Making The Great Schlep for Obama

By Jeralyn, Section Elections 2008
Posted on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 11:31:05 AM EST
Tags: Barack Obama, 2008 (all tags)

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The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

Comedian Sarah Silverman has a new video, The Great Schlep, urging young Jewish voters to go to Florida and convince their grandparents to vote for Sen. Barack Obama. (Viewer discretion advised for profanity.)

The Great Schlep's website has these talking points contrasting Obama and Biden with McCain and Palin. Topics oovered: [More...]

* Biography
* Foreign Affairs
* Barack ♥ Israel and so do you.
* Patriotism
* He’s Black! Let’s talk about it!
* Social Security
* Taxes
* Women

I hope there's a similar program for the kids of Cuban Americans who, in Florida, tend to be conservative and Republican.

I continue to believe the election will be decided by Florida and Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, rather than Colorado and the West.

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Making The Great Schlep for Obama | 38 comments (38 topical)

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I thought it was funny (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by Steve M on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 11:59:37 AM EST

and usually I find her quite annoying.

Is it because the target of her insults, (none / 0) (#14)
by tootired on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 12:29:47 PM EST

elderly Jewish people, is OK to make fun of? Maybe other times she has insulted people that are not OK with you? I'm just asking. Although I'm a grandparent, I'm not either Jewish or elderly, but I found her characterization of her grandparents to be disrespectful. I assume her target audience is the grandchildren since I don't think she'd win any senior citizen votes by making fun of their track suits.


Yeah (5.00 / 2) (#22)
by Steve M on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 01:11:59 PM EST

That might be it.

Q: How many Jewish grandmothers does it take to change a light bulb?
A. None. "Oh, I don't mind the dark, no need to worry about me!"

Hope you didn't find that joke too disrespectful. For what it's worth, my Jewish grandmother liked it.


Does she really think it's funny, (none / 0) (#23)
by tootired on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 01:37:48 PM EST

or does she just love you too much to tell you that she thinks you're a jerk for making fun of her like that?


She doesn't love me that much (5.00 / 6) (#24)
by Steve M on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 02:02:02 PM EST

so it must be the former.

Jewish people in general have a well-developed ability to laugh at themselves. You sound like you could stand to learn something from us.


: Steve M (none / 0) (#37)
by cal1942 on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 09:08:05 PM EST

wish I could have given you 20 5s.

Her target (none / 0) (#15)
by CST on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 12:42:57 PM EST

is ALWAYS Jewish. Her whole spiel is being the stereotypical "Jewish American Princess". So I doubt Steve M liked it this time b/c the target was Jewish, and not all the other times when the target was Jewish.

Yes, I think it's pretty clear that her target audience is the grandchildren. I don't know too many grandparents who watch Comedy Central.

It's fine if you find her offensive, she is offensive and disrespectful, that's her thing. But don't insinuate Steve M has a problem with Jews or the elderly b/c he liked this skit better than the others.


I wasn't. (none / 0) (#19)
by tootired on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 12:57:18 PM EST

I was asking why he found her annoying before. Maybe he doesn't find her offensive this time because she's working for a cause he believes in. I really wanted to know. No accusations were intended. I just find it interesting why somethings bother us sometimes and not others. I think Matt Damon made a complete a$$ of himself with his Sarah Palin video, but at other times I find him entertaining. However, knowing how fast and loose he played with the facts on Palin, I'll be more careful not to assume that anything he says has any merit in the future.


: I thought Damon (5.00 / 1) (#36)
by Jeralyn on Sat Oct 04, 2008 at 02:05:03 AM EST

was spot on and his interview was great.

maybe you have to have (none / 0) (#28)
by Jeralyn on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 04:00:21 PM EST

a Jewish grandparent to appreciate it.


Interesting... (5.00 / 1) (#16)
by kredwyn on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 12:49:09 PM EST

I can see my great aunt's response were I to schlep down to Florida to do something along these lines. It'd go something along the lines of...

"So why aren't you in classes? Don't you know how much your parents gave up for you to be in college?"

You know the alternative... (5.00 / 1) (#17)
by blogtopus on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 12:53:36 PM EST

"Why don't you visit? I don't know how long I'll be around, and you just go around with your friends, not thinking of me and dada... sigh."


