroots Democrats rather than among its leadership. There are candidates who refuse money from big corporations and super PACs.

No, I don't find anything encouraging about people who were lifelong Democrats embracing Trump. Many of those peple are already super wealthy. I vote for the party that comes closest to the beliefs and policies I support. These are environmental protection, strengthening of our social safety net, repudiating trickle down economics and all that goes with it, strong labor unions, and strong anti-poverty programs. As part of the party structure, I work with others in that structure to move the party to a more populist bent toward universal healthcare and a Green New Deal. My dislike isn't for the Republican Party itself but for everything it currently stands for. I have no reason to align with Trump or vote for someone who represents the antithesis of everything I value. I am not persuadable.

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You have swallowed the left wing democratic propaganda hook line and sinker. Project 2025 is from the heritage foundation. It has some good things and some bad things. It’s 900+ pages and Trump was NOT involved.

Trump never said he would cut entitlements. His abortion policy is actually sane and middle of the road as opposed the democrats love of abortion and wanting abortion until birth.

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It has zero good things. And Social Security and Medicare are NOT entitlements; they are earned benefits.

I am a longtime activist who has come to the views I currently hold over many years and decades.

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"He has said he is willing to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid."

I was surprised to read that. My understanding is that Trump has always been opposed to any rollbacks of entitlements, and it's a big frustration for people who want to reform the system.

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When he was president, every one of his budgets included massive cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. They were never enacted by Congress, but that is not due to anything Trump did. He is already on record saying Social Security can be cut. Significantly, Social Security and Medicare are NOT entitlements. They are earned benefits. They don't need to be reformed; they need to be expanded, and the first step toward that is lifting the cap of $160,000 beyond which no one pays into the system any more.

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I am, as you say, quite old. In fact I will be 86 next month - if I make it to next month. I'm actually pretty healthy, I like to think it's due to the fact that I avoid what passes for "health" care in this country and take responsibility for my own health. I remember WW2 as a very young child in Brooklyn. I know that American corporations were very much in support of nazi Germany so I've always been more aware. I recall the want ads 60 years ago in NYC, the most Jewish city in this country "No Jews or Blacks need apply". The quotas on Jews at universities were still going strong. Now I live on Social Security and I don't feel safe. I've never voted for a Republican in my life, but I have voted for - some- Democrats. I voted for Clinton - once and Obama the same. And I regret both votes. These people don't represent anyone but themselves and the bloated and excessively rich, rich due to the callous disregard that our "representatives" have exhibited repeatedly in their votes and their lifestyle. Our system is completely broken and totally corrupt. I made a vow when I realized the truth about the banker stooge Obama that I would never again vote for a democrat and I certainly haven't changed my mind with the empty and opportunistic suit that is Harris. I believe everything we're being told, from suddenly constant "viruses" that are about to kill us unless we get a jab far more likely to be toxic, to the "climate crisis" is manufactured to benefit the megalomaniacal billionaires, corporations and bankers who seek to convert our "democracy" to a surveilled feudal state. Trump can't save us, if anything he represents a small glitch in their progress to achieving their goal. The only thing that can save us is waking up and realizing this government does not really serve anything approaching humanity/. The democrats have bastardized Title IX which was created to protect women into a weapon with which to destroy us. Very common in authoritatrian countries to silence women. I'm wondering if silencing Jewish voices is also part of the agenda. We're the traditional scapegoats - generally considered smarter than others. In a silenced authoritarian society perhaps there's no room for intelligence in those who lack money and power. I think most of what weget to know about trump are also lies. I t would also,, however, be hard for me to vote for Trump too. But there is no way in helll I would vote for Harris, not as awoman, as Jewi, or as a member of the human race who seeks its healthy continuation - in spite of our many and varied flaws.

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Nostalgia for who the Democrats once were decades ago, is a poor reason to vote for their non-liberal, authoritarian modern day version.

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Enjoy the walk don’t bitch when your feet burn, and burn they will sweetie!

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Thank you, Laurel.

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Thankfully your vote will be swamped by all the Republicans voting Democrat for the first time.

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F. Trump’s breakthrough Executive Order expanding Title VI protections to include discrimination against Jews.

