J Street Endorses

The new pro-Israel, pro-peace PAC has its first-ever slate of endorsements:

We are proud to announce JStreetPAC's first round of candidate endorsements. The candidates are Donna Edwards (Candidate, MD-04), Debbie Halvorson (Candidate, IL-11), Rep. Charles Boustany (LA-07), Darcy Burner (Candidate, WA-08), Rep. Stephen Cohen (TN-09), Dennis Shulman (Candidate, NJ-05) and Mary Jo Kilroy (Candidate, OH-15).

Excellent choices all. Darcy Burner is probably familiar to blog readers, but for those who don't know her she's the lead actor behind the excellent Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq initiative and also someone who came very close to winning in 2006. Stephen Cohen is an incumbent and a solid progressive who's also a white guy representing a majority-minority constituency and some relatively less progressive forces are trying to leverage that vulnerability against him. Dennis Shulman's a great story, a blind rabbi with a PhD. running in New Jersey on an excellent agenda.

Candidates with sound views on Middle East issues have won before, but it's rarely been the case that there's been specific fundraising and organizing around these issues in congressional campaigns. Pulling off a few wins here will help change a lot of members' perspectives about where the political incentives lie.

Comments

Would J Street endorse a candidate who demanded Israel remove all settlers from the land conquered in 1967? Or are the political incentives still there to 'accept', ah, 'demographic realities'?

Posted by otto | June 17, 2008 1:20 PM

Re Yglesias

Mr. Yglesias' concept of a sound view on Middle East issues consists of pressuring he State of Israel to make unilateral concessions to the Fakestinians, on the assumption, proven wrong on multiple occasions in the past, that such concessions will lead to an agreement with them. How long, oh how long will it take for the erstwhile Harvard graduate to wake up and smell the coffee. The Fakestinians are only interested in an agreement in which the State of Israel agrees to go out of business.

Re otto

Mr. otto, like his fellow Israel bashers, neglects to inform the readership here as to why the State of Israel ended up occupying the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights. These occupations occurred as a result of the aggression of its Arab neighbors, two of whom, Jordan and Egypt, have only grudgingly accepted the State of Israel, after concluding that their attempts to eliminate it from the Middle East had been a failure.

Posted by SLC | June 17, 2008 2:34 PM

Any idea why the e-mail they sent out only mentions four of those candidates, namely Cohen, Edwards, Burner, and Boustany?

Posted by washerdreyer | June 17, 2008 2:35 PM

Boustany? WTF? That guy voted against S-CHIP, he's pretty much a lockstep republican.

Posted by alli | June 17, 2008 2:47 PM

Alli, JStreet is an interest group, and as such has particular interests. Health care is not one of these.

Posted by washerdreyer | June 17, 2008 3:43 PM

Washerdreyer,

I'm informed about what J Street advocates for. S-CHIP was a poor example that made me appear as if I was talking out of my ass. For that, I apologize.

I don't live in Rep Boustany's district, but I know all about dumbshit Louisiana Republicans. I have a problem with any organization that advocates for their reelection, regardless of how many strongly-worded letters they've penned.

Posted by alli | June 17, 2008 3:56 PM

It's now time for serious candidates to step up and demand U.S. taxpayers stop subsidizing Apartheid Israel. That very support caused us to be attacked on 9/11 and created the conditions that mark as a pariah State in the eyes of the Civilized World. We need to throw our support behind the valiant Palestinians as the best way to redeem our image and insure the safety of the American people. Anyone still clinging to the notion that Israel is "the victim" needs to be deported post-haste. These treasonous Israel First parasites put all our lives in jeopardy.

Posted by Trevor | June 17, 2008 5:47 PM

Re Trevor

"Anyone still clinging to the notion that Israel is "the victim" needs to be deported post-haste."

Anytime Mr. Trevor want's to try it, I am ready, willing and able to demonstrate to him the error of his ways. Just for Mr. Trevors' information, I ain't going anywhere and he ain't going to make me. By the way, his his federal judge father Mr. Kosznski, the porn addict.

Posted by SLC | June 17, 2008 6:59 PM

Don't waste the money deporting SLC, just drop him in the street like his scumbag friend the IDF does to Palestinian children.

Posted by Richard Steven Hack | June 17, 2008 7:08 PM

Re richard Steven Hack

Any time Mr. Hack want's to try it. Bring it on.

Posted by SLC | June 18, 2008 6:44 AM

"Mr. Trevors' information, I ain't going anywhere and he ain't going to make me. By the way, his his federal judge father Mr. Kosznski, the porn addict."
(SLC)

What the fuck are you talking about you worm-infested turd? The day I'm Polish is the day you walk like a man. English, schmuck, Anglo-Saxon. And whoever the fuck "Kosznski" is - I hope he sentences you to 30 years in an El-Alamein sandstorm.

Posted by Trevor | June 18, 2008 7:36 AM

Re Trevor

1. Actually, Mr. Kozinski is originally from Romania. In case Mr. Trevor hasn't been following the news lately, here is a link to an article about Federal Judge Kozinski and his passion for porn.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h3YrphWBHw1j30UUB9VLtw5pBkOQD9185PC00

2. Apparently, cocksucking shithead fucktard Trevor is also prejudiced against Poles.

3. I wonder if Mr. Trevors' father is the federal judge who sentenced Mr. Hack to those fun filled 9 years in Leavenworth?

Posted by SLC | June 18, 2008 8:24 AM

Apparently, the schmaltzy exhibitionist/rancid shitfly SLC is not only crying out for Don Williams, but aches for ex-sitcom steatopygian Mindy Cohn to sit on his malted milk punim whilst rotating counter-clockwise to Haifa. Accompanied by show tunes from "Fiddler" ("If I were a rich man, la da da da da da da da...if I was a wealthy man")

Posted by Trevor | June 18, 2008 9:32 AM