While the YU Democrats were among the groups sponsoring the recent debate between National Jewish Democratic Committee Executive Director David Goldenberg and Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Greg Menken, the YU Republicans were noticably absent. YU Republicans President Ari Lamm said via e-mail he was “not convinced [Menken] was the best person to represent Republicans on campus”:

Well, the RJC is not the GOP in the same way that MoveOn.org isn’t the Democratic Party (not a perfect analogy, obviously but it will have to do). RJC supports GOP policies and advocates on their behalf, but that doesn’t mean that their policy positions neccessarily represent all GOP voters… my research led me to the fact that [Menken] originally registered as a Democrat (I found that on a Jewish Week article online.)

Lamm said he was “pleasantly surprised” after watching Menken’s performance at the debate, but:

While Mr. Menken’s arguments certainly had merit and more or less were consistent with YUR’s point of view, he represents the RJC, which is neither the GOP nor an Orthodox Jewish organization. I think that most Orthodox Jews would go even farther than the RJC in their embrace of the GOP’s clear superiority on issues pertaining to Israel’s security and well-being as well as domestic issues, particularly those related to religious liberties and morality.

On the other hand, Lamm said he thought Goldenberg’s arguments were “deeply hostile to the mainstream Orthodox viewpoint”, lambasting in particular Goldenberg’s “assumptions regarding student policy preferences on such issues as stem-cell research and abortion.” Lamm offered this as proof of a “stunning disconnect” between the NJDC and the mainstream Orthodox community.
Alex Boris, president of the YU Democrats, did not respond to e-mail inquiries.