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G. Ended U.S. contributions to UNRWA.

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Wow, deluded much, Mr Korn!

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Your 3B point you meant UNFIT. Might want to read over what you post BEFORE posting it. ☺️

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Aug 29Liked by Joshua Hoffman

I am a non Jew supporter of Israel and the Jewish people. I say what follows in a spirit of love, admiration and concern for the dilemma in which American Jews find themselves. You people need to get your heads out of your asses and confront the existential threat that now faces you. “That man,” whom you deride and fear is the last best hope that Jews will remain safe in an America that is plunging to depths of antisemitism that exceeds by leagues the worst nightmares of any of us. The history of his first term is revealing of the regard he bears toward Israel and the Jewish people. You reject it at your peril. I am convinced that the day is not far distant when the railroad freight cars packed with Jews and other undesirables will be making their way to the camps in this country and the Democrats and the Left (but I repeat myself) will stand and cheer. We still have time to fight this but not if Jews continue their blind allegiance to those who wish them harm. “That man” is all that stands between us and the inferno. Wake up, for God’s sake, wake up.

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Exactly.

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Thank you Tim.

Another thing to think about is if Israel is destroyed, who will protect those sites that are held sacred by those in the Christian religions

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100% correct, thank you.

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It's sad that it took October 7 and the subsequent "consequences" for liberal Jews to finally see the writing on the wall. And many still haven't. They follow Kamala like sheep and will vote for her. The telling signs began after 9/11 but became blatant with Obama. Even when Obama sent an airplane full of cash to Iran two days before he left office, the Jews still supported him. Biden continued sending money to Iran and the liberal Jews were ready to vote for him again. Even this author, admits to supporting BLM knowing the group was anti semitic. I truly don't understand this mentality. The Torah says to give to your own first. Tikkun Olam has been bastardized into a self congratulatory, virtue signaling cliche.

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Agreed. I was a lifelong Democrat who left the in 2014.

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You overslept. The GOP has been more friendly for Jews and Israel for decades. Jews thrive in a meritocracy. Successful institutions favor excellence over diversity, equity and inclusion. The Ivy League without Jews will not be the Ivy League for long. Go where you will be appreciated for what you can contribute, not where you will be measured by your identity.

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You don't have to be a Jewish liberal to be terrified by the way Dems have fanned the flames of anti-Jewish hatred. It disgusts me. I will not be voting for Harris in 2024, primarily because her administration has endangered the entire world with its appeasement of Iran. And I have voted for Dems my entire adult life.

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Same. I stopped voting blue in 2020 and unless they come to their senses I don't forsee ever returning. The party is unrecognizable.

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How I wish your article could run as an op-ed in the New York Times and other publications with a big Jewish Democrat readership. But in these times of censorship I doubt they would run your piece even if it was a full page ad (although you might want to try, with the financial assistance of some Republicans!) In any case, it's important that your message gets out there. It's too bad you must conceal your identity. You could do lot of good bringing your message to JCCs, Federations and other largely liberal Jewish organizations.

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Agree, this message needs to be spread much further and wider.

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Aug 30Liked by Joshua Hoffman

Since October 7th, I have been trying to educate, inform, cajole, and even beg every one of my Jewish friends not to vote for Harris, and no matter what they learn about how we are at an existential moment for worldwide Jewry, they will not abandon the habit of blindly supporting a political party that hasn't supported them in decades. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know!

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Same. Let me know too. Oct 7 was enough for me. The veil has lifted.

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"If anyone has any suggestions, let me know!"

Vote Trump in 2024.

Otherwise, regardless of what you do, you'll have voted for Harris.

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How could you have been doing that since Oct 7th if Harris just announced she was running for President a couple of weeks ago? Biden and Harris aren't the same person.

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"Biden and Harris aren't the same person"

Indeed: Biden has identified as a Christian Zionist from the beginning of his political career while Harris has consorted with anti-Israel groups from the beginning of hers, witness her understanding of anti-Israel mobs on college campuses.

Better Biden than Harris by a country mile. And better Trump than both of them combined.

