How The GOP Became Likudniks

Ron Kampeas gets Republicans to tell him the story:

Current and former GOP operatives and veterans of Republican administrations have identified a number of factors in explaining why the Republican Party, which until a decade or so ago tolerated a faction that advocated keeping Israel at a friendly distance, is now hewing almost exclusively to a policy of no daylight between the United States and the Jewish state. The chief reason they cite is the growth of the evangelical movement as a cornerstone of the party, but other factors include the changed attitudes toward the Middle East in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the significance of the Jewish vote in certain swing states and the emergence of a Jewish Republican donor base in a community that for decades has given mostly to Democrats.