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
Actually, she's acted outrageously much more recently than that. According to P.J. O'Rourke's piece in the July/August Atlantic Monthly, she spoke from the podium at the Death to Israel "peace" hatefest at the Mall in D.C. on April 20th. As far as I know, she was the only member of Congress to appear at that predictably seditious rally, where one of the speakers called for globalizing the Intifadah.
I wonder why AIPAC is giving Majette only 5% of what it gave Davis. I suspect that Jewish groups, having made their point with Hilliard, have struck an agreement with the Black Congressional Caucus not to defeat any other of its members this year. After all, the power of those Jewish groups, just as much as that of the Black Congressional Caucus, depends on the success of the Democratic Party.
| The McKinney Files.... |
Didn't even click into the links in #33 did you?
Don't like Howard Phillips and the Nation Magazine? From the Washington Post:
Tempelsman Plan Got The Ear of US Aides
A goody: Angola, smuggled diamonds, Tempelsman , UNITA, Lebanese Hezbollah and Amal terrorists:
The Russian connection:
Diamond dealer turns peacemaker
Still think it is "too loony even for the Art Bell Show" to suggest powerbrokers in the Democrat party are not pleased with McKinney going after Tempelsman?
DeBeers & friends is an illegal monopoly. Oppenheimer and Tempelsman conspire to fix prices. During WWII, it took FDR threatening to cut off aircraft shipments to the UK before Oppenheimer would sell America even a fraction of the industrial diamonds we need for our war effort (and he changed the grading system of the boart he did sell to jack up prices). At the same time, Oppenheimer was strangely unable to halt shipments of boart to Nazi Germany. Hitler received tons of it. The war would have been over at least a year earlier had Oppenheimer stopped the trade (and he had the power to do it...imho) Odd for a man who owned the mines those industrial diamonds came from.
After WWII, the U.S. government went after DeBeers and they pulled out of America. Tempelsman was anointed as DeBeers front in America. He should be indicted. He doesn't compete with DeBeers as he claims. He is a partner with DeBeers.
Aside from all that, the diamond trade feeds the Democrat party. And by giving oil leases to the Kennedy brats, Tempelsman has set up the family for another 50 years of screwing with America. That alone is enough to despise the stones.
But you explain to me why you don't want the Democrat party tearing itself up over this. Explain why you want a person in McKinney's seat who will make Tempelsman life easier.
Knocking out Hilliard over Israel didn't help the GOP. He was against gun control and voted with the GOP on religious issues. Now we have a Harvard liberal in there who will vote against conservatives on both issues.
Hhahhahahha... Never heard you complain about OPEC. But then there are no Jews in OPEC. The "illegal" OPEC monopoly impacts America a lot more than diamonds
During WWII, it took FDR threatening to cut off aircraft shipments to the UK before Oppenheimer would sell America even a fraction of the industrial diamonds we need for our war effort (and he changed the grading system of the boart he did sell to jack up prices). At the same time, Oppenheimer was strangely unable to halt shipments of boart to Nazi Germany. Hitler received tons of it.
The war would have been over at least a year earlier had Oppenheimer stopped the trade (and he had the power to do it...imho)
Right. Your opinion only. You have no facts on that one.
Odd for a man who owned the mines those industrial diamonds came from.
That is you take from leftist websites no doubt.
Here is what others say>>>
...a former head of the CIA, Admiral Stansford Turner, in an article published in the Washington Post on 18 October 1988. 'We should not forget that during World War Two the De Beers diamond mining company that is part of the Oppenheimer empire refused to sell the US a large quantity of industrial diamonds for war production.'
Sir Philip Oppenheimer, Ernest Oppenheimer's brother and a director of De Beers, angrily retorted in a letter to the editor on 2 November 1988: 'Our records show that strenuous efforts were in fact made by De Beers to ensure the availability of war supplies. Notwithstanding the inevitable increase in demand, our prices were maintained at the levels that had applied during the pre-war period. Furthermore sales of industrial diamonds during the war years were carried out through London under the supervision of the British government and it defies belief that the British government would have permitted a company under its jurisdiction to act in a manner that would have hampered war production in any way. The insinuation by Mr. Turner that De Beers acted in such a way is not only totally unsubstantiated, but also deeply offensive to a family that was profoundly affected by the War.... the family also suffered the disappearance of relations who were living in Germany at the time.... I wish to counterbalance the implication that people vitally involved in the defeat of Hitler would have taken commercial decisions that might have impeded this overriding objective.'
After WWII, the U.S. government went after DeBeers and they pulled out of America.
Bottom line is DeBeers supplied industrial diamonds to the USA during WW2 but refused to supply enough for the USA to build up a huge stockpile. This would have hurt the DeBeers diamond business with an overhang that could be dumped at any time. DeBeers wanted to maintain a monopoly and last I looked is a South African company. Not a US one.
Tempelsman was anointed as DeBeers front in America. He should be indicted.
Why? Because you say so? LOL!!!
He doesn't compete with DeBeers as he claims. He is a partner with DeBeers.
He was never charged with this. If the US wanted to punish DeBeers we could always have punished Templesman. Never happened. I wonder why.
Aside from all that, the diamond trade feeds the Democrat party. And by giving oil leases to the Kennedy brats, Tempelsman has set up the family for another 50 years of screwing with America. That alone is enough to despise the stones.
Yeah sure. There is always a Jewish fellow behind it all.
Are you not bright enough to realize that almost all Jews in the United States are US citizens and are *not* Israelis?
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