Doc's Talk: J Street Candidates Wiped Out In Senate, Lose More Than Half Of Competitive House Races

Thursday, November 04, 2010

J Street Candidates Wiped Out In Senate, Lose More Than Half Of Competitive House Races

Mere Rhetoric

J Street endorsed 61 candidates for the 2010 election, 58 Democrats for the House and 3 Democrats for the Senate, and today they’ve been bragging about how 46 of those candidates won. The results are supposed boost the group’s post-Soros, post-Goldstone, post-Levy rehabilitation strategy, where they’re bypassing the journalists they’ve alienated and appealing to politicians in terms of raw power. They’re rolling out two different sets of arguments, one based on these election results and one based on a couple of polls they did. The polling arguments have to do with the strength and direction of American Jewish opinion, and those will have to wait for a different, longer post. You don’t need another exegesis on the biased effects of double barreled and leading questions to know where this is going, but the stuff they’re doing with their Jewish voter screen is kind of new. So maybe tune in for that.

J Street’s claims about the election, in contrast, are less tangled but more obnoxious. The argument here is that politicians should buy into J Street’s anti-Israel political activism, because then the organization will dump a portion of its Soros money into their campaign coffers. They’re very proud of that part. The ultimate test is supposed to be last night’s scoreboard, where 46 of J Street’s 55 incumbents won their races.

Without putting too fine a point on it, expecting people to find this nonsense persuasive is borderline insulting. Half of J Street’s list reads like a catalog of the safest Democratic districts in the country. Four of their candidates had opponents who couldn’t break 20%. Another two had opponents who couldn’t get above 15%. A seventh candidate, Michael Capuano, ran unopposed. Etc.

Average candidates running in competitive races – which is to say, candidates who actually need organizational endorsements and electoral assistance – aren’t going to be impressed that J Street ran up the score in safe districts. And any candidate who digs a little bit deeper into the data is going to want to run away as fast as possible.

All three J Street-endorsed Senate candidates lost. That’s important for at least two reasons. First, it undercuts their whine that they got swept out by the Republican tide. If anything the GOP underperformed in Senate races. More broadly, it turns out that successful J Street candidates usually have to be politicians who were already safely ensconced in homogeneous liberal districts. Take candidates out of their small gerrymandered district – force them to appeal either to a statewide audience or a diverse audience or both – and J Street’s vaunted support and money don’t seem to count for very much.

In the House J Street candidates had 24 competitive races, if you take the Cook Political Report’s combined Lean D, Toss Up, or Lean R categories. 11 of those candidates have already lost their races, while another 3 – Grijalva, Connolly, and Maffei – are still too close to call. As of right now a grand total of 10 J Street House candidates who had actual races have managed to clinch them.

And of those 10 candidates – and this is the crucial part – fully 9 came from districts where Democrats already enjoyed huge structural advantages. The only exception was Bill Owens, who was graced by having Doug Hoffman and Matt Doheny splitting the conservative vote in the R+1 New York 23rd district. On the other side of the spectrum was Barney Frank, whose MA-4 district is D+14 and who duly obliterated Sean Bielat. Excluding Owens and Frank as outliers, the average PVI for the remaining J Street candidates who won competitive races was was exactly between D+5 and D+6. Adding those two back in, the average was closer to D+6 than D+5.

To give you an idea of how safe a D+5 district is, in the last Congress there were exactly three Republicans representing districts that blue. That’s roughly the maximum “competitiveness” that a J Street-supported Democrat could survive. Anywhere less solidly Democratic, and things started to get brutal. Sure you had the odd candidate like Chris Murphy winning his D+2 Connecticut race, but you also had J Street-supported Ann McLane Kuster losing her D+3 NH race. And anything below that was a total and unmitigated wipe-out.

So it’s true – almost by definition – that Democratic candidates have the luxury of doing whatever they want in districts where Republicans basically can’t win. They don’t need J Street’s votes or J Street’s Soros money, but if they want to sign pro-Hamas letters or whatever it’s probably not going to cost them. But any Democrat who thinks they might someday actually face a credible opponent is probably going to take the advice of Josh Block and not volunteer for J Street’s anti-Israel program.

I suppose in a very technical sense it’s also true that Democrats can also safely embrace J Street if they’re going to be running simultaneously against two vote-splitting conservatives. But anything other than that or a deep blue district, and suddenly not so much.

Competitive House Races In Which J Street Candidate Won
Candidate Cook Race Rating Cook PVI
Rep. Jim Himes (D, CT-4) LEAN D D+5
Rep. Chris Murphy (D, CT-5) LEAN D D+2
Rep. Bruce Braley (D, IA-1) LEAN D D+5
Rep. Dave Loebsack (D, IA-2) LEAN D D+7
Rep. Barney Frank (D, MA-4) LEAN D D+14
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D, ME-1) TOSSUP D+8
Rep. Russ Carnahan (D, MO-3) LEAN D D+7
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D, NY-22) LEAN D D+6
Rep. Bill Owens (D, NY-23) TOSSUP R+1
Rep. Ron Kind (D, WI-3) LEAN D D+4

Competitive House Races In Which J Street Candidate Lost
Candidate Cook Race Rating Cook PVI
Rep. Betsy Markey (D, CO-4) LEAN R R+6
Joe Garcia (D, FL-25) LEAN R R+5
Rep. Deborah Halvorson (D, IL-11) LEAN R R+1
Rep. Bill Foster (D, IL-14) TOSSUP R+1
Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D, NH-1) LEAN R R+0
Ann McLane Kuster (D, NH-2) TOSSUP D+3
Rep. Scott Murphy (D, NY-20) TOSSUP R+2
Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D, OH-15) LEAN R D+1
Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper (D, PA-3) LEAN R R+3
Rep. Tom Perriello (D, VA-5) LEAN R R+5
Rep. Steve Kagen (D, WI-8) LEAN R R+2

Competitive House Races In Which J Street Candidate Is Too Close To Call
Candidate Cook Race Rating Cook PVI
Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D, AZ-7) TOSSUP D+6
Rep. Dan Maffei (D, NY-25) LEAN D D+3
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D, VA-11) TOSSUP D+2

Photo:
* Malene Thyssen [Wiki Commons]

References:
* JStreetPAC Results [J Street]
* Soros revealed as funder of liberal Jewish-American lobby [Lake / WashTimes]
* Soros revealed as funder of liberal Jewish-American lobby [Lake and Birnbaum / WashTimes]
* Unbelievable – J Street Crops Daniel Levy’s Anti-Israel Quote, Then Blasts “Far Right-Wing Blogs” For “Misreporting” It [Mere Rhetoric]
* J Street, Down the Rabbit Hole [Goldberg / Atlantic Goldblog]
* New J-Street Poll Is Rigged In Particularly Stupid, Obnoxious Ways [Mere Rhetoric]
* JStreetPAC Raises $1.5 Million in 2010 [J Street]
* House Races [Cook Political Report]
* RE: How Did Jewish Groups Do? [Rubin / Commentary Contentions]

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk