Very telling. I guess you could label American Democrats as "When Socialists go bad"
That's exactly the right description!
Anyway, Jewish secular society was traditionally socialist (but not communist). Jewish religious society was apolitical. That's why it took religious Jews so long to become Republicans.
A common misconception as "republicans" are basically the same. They do have a strong conservative Christian faction, but then Eric Cantor has not converted and neither have I. But I guess with the rhetoric (by the democrats and their Mouthpieces in the MSM) here, it is one not likely to go away soon.
Democrats simply don't have a wing that supports (Christian) Creationism. This is a major issue for most Jews, secular and religious.
One reason I supported George W. Bush was that, after the 2000 elections where I supported Al Gore (again because of his association with Bill Clinton), it became clear to me that he was not a fundamentalist Christian and not a Creationist either. (For some reason liberals insisted he was both, but Bush never said or did anything to confirm that theory.)
I must confess to not studying the history of support for the Jewish state among the parties, just what has occurred in my lifetime. And in my life time, we have had 5 democrat and 6 republican presidents. I was too young to remember, first hand, the polices of one republican and 2 democrats in regards to Jewish issues, but since then have seen 100% support from the republicans for Israel, but (at best and in defference to you), only 33% support from Democrats. Now I have been around over 50 years. perhaps it is time they re-evaluated the current reality and archived pre mid 20th century realities to the history books.
This article points out a few things about George Bush Senior which explain how Jews viewed American conservatives before Reagan (and, in Bush's case, after Reagan): http://www.slate.com/id/2064424/
The Kennedys were understood to be good friends of Israel and you can find old newspaper articles written by Kennedys about Israel that are really most interesting.
Generally Reagan was a friend of Israel but only a pragmatic friend. George Bush 41 was downright hostile. Bill Clinton was the great friend of Israel and so Bush 43 turned out to be.
But the liberal media have made it so difficult even to admit that there was something good about George W. Bush, how do you expect a population group to consider him in a decision for a party?
Yes, Tradition! I can see that, but would think reality would at least make people think about a modification. After all, the KKK was not only after blacks (or any race other than Caucasians), but non-Christians as well. And it was always associated with the democrats. (at one time the democrats were no more socialist than republicans - until FDR).
Northern Democrats and Southern Democrats were very different before the 1960s. In the north, Democrats became left-wingers, in the south, they remained racists. There was non constituency for a racist Democratic party in the north, where everyone was either an immigrant, a member of a minority, or already Republican.
This one is unfortunately the reason Obama got a majority as well (among all Americans). Before 1990, no democrat could come within a stone's throw of the whitehouse unless they were very hawkish (Carter being the exception and that was due to Watergate). Now, there are no hawks left in the democrat party (they tossed out Lieberman). Why? Americans feel safe (it is one thing to blow up a plane - it is another to blow up a city or state).
Carter recently apologised for his life work. But apart from that I find few redeeming features. His work made Reagan the first Republican to get a majority of tje Jewish vote, which perhaps shocked those Republicans who believed in a Jewish conspiracy. Carter was the great Jewish experiment with voting for a Christian fundamentalist. It didn't pay off.
The fact that Carter called "friends" the same group that murdered Anwar Sadat and that he actually accepted a Nobel Peace Price for Anwar Sadat's efforts makes him a most despicable human being.
Also, do not forget that Koch was a supporter of Bush after 9-11. Koch is a Lieberman Democrat in that regard.
Koch woke up, like many Jews did.
Ed Koch was a left-winger of the type Jews imagine to vote for when they vote for any left-winger. Joe Lieberman, Michael Bloomberg (although he ran as a Republican) and Ed Koch are the type of left-wing politicians that I (and probably most American Jews) support.
And I think most American Jews see those traits in other left-wing politicians too. And in the past that was often a safe assumption. Jews could vote for Bill Clinton and get a socially liberal president who wasn't an anti-Semite. The Carter shock was not enough yet. Maybe the Obama shock will be.
It is said that tradition caused the Jews not to ask for directions or ask the women which way to turn, and that is the real reason they wandered 40 years in the desert!
I doubt that. I have met Israeli women. 
