Posted on 07/27/2002 9:30:20 AM PDT by RobFromGa
Israeli lobby sends wake-up call
Alabama race may come to haunt McKinney
Melanie Eversley - Staff
Friday, July 26, 2002
Washington --- If a recent election upset in next-door Alabama is any indication, Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) could be in for some cash-rich opposition from pro-Israel campaign contributors.
Some political strategists are predicting that the pro-Israel forces that bolstered the successful congressional campaign of Democrat Artur Davis in Birmingham could steer money to Denise Majette, McKinney's opponent in the Aug. 20 Democratic primary. Those strategists point to similarities in the two races.
Both McKinney and U.S. Rep. Earl Hilliard (D-Ala.) have angered the Jewish community with actions and congressional votes. Hilliard, a five-term House member, raised eyebrows when he traveled to Libya in 1997 and when he voted against a measure to condemn Palestinian suicide bombings.
Whether those actions were a factor, the pro-Israel lobby poured money into Davis' campaign, and Hilliard lost his June 25 Democratic primary runoff. Without Republican opposition, Davis is heavily favored over a Libertarian candidate in the fall.
"There's no question that groups and individuals concerned about Israel took an interest in the Alabama race," said Tom Mann of the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan Washington think tank. "It's conceivable that they would do so in Cynthia McKinney's case, given her outspoken criticism of Israel."
Despite such comparisons, other people think the McKinney-Majette race will come down not to money but to voters and turnout.
Among the more than 30 pro-Israel political action committees registered with the Federal Election Commission, Artur Davis has been the biggest recipient of campaign cash in 2002. Davis took in $41,300 from those organizations during the first half of the year, according to an AJC study of federal records.
Majette was much further down that list, with only $2,250 in donations from those groups, based on the AJC study.
"I think ultimately it's going to be the voters in her district who decide," said Steven Wertheim of Sandy Springs, a Jewish man who is volunteering with the Majette campaign.
"Cynthia McKinney has been a poor representative for her constituents, and she's been divisive for her community," Wertheim said.
The Atlanta Jewish Federation does not take sides in political contests, but one representative of the group has noted the tension within the Jewish community. Federation community relations director Margo Dix said that, in large part, Jewish constituents have noted that McKinney has not voted to approve aid for Israel,
On the other hand, people in her district give her high marks for responding to her constituents directly.
One community advocate recalled how proud many Georgians were when McKinney won the seat representing the majority African-American district in 1992.
"One of the things that people in Cobb County were involved in from the very beginning was seeing Cynthia get that seat," said Deane Donner, president of the Cobb County NAACP chapter.
"Whatever people think, I think she's an effective congresswoman," Donner said.
Still, McKinney has had a strained relationship with the Jewish community. In 1996, her father, Democratic state Rep. Billy McKinney, made a remark that members of the Jewish community found offensive. McKinney stressed that she did not share her father's views and removed him from the campaign, but the tension from that incident lingered.
She has encouraged the public to look at both sides of the Palestinian-Jewish conflict and she shares a good relationship with the Arab-American community, sometimes speaking at functions hosted by Arab-American advocacy organizations. That stance has offended the Jewish community.
Most recently, in October, McKinney drew criticism after writing a letter of apology to a Saudi prince, whose offer of $10 million to help the survivors of the terrorist attacks was rebuffed by then-New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Still, McKinney's actions might not draw the same dollars to her opponent as did Hilliard's.
Charles Bullock, a political scientist at the University of Georgia, said if any financial patterns were going to show up involving the pro-Israel lobby and Majette's campaign, they probably would have done so by now, with the primary less than a month away. "If it's going to happen, they're going to need to get the money into her hands pretty quickly," he said.
Moreover, Majette's press secretary pointed out that the two races have as many differences as similarities.
Majette, a former State Court judge in DeKalb County, has been an elected public official, while Davis, a lawyer, never has held public office, said press secretary Elizabeth Wilson. About 60 percent of Davis' contributions of more than $200 came from out of state, according to FEC reports, while more than 90 percent of Majette's contributions have come from within Georgia, Wilson said.
One other factor is that redistricting in Alabama reduced Hilliard's African-American voting age population from 70 percent to 62 percent, an issue in that race because Davis was more successful in attracting white voters. But in Georgia, African-Americans were added to McKinney's district, giving her a 51 percent African-American voting age population. Bullock said he thinks that change will help the incumbent.
Neither McKinney nor her campaign manager could be reached Thursday for comment.
Until now, fellow Democrats have shied away from challenging McKinney, Bullock pointed out. Now, she is facing an opponent who is a fellow Democrat, woman and African-American, he said.
Bullock said, "This is the first time McKinney has been hard-pressed by somebody in the Democratic Party."
CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION CLOUT
Top candidate recipients of campaign money from the pro-Israel lobby, Jan. 1-June 30:
1. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), House nominee................ $41,300
2. Sen. Bob Smith (R-N.H.)............................ $37,180
3. Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.).......................... $35,500
4. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).......................... $28,500
5. Sen. Jean Carnahan (D-Mo.)..........................$25,000
6. Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.)............................$18,030
7. Sen. Bob Torricelli (D-N.J.)........................$17,400
8. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.).......................... $14,000
9. Rep. Steven Rothman (D-N.J.)........................$13,500
10. Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.).......................... $13,000
63. Denise Majette (D-Ga.), House primary challenger....$2,250
Sources: Staff research by Melanie Eversley, Federal Election Commission
Not a mention about what percentage of McKinney's contributions come from out of state.
No mention of why McKinney was criticized for "apologizing" to Saudi prince.
Not even a real story about any real Israeli contributions to Majette, just a totally biased hit piece.
Another example of disgusting journalism from the Atlanta Urinal/Constipation.
No kidding. Just look at the bias that drips from the headline:
Israeli lobby sends wake-up call
You are teribly wrong, but I have no expectation of changing your mind any more than I could any other Radical Islam sympathizer or Al Quaeda member.
TWO FACTS TO CONSIDER:
If the Palestinian resistance organizations lays down their arms, there would be peace.
If Israel lays down its arms, Israel will shortly cease to exist.
I'm communicating from my "backup browser"-- a 66 mhtz. 486 with a sticking keyboard & gritty trackball- so excuse the weird typos, they are hard to go back to & correct.
The motherboard's a 66 mhtz 486 with 16 megs of 32 pin RAM- all that will fit- the floppies came from a PC used as a doorstop. The hard drive is 210 mb Conner salvaged from an old IBM abandoned in a shed, running bare Win 95- no a or b... and the modem's a USR 33.6K Sportster that "sort of" plug n' plays...
But Israeli well that’s OK. How much of that $4b that’s taken from us. Buys our politicians. And gives us Hellarey. What was the New York Jewish vote? 95% for Gore & Hillary
Ha. Welcome to FR, another PLO terrorist sympathizer.
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