A reason to vote Republican

If Democrats were in power now, and were responsive to their voters, the United States would distance itself from Israel.

56% of Democrats think the US should take a more neutral posture in Arab-Israeli affairs or align itself more with Arab countries. Compare that with the 64% of Republicans who think the US should continue to align itself with Israel.

Similarly, in the current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, only 29% of Democrats think Israel has acted properly, compared with 64% of Republicans.

Michael Barone analyzes the data in his blog:

Let that sink in: A majority, 56 percent, of Democrats think Israel did not act properly, while an even bigger majority, 64 percent, of Republicans think Israel did act properly. That's a pretty sharp difference....

Left-wing anti-Israel sentiment is not confined to a few odd corners of the academic world; it has become a mass constituency in the Democratic Party. Nor is the view that the Palestinians and Hezbollah are virtuous and deprived Third World victims while Israel is a First World oppressor limited to old media (see CNN, BBC, large parts of the New York Times, etc., etc.). It's also the view of a mass constituency in the Democratic Party.

Hat tip: Power Line's Scott Johnson, who notes that Barone and others are drawing parallels to 1930s Europe.