the only way I know how to
be. And the people said yes."
Mr. Levin also thanked his
opponent, Bill Schuette, for
the gracious phone call and
concession speech.
It was about 8:55 p.m. that
Mr. Schuette offered that
concession speech before a
small, under-100 person
crowd at the Livonia Mar-
riott, where just months
before — to Big Band tunes
of a live band — a confident
Mr. Schuette told supporters
he would win the contest.

This time, there was no
band. And although Mr.
Schuette smiled, the general
mood was somewhat somber.
As the crowd chanted
"Schuette", "Bill, Bill, Bill,"
and "Let's go, Bill," Mr.
Schuette gracefully conced-
ed.

"I wish him well. We all
wish him well," Mr.
Schuette said. "Carl, you
ran a very competitive cam-
paign."

❑

Photo by Glenn Tries

more optimistic T-shirts
printed especially for the oc-
casion, stating "Hey Mr. Bill"
on the front and "It's Ham-
mer time!! Levin '90. Levin 3
Peat" on the back.
The party was very festive
and loud. Balloons were
popping and the crowd was
shouting.
Yet Steve Victor and
Richard Sloan found some
relief on a terrace outside
the party, where they could
listen to each other talk.
Making the party rounds
were Mr. Levin's in-laws,
Ben and Esther Halpern and
the rest of the Levin clan, in-
cluding his wife and
daughters; brother, Sander
Levin, who easily secured
his U.S. Congressional seat;
and cousin, Supreme Court
Judge Charles Levin.
"The people of Michigan
have given me this victory,"
the candidate told a cheering
crowd during his victory
speech. "I said I would be
honest with the people. It is

Denise Alexander is comforted by her family.

Jewish Voters
Back To Dems?

KIMBERLY LIFTON

Staff Writer

D

espite recent projec-
tions that Jews are
moving to the polit-
ical right wing, the Jewish
voter will return to the
Democratic Party in the
coming years, pollster Louis
Harris said this week.

Mr. Harris, in Detroit on
Monday to predict nation-
wide election results for the
Economic Club, also sug-
gested that Jews — still
comprising 2 percent of the
electorate — will continue to
be a pivotal political force.
Historically, the national
Jewish vote has gone to the
Democrats. Results from the
1988 presidential election

Lou Harris: Jews are returning to the Democrats.

show that Jews voted Dem-
ocratic by a landslide, giving
70 percent of their votes to
Massachusetts Gov. Michael
Dukakis.
Locally, the Bush camp
defeated the Dukakis camp
in several of the northwest
suburbs — primarily in
Farmington Hills, West
Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills
and Bloomfield Township —
where many Jewish families
reside. Jewish areas of Oak
Park, Huntington Woods
and Southfield followed na-
tional voting patterns in
supporting Mr. Dukakis in
1988.
"For 14 of the last 18
years, the Republicans have
controlled the White House
and the Democrats the Con-
gress," said Mr. Harris, a
pollster who has been called
the dean of America's public
opinion analysts. "Nowhere
else in the free world has
any major nation such a
division of power. It obvious-
ly arises from our system of
checks and balances. For a
generation now, both parties
have been seeking ways to
once more consolidate com-
plete control of the federal
establishment.
"However, since 1980, the
Republicans have been pois-
ed to break through and con-
trol Washington," Mr.
Harris said. "The 1990 elec-
tion might be a landmark
election. It might well end

the high hopes of the Repub-
licans to gain control any
time soon of the entire fed-
eral establishment."
Mr. Harris said the
Democrats could make a
comeback in the next
decade.
While Jewish Democratic
activists agree with Mr.
Harris that Jews will favor
more liberal allegiances,
Republicans say their party
still is attracting more of the
young, professional Jewish
voters moving out to the nor-
thwest suburbs.
"Lou Harris is wrong bas-
ed on what I see in Oakland
County," said Oakland
County Republican chair
Jim Alexander. "We have
been seeing young, Jewish
professionals moving into
the Republican column be-
cause of our stands on econ-
omic issues.
"Just because of a little
blip on the radar screen,
people will not leave the par-
ty in droves," Mr. Alexander
said. "I don't agree with all
the president has done, but
that doesn't mean I won't
support him again."
Democrat Leon Cohan, a
former assistant attorney
general to Frank Kelley and
former president of the Jew-
ish Community Council,
said it is about time Ameri-
can Jews go back to tradi-
tional roots.
"It is time to say, 'Come

home American Jews to your
traditional place,' " Mr.
Cohan said. "Despite all of
the quirks, twists and turns
of the past decades, the basic
Democratic issues —
fairness and equality issues
— have moved Jews over the
years."
"My guess is, since it ap-
pears that the Cold War is
over, the political agenda is
going to favor the Democrats
in terms of issues the public
perceives us to be best on,"
said Larry Deitch, treasurer
for the Michigan Democratic
Party. "These issues are ed-
ucation, individual rights
and the whole range of social
programs, including care for
the elderly.
"The Democrats have been
able to fashion a message
that speaks to the middle
class," Mr. Deitch said. "The
Democratic Party has been
our natural home, but there
has been a perception that
we are not strong on defense
and not pro-business. That
perception is changing."
Al Holtz, the finance direc-
tor for the Oakland County
Democratic Party, said Jews
have tended to vote more
Republican as they've mov-
ed out of northwest Detroit
into the suburbs. But, he
said, the trend is reversing.
"Jewish people are beginn-
ing to become comfortable
with their Democratic
roots," Mr. Holtz said. ❑

TyG ncTiarliT

ICIA/10_U Kir ► nin