Joe emails: The municipal elections are probably a very important message for the LA Jewish Political Elite. The day is coming that Jewish politicians who are hacks and in lousy districts will simply not get elected.
The bad news is that Jack Weiss, who got elected due to his last name and the kind of money it generated and the votes it could get him, lost. Now, truth be told, Jack Weiss is an awful human being. He is a sore winner and was deeply unpopular and it was not for lack of effort on his part. He is a spoiled brat, teacher’s pet, jerk, all rolled into one. But, as they say, he was good for the Jews, to a degree – he helped out but did not risk much. Turns out that that will not cut it anymore. The Jewish developer/lawyer/entertainer power elite and the city machine that it bribes simply cannot count on the voters it once had. There are less liberal Jews who will vote knee-jerk Jewish. Scummy politicians like Weiss cannot count on the automatic voting reflexes that got Yaroslavsky and Feuer into office. There are not enough Jews and even the Jews are realizing that lousy politicians do the tribe no honor.
The good news is that Paul Koretz, a total hack if there ever was one and a more out of touch politician could not be gotten from central casting, won over David Vahedi, who was running his second time and ran a decent campaign, his main weakness being a lack of a jewish mother. Now, Vahedi looks like Fred Munster, but Koretz looks worse. Plus, Koretz is the total package of leftist claptrap (moving to impeach George W. Bush while in Sacramento?) and just general sucking up to the unions. But, the fact is, that in a jewish district, the goy stands almost no chance.
By way of background, Zev Yaroslavsky drew up the 5th district by literally drawing large circles around the 15 largest synagogues in Los Angeles and then connecting those circles however he could. The 5th district contains Shaarey Zedek, a Valley Orthodox shul that consists largely of piltdown men who would not know about global warming because their black hats are on too tight, Temple Beth Am, a Conservative synagogue on the westside that is so politically correct they alternate the colors of the toilet paper in the bathroom, Young Israel of Century City, a Westside Orthodox shul that has a weekly bulletin with more Jewish content than some sections of the Talmud, and Temple Sinai, a Conservative Congregation that is so rich that its Rabbi can make statements that nothing happened at Mount Sinai and still pull down 300k plus. These places have nothing in common other than the prevalence of the last name goldman in each. With a district mapped like that, a Jew will win until the rapture cometh.
Why is this all important? Well, as of now, the Los Angeles area sends four Jews to the House of Representatives. Not all four of them will be in DC in 2012, because the new census will result in Latinos wanting more seats, and this will come at the expense of safe Jewish districts.
In order of safety, they prospects are:
Waxman – totally safe – he is actually the absolute worst out of touch human being ever, but with more power than Darth Vader and the good fortune of being in a district totally gerrymandered for the jewish vote.
Schiff – safe as he has the gift of being a crafty politician and a blue dog democrat in a moderate area in which the republicans will never win again. However, there is no unified minority in his district that would push him out.
Sherman – a non-hack politician, and the potential to be a great Secretary of the Treasury when Geithner resigns sometime later this year. He has created lots of good will in his district, which should remain white for at least the next decade.
Berman – not out of touch like his political cousin Waxman, but unfortunately in a district where Latinos are like the humidity – they are everywhere, and for some reason, unable to penetrate the liberal power structure in D.C. – mainly because he is principled – he was for the Iraq war and has not bought on to the Obama peace train.
I think Berman will have to retire after 2010 in favor of a luminary from the Latino community in the mold of a Loretta Sanchez, etc. The only hope for his district is a ten year reprieve, but the Latinos will demand more house seats and it will not be Maxine Waters who will be forced out.
