As the Turner- Weprin house race finally comes to a conclusion at 9:00 pm tonight, the voters of the 9th CD have a historic opportunity to pull off a Scott Brown type victory with significant local and national implications.

It is obvious even to the casual observer that the Turner campaign has galvanized the Frum community in a way we haven’t seen in a long time. Simultaneously, it appears, David Weprin has struggled to receive any meaningful religious support, going as far as Israel to get a strange endorsement from a Deputy Jerusalem mayor for lack of any meaningful local support. That in itself is telling.

While “Citizen Candidate” Bob Turner has successfully attracted the overwhelming grassroots support of Orthodox voters, David Weprin has surprisingly continued to stick with the Democratic true and tried  approach of tax and spend. In this late hour, it is obvious, Orthodox voters have clearly not responded to him or his message, leaving him scrambling to court the only constituency that still responds to a leftist liberal agenda, Obama Democrats.

It is no secret that David Weprin is a career politician. In the past he has run for a number of positions including, City Comptroller, City Council and his current job as State Assemblyman. History tells us, should he lose to Bob Turner, he will probably run for something else. Either way he immediately goes back to his comfortable and safe Assembly seat. Maybe his heart wasn’t really in it after all?

The real question voters might ask themselves as they go to the polls today, while Mr. Weprin has been in various government positions for many years, how effective has he been, and does he deserve a promotion to Congress? The important point is, you can fool some of the people some of the time but right now, the voters of the ninth district don’t want to be any body’s fool. They need and deserve real change. Voting for Weprin represents an endorsement of the Obama agenda. Lots of talk but little action.

Experienced pro- Israel voters fear that the Democratic Weprin will continue to toe the party line and bow to the Obama Administration as his Democratic colleagues have been forced to do. With heavy pressure currently facing Israel from Turkey, Egypt, Syria and across the Middle East, many Democratic pro-Israel supporters in Congress like Representatives: Ackerman, Engel, Hoyer, Nadler, Rothman and yes even Senator Charles Schumer have been silent when it has mattered most. With all of our “good friends”, it still has not been enough to protect Israel from President Obama’s skewed vision for the Middle East.

Ask yourself; were those congressional members able to prevent the President from pushing Israel into a corner in his now infamous ’67 border speech? Were they able to prevent the very damaging Gaza flotilla and diplomatic fallout that continues to isolate Israel, even today? The case has to be made that the Democrats, no matter how well- intentioned, have failed to get the President off Israel’s back. Another Democrat, even a friend like David Weprin won’t change that.

Enter Ed Koch. Despite causing the Democratic Party all sorts of agita, a vintage and independent Ed Koch got it right when he was the first to endorse Bob Turner as a means to make a referendum on the Obama Administration’s policy towards Israel. Despite Democrats throwing Mayor Koch under the bus for having the Chutzpah to actually speak the truth, nobody has yet to convince us that Mr. Koch was wrong. In fact, the polls confirm that the voters feel that Koch is right. To the chagrin of his party, Koch has become a powerful force against Obama’s misguided Israel doctrine and he not Obama has the voter’s ear.

It is clearly evident; Israel does not have a friend in this White House. How can voters believe that David Weprin will have any meaningful impact on Administration Israel policy when he unabashedly embraces the very idea of an Obama second term without preconditions? The answer is they can’t. And that’s why pro- Israel voters have turned away from Mr. Weprin in droves. The polls confirm that for many, David Weprin’s waffling and now personal pledge of support for the Obama 2012 reelection bid is all they needed to know about David Weprin.

On issues closer to home, Turner’s unwavering position on family values are in line with many of the proud hard working men and women of the district including the sizable orthodox community. And unlike Mr. Weprin, Turner honestly believes in the institution of marriage as one between a man and woman. Despite the unending explanations, clarifications and double speak of Weprin, the bottom line is he betrayed his community and his constituents and “proudly” voted for the same gender marriage bill as an “Orthodox Jew.” Not truly realizing his community’s outrage even today, Weprin flip-flopped on his reason for voting, convincing himself and his team that they could move on from the issue if only they stayed on a civil rights message. Amazingly, he still fails to understand the feelings many still harbor by his ill- advised vote and his shallow defense for ever casting it.

With all of his expert advisors and handlers apparently nobody sat down the esteemed Assemblyman and explained the seriousness of this issue to him. Allow me. Dear David, nothing personal but you cannot campaign for political office as an Orthodox Jew in openly Orthodox neighborhoods while imploring the same Orthodox electorate to ignore your anti- torah liberal positions. You simply can’t have it both ways. As numerous Roshai Yeshivos, Rabbonim, Admorim, community leaders, blog posters and your colleague Dov Hikind have repeatedly said, your inability to realize the magnitude of your vote and the error of your ways disqualifies you from representing our community in Congress. There I said it.

Turner has been endorsed by experienced leaders including former Mayor’s Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani, two men who know a thing or two about leading New Yorkers through tough times. He was also been endorsed by Homeland Security committee chairman Peter King, former Governor George Pataki and Assemblyman Dov Hikind. Mr. Weprin has been endorsed by the entire Democratic Party Politburo including President Obama, Gov. Cuomo, Senator Schumer, Speaker Shelly Silver and Christine Quinn. I ask you the voters to decide where each of you stand and with whom.

Turner has convinced us that he gets it. Weprin has waffled on every question and issue.

Our community places a high premium on support for yeshiva education assistance. Turner says he will be an advocate for desperately needed yeshiva tuition relief. Democrat Weprin was endorsed by the Teachers unions. Case closed.

Which leads us to the most important question facing the voters today, do you want a career politician, appointed by the party bosses as a place holder for your interests, or a new face beholdened to nobody and prepared to do battle with the political establishment in Washington? The answer is clear. Send Bob Turner to Congress.

From Israel and defense of marriage, to speaking the hard truths about Social Security, Medicare and the economy, Turner has a been a welcome and needed voice of reason while Weprin stubbornly sticks to tired talking points. By choosing Republican Bob Turner over David Weprin voters have an opportunity to shock the political establishment of Obama, Pelosi and Reid and force Democrats to abandon the President’s liberal agenda.

Finally, the NY Daily News in endorsing Bob Turner took the unprecedented step of pointing out the large Orthodox Jewish community in the ninth Congressional District. It appears that the eyes of the political world and the media are  carefully watching the voting numbers of the Orthodox community. It is national news. In this election maybe more than any other in history, Orthodox Jewish voters have a voice and a platform to make our case to leaders of the land. For the Kovod of Hashem, the safety and security of Israel and for ourselves, let’s show the world something special. Cast your vote for Bob Turner.

Jason Nussbaum – Queens, NY

NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of YWN.

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