The Complete 2009 Senate And Congress GOP Jewish Member Class Photo

Here it is. The entire 2009 Senate and Congress Jewish member class photo...... sole member Eric Cantor. But more seriously, since the departure of Senator Arlen Specter back to the Democratic Party, there is now but one sole Jewish member of Congress, proving weakness among this important group of voters as well for the GOP.

In critical states such as Florida, New York and California, about 77% of Jewish voters also voted for Obama as well, further sealing the defeat of GOP candidate John McCain. And with increased immigration of Jews or other voter groups into states like Florida or Arizona, the GOP grip on some important states in the electoral college for future elections becomes greatly clouded. Increased Hispanic numbers in some states have also ruined GOP electoral chances as well. The Democrats have found ways to expand their voter pool just at a time when the GOP has managed to find ways to shrink their own pool of potential voters.

The fact of the matter is that GOP has managed to become largely a White Protestant party, with little appeal to many critical groups of voters including Jews, African Americans, Asians, Hispanics. Even GOP gains among Catholic voters appear to be rolling back towards the Democrats as well, leaving the GOP little mathematical way back to power.

The drift to right among the GOP, coupled with the increased power of religious conservatives in the party are painting the party closer to becoming an irrelevant religious party in American politics and making the United States closer to a one party system, where the Democratic Party becomes a large tent for various types of Democrats to gather together to win elections by putting together a winning majority of voters regardless of ethnic, political or religious differences.

The fact of the matter is that Democrats such as President Obama still inspire far more trust among Jewish voters in dealing with Israel or with social issues far more than the GOP has ever been able to chip into. Further, the GOP has never even had a Roman Catholic nominee, let alone a Jew or an African American, all have been White Protestants. How long a political party comprised of largely just White religious oriented Protestants can still be considered to a major American political party is a good question. But in many countries such as even Israel, religious parties become minor parties compared to larger appeal of the bigger more secular political parties.

In a recent USA TODAY feature, Senator Arlen Specter told of how his parents were immigrants to American and were pleased to be FDR Democrats, and how he was a JFK Democrat as a young man, but drifted for a number of years towards the GOP. But now with the current pseudo-ethnic cleansing taking place in the GOP, many GOP converts among ethnic voters and other groups feel less welcome and are drifting back towards a Democratic Party alliance once again.

Unfortunately, the departure of Arlen Specter within the GOP ranks wasn't viewed as a case for concern or panic, much as a canary in a coalmine indicates trouble, but was rather welcomed among many in the GOP instead. This type of hardening of hearts only indicates how the GOP is quickly collapsing into a smaller religious party comprised mainly of conservative White Protestants. In a nation of over 300 million Americans, with over 100 million non-White for the first time in history, and further splits among religious voters with Jews and Catholics falling back into their largely historically Democratic voting trends, the GOP really has little room to grow their party or hopes to win most future elections.