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2024-03-05 Home Front: Politix
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AIPAC uncorks $100 million war chest to sink progressive candidates
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the self-defense operation in Gaza has caused an unprecedented level of antisemitism in both the American right and left, and Israel needs more influence in the US government than ever if it is to survive this crisis.
[Politico] Building on a successful playbook from 2022, AIPAC and other aligned groups are picking their targets — many more of them this time.
A California Democrat running for Rep. Katie Porter’s seat suddenly became the target of an unexpected barrage of negative ads from the nation’s premier pro-Israel group this year. So he emailed a former Michigan representative, Andy Levin, for advice.
Levin was ousted from his House seat in 2022, after the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent $4 million against him. Levin was one of a handful of Democrats targeted by AIPAC last cycle, when the group went after a range of progressive candidates in mostly open House primaries over their criticism of Israel.
He told Dave Min, who has not called for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza but has privately criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
| …it appears that his character has become known, even if the exact details were not — until this report, anyway… |
to reach out to progressive Jewish groups for help. That’s what Levin had done.
But, he acknowledged, "we were simply swamped" by outside spending in his own primary, and Dave Min might face a similar fate.
"Most" candidates won’t be able to survive that spending barrage, Levin said in an interview with POLITICO, and "I’m afraid that they can be quite successful in wiping them out."
This cycle, they are going even bigger. AIPAC is expected to spend $100 million across its political entities in 2024, taking aim at candidates they deem insufficiently supportive of Israel, according to three people with direct knowledge of the figure, who were granted anonymity to discuss private meetings.
The strategy has taken on new urgency this election season from donors animated by the Israel-Hamas war. AIPAC’s biggest targets are members of the so-called Squad of progressive House Democrats who have been openly pressuring the administration to call for a cease-fire. But AIPAC’s ambitions are broader. United Democracy Project, the group’s super PAC, is monitoring 15 to 20 House races and polling in many of those districts, according to a person directly familiar with UDP’s strategy and granted anonymity to discuss the approach.
HOUSE DEMS DEMAND MEETING WITH BIDEN OVER CEASE-FIRE
"They’ll have so much money, wherever there’s an opportunity, they will take it," said one Democratic donor adviser who is involved in the effort and was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the organization’s plans.
The fallout from Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack and Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of Gaza, killing more than 30,000 Palestinians,
| …over a third of whom were hardcore terrorists, and possibly up to a third of whom are imaginary… |
according to Gaza Health Ministry, has led to deep fissures within the Democratic Party — a divide that will play out in House Democratic primaries across the country.
| Sunlight is the best medicine, and just now the light is blinding. |
It’s also supercharged fundraising on all sides of the conflict. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the nation’s only federal Palestinian-American lawmaker, raised a staggering $3.7 million in the final three months of 2023, her largest-ever single quarter fundraising haul, around the same time that she was censured by Congress for comments about Israel. United Democracy Project closed out 2023 with nearly $41 million in the bank, a sum that’s nearly double the group’s entire spending program during the 2022 cycle.
Still others are rethinking their primary strategy altogether. J Street,
| …the Jewishly fig-leafed, wholly owned subsidiary of the far-left, Israel-hating Soros Foundations… |
a progressive pro-Israel group that defended candidates against AIPAC in primaries in 2022, won’t reprise that role in 2024, arguing that it’s "generally not a fruitful use of our resources to spend in intra-party feuds," J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said. Instead, they’ll focus their $10 million program on only general election campaigns.
J Street’s decision is part of a broader recognition from progressives that they will not be able to "match [AIPAC] dollar-for-dollar," said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), a vocal critic of AIPAC.
"Most people are extremely turned off by where that money comes from," Pocan said. "When you take money from Donald Trump donors, Nikki Haley donors, Ron DeSantis donors
| …all, for the purpose of this discussion at least, icky Conservative Republicans (no matter where on the spectrum they actually live)… |
and then you put it to use in Democratic primaries, clearly, it’s a disingenuous use of money."
’CONCERNED AT A LEVEL THAT IS UNPRECEDENTED’
After the Oct. 7 attack, when about 1,200 Israelis were killed by Hamas,
| …killed is such an anodyne word in this context. Better would be gleefully tortured to death by Hamas soldiers and Gaza civilians alike as a deliberate precursor to what they intended to do to everyone they encountered outside the Gaza border… |
the "pro-Israel donor base became activated, engaged and concerned at a level that is unprecedented,"
said Mark Mellman, president of Democratic Majority for Israel, another super PAC that often also backs AIPAC-endorsed candidates.
So far this cycle, AIPAC has bundled at least $19 million for House and Senate campaigns, according to a POLITICO analysis of campaign finance filings. Top recipients include high-ranking members such as House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York
| …an odd choice. He openly supports Israel — which makes his Jewish constituents happy — while objecting to everything they do… |
and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California, as well as stalwart Israel supporters such as Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas). 
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Posted by Fat Bob Untervehr8471 2024-03-05 00:00||
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