Next month’s special election to replace the disgraced Anthony Weiner in New York’s 9th congressional district is being viewed in some quarters as a referendum on President Obama’s attitude toward Israel. Former New York Mayor Ed Koch has called on the district’s voters to back Republican Robert Turner in the race so as to send a message to Obama to back off on his pressure on the Jewish state. In response, the Democratic candidate David Weprin has sought to make it clear he wants no part of Obama, even going so far as to say he hasn’t decided whether to endorse him.
It’s not clear if any of this will make enough of a difference for the 29 percent of the district’s voters who are Jewish. But it turns out Israel may not be Weprin’s biggest problem with that important slice of the electorate. Instead, it may be his vote in the New York state legislature in favor of gay marriage that could prove to be his heaviest burden.
According to City Hall News, Weprin is being flayed in the Orthodox community not just for his affirmative vote on gay marriage but also for comparing the measure to intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews or between citizens of different races. In a June 15 speech in the State Assembly, Weprin noted as an Orthodox Jew, he was not in favor of intermarriage and his own rabbi would not perform one, but this didn’t mean his religious beliefs should be the law of the land.
“My religion is very important to me personally, but this is not a religious issue. I think everyone here would agree that we should not be outlawing marriages between Jews and non-Jews or interracial marriages.”
Weprin’s decision to invoke Judaism in this manner is not going down well, especially among Orthodox Jews. While it might be argued this group is more likely to vote Republican than other Jews anyway, it creates yet another problem for Democrats who are worried about a backlash against their party’s leader.
The 9th is considered a competitive district for Republicans in deep-blue New York City. Yet, while Turner’s 39 percent of the vote in 2010 against Weiner was considered a good showing, it will take more than disgust over their former representative’s shameful exit from politics to give the GOP the extra 11 percent they need to get to a majority.
That gives Weprin, the well-respected scion of a local political dynasty, a fair margin of error in the coming vote. If Democrats are able to make the race turn on traditional party loyalties or on the average New Yorker’s distaste for Republicans, Weprin should have no trouble holding onto the seat. But if this race is about Obama and Israel or even about Weprin’s own stand on gay marriage, with motivated voters turning out to send a message in a low-turnout special election, that increases the GOP’s chances for an upset.