That's the one I normally get (none / 0) (#20)
by kredwyn on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 01:01:31 PM EST

with the relevant qualifier of "you must visit when you aren't working/studying...and so on."

When my mom & dad moved down there after retirement, the litany calmed down some...she's got her lad (and mom) to bully around.

One thing I did was send her a large journal and asked her to write in it about her life (she was a Rosie during WWII) and I very much wanted to make sure that she was keeping her mind working. Word is she's been actively filling it up with all sorts of stuff.


Nice (none / 0) (#21)
by CST on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 01:07:39 PM EST

I don't have a Jewish grandparent left, but my favorite example is my friend's mom who still talks to his ex-girlfriend on the phone (they broke up 5 years ago) and always tells her son about what a "nice Jewish girl" she is and how they should get back together. Nevermind the fact that they now live hundreds of miles apart, no longer speak to each other, and are both dating other people (not Jewish).


: Familial guilt (none / 0) (#25)
by kredwyn on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 03:08:20 PM EST

it transcends distance as well as generations.

Heh. (none / 0) (#27)
by Fabian on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 03:41:33 PM EST

My husband's family is all over the place. His dad is in FL. My family is almost all in state. Cost to drive to see my family? One tank of gas and miscellaneous expenses, a four hour road trip. (We stay there.) Cost to see his family? Plane fare for one to four passengers, the attendant hassle of air travel and two days spent in travel.

Not surprisingly, we see my family more often. There's no guilt trip from FL - just "We'll be here for the holidays, you are welcome to come!".


The Daily Show (5.00 / 1) (#34)
by AdamA on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 09:37:20 PM EST

has had some good bits on elderly Jewish people as well. Although stereotypes beget stereotypes, is it worth risking notice of a racial divide? In an effort to get Obama elected, yes. What will follow are a lot more conversations about race and stereotypes.

loved it (none / 0) (#1)
by Lil on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 11:44:40 AM EST

some of my office mates popped in (They adore Obama); they liked it too, but looked perplexed. I, on the other hand, was laughing like crazy.

I found this video offensive (none / 0) (#2)
by tootired on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 11:45:02 AM EST

on oh so many levels. If my grandchildren told me they would only come to visit me if I promised to vote for a candidate no matter who the candidate was, I would tell them to stay home. And I would lose their addresses when it came to gift-giving occasions, too. And I am a grandparent.

I was thinking, won't all those FL (none / 0) (#3)
by oculus on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 11:47:23 AM EST

grandparents wonder why their grandkids are suddenly so very interested in stopping by?

P.S. Pssst. Someone darked/reddened half of Obama's face.


I really don't like those style posters (none / 0) (#5)
by Lil on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 11:50:40 AM EST

they look a little...nevermind.


Art deco, I'd say. But that's (none / 0) (#7)
by oculus on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 11:52:07 AM EST

so yesterday.


: I do find it interesting that Obama's face (none / 0) (#10)
by CST on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 12:02:29 PM EST

has infiltrated the "art scene". One of my favorite bars in Pittsburgh always has local art for sale on the walls, usually very impressionist and off-beat. When I went back for a visit they had a bunch of Obama prints as well - which sold like hot-cakes.
My grandparents have a whole bunch of old political posters in their house, which are really cool, and yes art deco. I hadn't seen anything comparable for any of the newer politicians, but Obama has brought that style back a bit.

: I was thinking Che... (none / 0) (#26)
by kredwyn on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 03:10:33 PM EST

tres the newly marketed counter-culture.
Remember when Barbie came out with the fuchsia Cindy Lauper hair style?

I think you don't understand (none / 0) (#4)
by andgarden on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 11:49:19 AM EST

Sarah Silverman's sense of humor.


I'm guessing.. (5.00 / 1) (#11)
by CoralGables on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 12:03:40 PM EST

if someone didn't laugh at the the Matt Damon/Jimmy Kimmel/Sarah Silverman videos, this kind of stuff isn't for them. It's Sarah being Sarah.


I understand that she's (none / 0) (#6)
by tootired on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 11:51:40 AM EST

insulting. If you find her funny, great, but I don't.


: It's her shtick (none / 0) (#8)
by andgarden on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 11:54:02 AM EST

Whatever.