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P-R-A-Y ! ! ! (to Yahweh)

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Were you not paying attention during Covid? The lockdowns, the demonization of people who chose not to take an experimental vaccine? The lies by Fauci and his cohorts? The mandates? The censorship by our government forcing social media companies now proven beyond any doubt? That was Biden-Harris and Tim Walz with his Covid snitch line. I’m glad you don’t want to commit suicide as a Jew, but I guess it’s too much to hope that you can see that the Democrats are destroying a hell of a lot more than us Jews/zionists, while claiming to be the people “saving democracy.” Better late than never.

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And the widespread censorship, as revealed by Elon Musk, Matt Taibbi and now Mark Zuckerberg.

A more flagrant violation of freedom of speech in the United States than during any wartime period.

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Amen.

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Ooh COVID weirdo-ness! You’re so right! I will vote for Donald so that 1M more Americans can die needlessly and senselessly!

Are you happy now Sergey?

Will Putin give you a vodka nummy and an hour off now?

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Let’s look back at Covid.

1. The government and mainstream media called the lab leak theory racist and a conspiracy theory. It’s clear now that it’s very plausible.

2. Lockdowns especially for schools were continued for a very long time in blue states. The results are kids who are way behind, depressed etc.

3. The vaccine prevents Covid’s and infection we were told by the government and the mainstream media. Anyone who said otherwise was censored. And yet, now we know the vaccine doesn’t prevent infection, just look at president Biden fully vaxxed and recently had covid.

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Aug 29Liked by Joshua Hoffman

This is nothing new for many of us Jews on the right. I’m sorry that it took the trauma of the past year for so many to see what’s been under the hood of the Democrat party for so long.

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I cannot imagine the mediocrity that will follow, if Jews are no longer well represented in science and medicine !

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No chance of that, as seen in Heather MacDonald wonderful essay below, where Venezuelan Baruj Benacerraf had a sterling undergrad record at Columbia and was rejected by every medical school. Through family connections he was able to get into the Virginia College of Medicine.

8 years later, Dr Benacerraf was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

https://www.city-journal.org/article/kidneys-dont-see-color

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Wish there were a way to upload to the Substack . It’s frightening.

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PS: the top 10 institutions for producing Nobel Prizes, as of 2016.

The first 9 are American and the 10th is Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/features/top-10-universities-producing-nobel-prizewinners-2016

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Aug 30Liked by Joshua Hoffman

Grit your teeth and vote for Trump. You'll survive and you may learn who the real friends of Israel and us are. You don't have to like the guy, I don't, but voting Democrat is, as you said, suicidal for Jews. I will also point out that anyone, Jew or not, who votes Democrat this time will bear the blood of those murdered on October 7, 2023 and since. Voting Trump will go a long way towards removing that blood from one's hands. You're not really voting for Trump when you vote for him, you're voting for yourself, your family, your future, your rights, and for Israel.

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Aug 30Liked by Joshua Hoffman

I think what many on the Left do not realize, is that if you only get your news from MSM or Left leaning social media—you have been fed a lot of lies about Tr***. For the sake of getting out of our echo chamber, it is essential that you actually listen to him speak/write in full + people who are voting for him.

LISTEN to arguments on that side. See what you think, without someone else shaping your views for you. I forced myself to do this by simply listening to people like Ben Shapiro. Do I agree with him on a bunch of stuff? No. But he is smart and I respect his arguments. I want to know why he supports Tr*** and why. It helps me understand more. That is a more extreme example, but I think it’s so important. He is a fervent defender of both Israel and Judaism.

The past 10 months have made me completely lose respect for most traditional media. I still consume it, yes. But I don’t look to it for guidance. I’ve varied my media diet to include other perspectives, and in the process feel like I have a much better grasp on MAGA, Tr***, the Left, ALL of it. A favorite for Jewish-related journalism is The Scroll here on Substack.

Lastly, a few books that have also been very enlightening + on topic for this post:

What’s Our Problem?: A Self Help Book for Societies by Tim Urban

Woke Antisemitism by David Bernstein

Why Good People Are Divided By Faith and Politics by Jonathan Haidt.

