Bowman lost because of his unhinged radicalism, not AIPAC

  Jonathan Tobin (jewishworldreview.com)

. . ."So, while anti-Israel propagandists look to AIPAC's intervention as proof of the unhealthy influence of the "Israel lobby," the fact that Jewish voters were desperate not to have him represent them in Congress was not merely understandable. It was democracy in action." . . .

" 'The narrative about Rep. Jamaal Bowman's (D-N.Y.) impending landslide primary loss from "progressive" Democrats was already being set up the weekend before the votes in New York's 16th Congressional District were counted. While some might have considered the presence of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as the featured speaker, a video from the Bronx rally for the congressman in which Bowman and one of his leading allies and fellow "Squad" member, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), danced around like teenagers at a rock concert before he launched into a profanity-laden tirade that went viral. While the main point of their presentations was expressed in varied ways, Bowman summed it up in two words: f*&%k AIPAC."

"The same profound sentiment was widely shared on the left after the results came in on Tuesday evening when Bowman was routed in his bid for re-election by a longtime moderate Democrat. Westchester County Executive George Latimer trounced Bowman by 58.6% to 41.4%.

"Other members of the "Squad" and some leftist pundits like Peter Beinart put down Bowman's fate as just another example of wicked pro-Israel Jews taking down a proud black man. Axios published a story packed with anonymous quotes from Democratic congressmen saying that $14.5 million spent on advertising by an AIPAC-affiliated PAC was unseemly, if not overkill. In The Guardian, Ben Davis conceded that AIPAC had won, but he termed it a "pyrrhic victory" that actually marked a turning point. According to Davis, "the result of this election masks a considerable shift in the balance of power within American politics away from unconditional support for Israel as an unquestioned political consensus."

AIPAC knocks off a sure loser

"Their point was that Bowman was too weak to resist the power of the mighty "Israel Lobby," but the fact that this all-powerful force in American politics had to go to so much trouble and expense to take down one member of Congress was actually a sign of weakness." . . .