The Great Schlep: Jewish Grandkids Flying to Florida to Talk Their Bubbes into Voting for Obama

Twenty-four hours ago, "The Great Schlep" was launched to inspire an exodus of hundreds of Jewish grandkids to travel south on Columbus Day weekend, descending on the Fort Lauderdale area to visit their grandparents. There, they will not only be floating in pools and having desserts forced upon them, but organizing political "salons" in condos overlooking the golf course. The Great Schlep is an initiative of JewsVote.org, the web platform of the Jewish Council for Education and Research, a new political action committee that supports Obama (http://thegreatschlep.com/site/index.html).

The comedian Sarah Silverman, who often performs her act as a Jewish-American princess, is the spokesperson for The Great Schlep. She asks on a video, which has been widely circulated on the Internet: "If you knew that visiting your grandparents would change the world, would you do it?" She continues, her brown eyes wide, "If Barack Obama doesn't become the next president of the United States, I'm going to blame the Jews."

As the group's website states, "The Great Schlep aims to have Jewish grandchildren visit their grandparents in Florida, educate them about Obama, and therefore swing the crucial Florida vote in his favor. Don't have grandparents in Florida? Not Jewish? No problem! You can still become a schlepper and make change happen in 2008, simply by talking to your relatives about Obama."

Sitting on a couch next to her Nana in a pink jogging suit, Silverman coaches young "schleppers" on how to swing their elder relatives to vote for Obama. For those uneasy about Obama's background, she suggests, "Explain to them that we're all the same inside." Silverman weighs the striking similarities between African Americans and older, Floridian Jews, pointing out that both sport nylon tracksuits, enjoy cruising in their Caddys, and rocking their "bling and jewelry and stuff."

Silverman explains that although Barack Hussein Obama's name may sound Muslim, he is not -- and Jews should, of all people, understand bias. In earnest she offers, "Barack is a Hebrew word. It means lightning, I'd much rather have a president whose name means lightning than a president named John whose name means toilet." Potty talk is another favorite topic of conversation in Florida, after shrimp cocktail.

Plus, as Sarah says, Barack Obama's foreign policy is much more stabilizing than John McCain's and much better for Israel. He wants to protect Social Security. "His brisket is beyond," she says, "beyond." She points out that he's circumcised and suggests that grandkids maintain their position, and if necessary, threaten not to visit for the rest of the year if Grandpappy votes for McCain.

"The most important political office is that of private citizen," is the quote from Justice Louis D. Brandeis appearing at the bottom of each e-mail sent out by Great Schlep organizer Ari Wallach, who is 33. He and co-founder Mik Moore, 35, came up with the idea over breakfast, in a heated debate, while sitting in the garden of Wallach's brownstone apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Wallach said that The Great Schlep has "activated the grandchildren," thousands of young people across the country and on college campuses, to "infiltrate" their grandparents' Florida scene -- including, but not limited to, the beauty parlor, Hadassah groups, Mah Jong and bingo games.

As outlined on JewsVote.org, "In presidential elections, when choosing between a more progressive candidate and a more conservative candidate, Jews overwhelmingly choose the more progressive candidate. Between 1924 and 2004, Jews have given their vote to the more progressive candidates at an average rate of 76 percent. In fact, none of the more conservative candidates have ever mustered more than 40 percent of the Jewish vote, while more than half received less than 20 percent.

"Given this history, why is Barack Obama hovering at 60 percent of the Jewish vote, according to three separate polls? Is this all the product of a highly effective rumor campaign, spread through Jewish networks often by well-meaning individuals concerned that the information they received was true? Or is there something more?"

In an interview with the Washington Post, Moore was described as saying that he was alarmed by the large percentage of undecided Jewish voters, since a majority consider themselves Democrats. The article also sited aggregated results from the Gallup Daily tracking poll that found those Jewish voters who have decided on a candidate break heavily for Obama, 66 percent to 26 percent for John McCain.

Older Floridian Jews make up about 5 percent of the voters in a swing state with 27 Electoral College votes. When a cartoon of the crucial state of Florida appears on screen behind Sarah, it looks like a flaccid penis.

Great Schlep has a Facebook group that provides instructions on what to do and say to "schlep" to campaign for Obama in Florida. The group is also helping to coordinate efforts in Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. "Over the next few days and weeks we will be providing you everything you need to hold your own vis-a-vis sometime-republican Uncle Haim at the Rosh Hashonah table, Grandpa Jesse who isn't sure about this Maybe-a-Muslim Obama guy and even your un-sure mom...yes, the one who still wears her Mondale t-shirt when she gardens..." the Facebook profile states.