I'm a Grandfather (none / 0) (#38)
by cal1942 on Fri Oct 10, 2008 at 09:16:42 PM EST

I found Sarah's piece quite wonderful.

If my grandchildren showed enough passion about politics to make a visit to cajole me into voting for a favored candidate I'd rejoice.


Hilarious (none / 0) (#12)
by coigue on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 12:06:59 PM EST

and insulting too.

I liked it.

Better than the New Yorker cover! (none / 0) (#13)
by Faust on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 12:13:40 PM EST

Tell all your friends!

Funny stuff. (none / 0) (#18)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 12:56:41 PM EST

"They look a lot different but they're really not. They both like sweatsuits, gaudy jewellery, and a lot of their friends are dying."

I might add that both gravitate toward big over sized goofy-looking sneakers, although grandma and grandad's are prescription.

Stereotypes are fertile ground for humor, hopefully we can "get it" even when we're the subject of that humor.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go put more mayo on my sandwich.

: you missed this one: (none / 0) (#31)
by coigue on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 08:27:45 PM EST

"they both love theri grandchildren"
God, so offensive, and so funny at the same time.

My problem with the video is not the video, but (none / 0) (#29)
by bslev22 on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 04:04:04 PM EST

with what makes it funny. I don't mean to be a sore sport; indeed, we sent a copy of the video to my son in college and told him to use it to work on his grandparents. But the point is that his grandparents, and just about every other Jew who has voted Democratic in the past, will vote for Obama. So what's happened here is that there's been this presumption, this cheesy I think stereotypical presumption, that Jews of a different generation are going to be bigoted and vote against Obama because he is black and/or allegedly muslim. Not so, and I beg to differ. The Jewish vote for Obama will be at least at the 74 percent range that Kerry got in '04, and probably higher this time because of the economy.

If Florida goes to Obama, alot of folks who have disrespected the intelligence of American Jewish voters, and who have presumed their bigotry, should stand up after the election and maybe eat a little crow.

Yes, Sarah is funny. Her sister is a rabbi living in Israel and, so far as I'm concerned, she's having fun and that's cool. But what about all the rest of us who have stereotyped at least the older Jewish community as a bunch of ignorant bigots? Not a good thing, and candidly incredibly offensive.

I am saddened to say. . . (5.00 / 1) (#32)
by LarryInNYC on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 09:16:04 PM EST

that I can anecdotally report that there's some truth to this stereotype -- two elderly Jewish relatives of my wife's, always reliable Democratic voters and supporters of civil rights, are considering sitting out the election because of unspecified "worries" about Obama. One is a Pennsylvania voter.

Like you, I'm annoyed when people profess to be worried about Jews "abandoning" the Democratic Party -- by which they usually mean only 65% of Jews voting Democratic in a given election. The real problem, of course, is not that enough Jews aren't supporting the Democrats -- it's white Christians, who give majority support to Republicans.

If we somehow could establish an electorate composed only of Jewish and African Americans our national governance would look a very good deal bluer than it ever will -- and if you want to place blame on one community or another (which I emphatically don't), it doesn't belong with blacks , who vote 85% plus for Democrats, or Jews, who vote 70% plus for Democrats.


: I agree with you (5.00 / 1) (#33)
by coigue on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 09:21:37 PM EST

wtf is up with white Christian men?

Jackie Mason's Reply to Sarah... (none / 0) (#30)
by jccleaver on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 08:11:21 PM EST

Oh, come on. How can you post this video without mentioning Jackie Mason's reply to it? Sheesh! =P

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/10/03/a-sick-yenta-jackie-mason-rips-sarah-silverman-over-obama/

Direct at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbq7uTyWTCw

: OT.. (none / 0) (#35)
by CoralGables on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 09:43:59 PM EST

One of the funniest judges comments I ever heard was the first time Jackie Mason was taken into court in the paternity suit concerning his daughter.
He was refusing to take a paternity test and the mother, with the three year old daughter in tow, were in court seeking child support. Before a lawyer stepped up to speak, the judge took one look at the little girl (who looked like a tiny female Jackie Mason) and looked at him, smiled (almost laughed) and said..."you realllllly want to fight this?"