What do you do if you’re a senator up for re-election in a state with a good-sized Jewish population, one of the congresspeople from your state is an Israel-hating far leftist…and she says you’ve “strongly endorsed” her?
Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) is facing this problem. And I don’t envy him.
From Chuck Ross’ article at Washington Free Beacon:
Anti-Israel “Squad” member Summer Lee (Pa.) wants voters to remember she’s “strongly endorsed” by Pennsylvania senator Bob Casey. Casey may wish they would forget.
Lee, who has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, distributed campaign mailers last month saying she is “strongly endorsed” by Casey, mailers obtained by the Washington Free Beacon show. The mailers could cause problems for Casey, who has attempted to position himself as a pro-Israel moderate in his closely watched reelection campaign.
Casey’s Republican challenger, Dave McCormick, last month called on Casey to rescind his endorsement of Lee over her anti-Israel views and affiliation with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), whose executive director, Nihad Awad, said he was “happy” that Hamas attacked Israel. Awad contributed $1,000 to Lee’s campaign on Dec. 29, weeks after his anti-Semitic remarks, the Free Beacon reported.
Lee was the featured speaker last month for the “Reject AIPAC” campaign, which calls AIPAC a “hawkish force in American politics” that “supports and amplifies far-right politicians and candidates.” As part of the “Reject AIPAC” pledge, lawmakers vow to reject endorsements from AIPAC and any political action committees aligned with the group.
AIPAC has endorsed Casey and raised more than $124,000 for his campaign last year, according to campaign disclosures.
Ok, you’re Bob Casey. What do you do?
Do you outwardly support Israel, which puts you in direct opposition to Lee – and would force her to consider blowing away your endorsement; maybe even attacking you? How many votes would that cost from the Israel-hating contingent in Pennsylvania (which most certainly exists)?
Do you pull back support from Israel, which probably won’t appease the Israel-hating crowd because it won’t go far enough, and will also alienate pro-Israel people and lose your AIPAC support?
Do you go further and start criticizing Israel’s actions, which will make the Lee supporters happy and give your endorsement of Lee credibility, but will also hand much of the Jewish support, both votes and contributions – to your Republican opponent?
It seems to me that, when every option has its ups and downs, the single best thing a politician can do is what he/she should do anyway; just be honest and go where your true beliefs are.
Is that what Bob Casey will do?
It should be interesting to see how this plays out…especially since a senate seat is in the balance.
Stay tuned.