It continues, "And if you have the inclination and 'ability' -- join us as we Schlep to Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and beyond to talk, bingo and bagel for Obama over Columbus Day weekend. See your intended Schlep city below to the right? Sign up and meet others Schlepping. From those Event pages, coordinate on rides, flights, couch-surfing, shabbat dinners, bridge tournaments etc."

I, for one, think it can work after spending a lot of time in Florida with my honorary Jewish grandmother Florence, the 93-year-old subject of my book, The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal, about my discovery of Florence's diary, kept in New York in the 1930s, which I recovered from a dumpster, then tracked down its owner with the help of a private investigator. "Thank you for getting me out of the ghetto of old age," said Florence at the book party, wearing her bling.

In the book's forward, Florence wrote, "At ninety, having survived a car crash and E. coli, I was living what can only be called a bland life. Mobility was low -- no golf, no tennis, no long walks -- but curiosity about people and politics was high. And there were such activities as playing scales on the piano, playing bridge, reading, and agonizing with friends over America's current quagmire."

That was Florence and her friends in Florida under Bush -- truly, at times not so different from hipsters playing shuffleboard except that they've had a few hips replaced.

Now McBush? Florence is getting to work. A feminist since before she knew the word (she was born in 1915), she thinks the Republican Party's pick of Sarah Palin as vice presidential candidate an insult to all women. She is constantly forwarding anti-Palin emails to her friends, in case they need to be persuaded not to write in Hilary Clinton, like the ladies in the women's assertiveness group Florence started leading in her condo complex in the 1970s (they talked about politics, relationships, sexism, etc.), who still love Hil in her pantsuits and all her scrappy glory.

At 93, Florence is ready to get out and help. Florence emailed me in response to The Great Schlep, which she will be emailing to friends for their "political education":

Very amusing plea for Obama - it's good that I don't know any grandparent or lesser relative who should be persuaded - for anyone else, what are grandparents for? Hope this causes lots of people to rethink their McCain weakness. Love, F

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

Lily Koppel, Florence Wolfson, and The Red Leather Diary, hanging above them is a portrait of Florence by her best friend, Eda Mann, the mother of Erica Jong.

Comments

[mccainmakesberries]

Sounds like a great idea.

http://tinyurl.com/4na3vz

[savannahdem]

I'm 53. My parents, thank G-d, are still here, at 87 and 86, back home in Miami. To my knowledge, they've never voted Republican. Dad even voted for McGovern in 72 when I thought he was going to vote for Nixon. He served with distinction in combat as a Navy destroyer officer with FDR as his Commander-in-Chief. He and I are both members of the Jewish War Veterans of the US (I served as an Army officer in peacetime after college in the late 70s). Rather than vote for Obama or McCain, Dad told me awhile ago he wasn't going to vote for President, just for Dems in Congress and Senate to counter-balance what he thought would be a McCain presidency.

I don't know if it's because of Palin, or perhaps because his 24 year old grandson (my son), a college grad, has been out of work since Feb 1st, but he told me yesterday he's voting for Obama. That he could not stomach another 4 years of Bush's economic policies. I guess my unemployed son doesn't have to do the "schlepp" after all. And neither does my other son, a 20 year old college junior.

[AnalyzeIT]

Kudos!!

Papa and Nana deserve extra special hugs.

OBAMA-BIDEN

[KarlaElisa]

This chick just tickles the crap out of me. GO SARAH!

[barkanomics]

Last night I saw an excellent show on the History Channel about the Ku Klux Klan. Not only has the Klan gone after blacks, gays, Catholics, they've gone after Jews. In fact in some of their hate-filled speeches, "N-word and Jews" is spewed in one breath. When Palin talks about "Americans like us," what does she mean? Jewish people, use your vote carefully.

[Trogenhorse]

This is the REAL test! Is Lee Atwater really dead? Will division continue to lead this country (even over a cliff) or will we re-claim our independence and work as one nation?

[TheGeicoCaveman]

***Watch how McCain and Cindy lie about not going negative ***

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60k9IZ1LRC0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZf05ijVFtc&feature=related

http://mudflats.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/palin-2006-vetting.pdf

[mamacat]

We went to a Bat Mitzvah last week, and we couldn't find a single person who would admit to voting Republican. I am beginning to wonder if all the hype about older Jews not trusting an African-American Liberal isn't just that - hype.

[Truth789]

Oy I joined the Great Schlep....and even ordered the T-Shirt...I'll try to convince my Grandma who wanted Clinton to vote for Obama....