PS. I listened to RFKjrs speech in full. Thought he made some good points about the authoritarian turn of the Democratic Party. Liked what he said about kids’ health. Would have never listened to it a year ago. Oct. 7 truly changed everything…

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Yes! About health issues in America and our food supply he is right on the money. And about Israel. Not sure about the anti- Vax stuff yet (didn't see the science here) and I'm no isolationist but he'd be far and away preferable to the anointed Queen Kamala and her marketing department, the f***tard MSM.

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Totally, it’s not about agreeing with everything he says, but listening to find common ground. We desperately need to build coalitions. Then I file stuff away in my head as something I want to look into further, from a variety of sources.

I wish we could take all the best knowledge/ideas from the Left/Right and put them together. But instead we are all locked in echo chambers discussions different things. That weakens our entire country, and it just makes me so sad. 🙏🏼

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Sorry for all the typos!

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Woke Antisemitism is an important book. Written by a liberal Democrat and former CEO of the leftist JCPA.

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Just started reading it, and it’s clarifying and pulling together many ideas. It’s excellent, and is what is changing my mind on whom I’m voting for. It’s painful to consider Trump because I worry about our rights. But Harris's anti Israel appointments indicate she has no interest in protecting Jews or Israel. Excellent article, thank you.

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Ok Sergey:

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Seek help.

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Aug 30Liked by Joshua Hoffman

The Democratic Party under Obama’s control has marginalized the American Jewish community. Do not be fooled by anyone who talks about the absence of riots and the party platform because as George Schultz noted snd as as you mentioned personnel make policy .This is a completely Corbinized party built on identity politics and whose base is increasingly hostile to Israel and traditional moral and American values

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Aug 30Liked by Joshua Hoffman

Your essay was validating for me, and also depressingly grim. As a lifelong Dem, no way in Hell I’m voting for Harris. By Oct 26, 2023, I knew I had been asleep and officially left the party. Thank you for writing this piece. Sickening to think about why you are publishing it anonymously. Know that many of us are in your position. It feels like trying on a completely different body & mind, extremely uncomfortable, but change is necessary.

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I keep reading multiple accounts of people (many of them Jewish, but not exclusively) who say that they have never voted Republican in their lives and are open to Trump this time around. I'm not that person, but I'm trying to understand the psychology behind it and if it will have a major effect on the results of the upcoming election.

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I'm trying to understand the psychology of Jews who are still going to vote democrat in spite of everything we have witnessed the last 10 months.

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This post explained quite well the psychology behind it. What didn’t you understand?

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It would worry me, but I’m not convinced they are real American Jews. They are spewing Kremlin propaganda.

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Is the writer of this article a Kremlin troll too?

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Hard to say since the big Russian wimp was too scared to use his real Russian name.

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Just put tin foil over all your windows and you’ll be protected from the Russian invasion, Ruth.

See? All better.

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Thick as the proverbial brick.

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Sep 2·edited Sep 2

Dumber than a box of rocks, and not even the smart kind of rocks. (in reference to Ruth, not you)

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Are we back to 2017? Was the Hunter Biden laptop Russian propaganda? That’s funny because the Biden Justice department used it as evidence in his trial.

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Are you seriously incapable of understanding that most people are not eager to vote for candidates who literally support their destruction? I suggest you look up "Maher Bitar" -- Biden's NSC intel director. Seriously -- I'm not voting for my would-be murderer, and you are pretty brazen to ask that.

Also, I'm an American Jew, Democrat most of my life, 3d party voter more recently, but I'm totally voting for Trump this year.

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Thank you for verbalizing my thoughts. The Obama Biden funding of Iran killed it for me. I can’t vote for trump. He lies. I can’t vote democrat, they are two faced liars. I’m glad my seat is a flotation device.

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Who is the politician that doesn’t lie? They all lie. Trump’s lies are mostly self aggrandizing. Vote for the policies.

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I'm assuming Cyrus the Great lied too, as no one power hungry goes unscathed, but lesser of two evils for me.

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Biden/ Harris/ Obama/ Dems lie even more but they embrace you as they stab you in the back. They are like psychopaths who appear normal on the surface but are extremely dangerous!

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Let us not forget the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Iran wants to kill Trump. End of story.

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My sentiments exactly

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