“Fresh faced” Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who famously went after money in politics during her campaign, leading to a surprise victory in New York’s 14th District, is now fighting back against a perceived threat from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
By begging for money.
In a fundraising e-mail to supporters, AOC, the leader of the House Democrats’ “fresh face” coalition, is using one line said by AIPAC activist Stephen Fiske as proof that AIPAC — and by extension the entire State of Israel and anyone who wears a yarmulke — is coming after her and fellow fresh faces Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)
In a piece by the New York Times questioning whether AIPAC had too much influence in Washington, Fiske is quoted as saying about AOC, Omar, and Tlaib, “They are three people who, in my opinion, will not be around in several years.”
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And that’s all it took for AOC, who is facing Federal Election Commission complaints for alleged misuse of campaign funds, to send out a mass e-mail to supporters, begging for more money. Ben Jacobs of The Guardian tweeted the full e-mail.
“It’s official — AIPAC is coming after Alexandria, Ilhan and Rashida,” the e-mail stated. “Rashida, Ilhan and Alexandria have at times dared to question our foreign policy, and the influence of money in our political system. And now, lobbying groups across the board are working to punish them for it,” AOC’s team wrote in the e-mail.
The fundraising e-mail then took fellow Democrat Juan Vargas (Calif.) to task for a tweet that specifically targeted Omar for anti-Semitic remarks that the Muslim congresswoman has recently made. “It is disturbing that Rep. Omar continues to perpetuate hurtful anti-Semitic stereotypes that misrepresent our Jewish community. Additionally, questioning support for the U.S.-Israel relationship is unacceptable.”
It was that last sentence of the tweet that really riled AOC. “Some members of Congress have even gone so far as to claim that ‘questioning support for the US-Israel relationship is unacceptable.’ But that’s not how our legislative process is supposed to work,” the e-mail complained.
“Just a decade ago, it was ‘unquestionable’ not to support the war in Iraq. And we all saw what resulted from that lack of discussion and negotiation,” the e-mail continued.
The e-mail went on to question whether the United States should have any “special” relationship with Israel. “In this administration and all others, there should be no special relationship or status,” the e-mail said. “We should actively check anti-Semitism, anti-blackness, homophobia, racism and all other forms of bigotry.”
The AOC team ended the e-mail by reiterating that all Republicans are inherently racist, hateful, and bigoted people. “Racism and bigotry in all their forms are inextricably linked. And when we let Republicans pit champions for equality and equity against each other, their own hateful rhetoric is what goes unaddressed.”
Omar, in particular, sparked the debate about anti-Semitism in Congress with her open disdain for the State of Israel, with her “all about the Benjamins” tweet that implied Israel bought off Congress, which was followed up by her contention that members of Congress are pushed to swear “allegiance to a foreign country” (Israel).
In debating the anti-Semitism issue, House Democrats yesterday passed a milquetoast resolution condemning all forms of bigotry and racism — the only exceptions being bigotry against whites and Christians.
Some on the Left seem to understand that anti-Semitism exists throughout the halls of Congress, but they’re only concerned about the “wrong kind” of anti-Semitism. Left-wing Keynesian economist Paul Krugman recently seemed to imply that not all anti-Semitism is created equal when he tweeted, “There are three things in life that are certain: death, taxes (unless you’re Donald Trump) and persistence of anti-Semitism. But only one brand of anti-Semitism scares me — and it’s not on the left.”
What? Is Krugman actually saying that the anti-Semitism on the Left is somehow better than the anti-Semitism on the Right? Aren’t they both anti-Jewish and anti-Israel?
Krugman’s assertion that certain types of anti-Semitism are all right is in perfect harmony with 21st-century Democrat politics. Ilhan Omar’s high place on the intersectional scale — a Muslim woman — insulates her from any real punishment over the things she says. When Omar is offensive, left-wing politicians will shrug and protect her, and issue meaningless declarations decrying “hate” in most of its forms.
Conversely, when Republican white male Steve King says something that is controversial only because it was taken out of context, he is suddenly stripped of all committee assignments.
So, no, in their own minds at least, Democrats honestly believe that they don’t have a problem with anti-Semitism, because when Democrats act like bigots, at least it’s the “right kind of bigotry.”
