US Politics |OT|

[LurkerJ]

SvennoJ said:

US Congress member Cori Bush latest to face pro-Israel lobby spending

Missouri state representative Cori Bush has been an outspoken critic of United States support for Israel during the war on Gaza. She has also been vocal about the influence of the pro-Israel lobby group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Tomorrow, she will become the latest progressive in the US legislature to test whether she can overcome a deluge of AIPAC spending as she faces her challenger, prosecutor Wesley Bell, in the Democratic primary in Missouri.

AIPAC’s associated super PAC, the United Democracy Project, has spent more than $8.4m to unseat Bush, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data. The race comes after the group injected a record $14.5m to support the successful challenge of New York Congress member Jamaal Bowman, who, like Bush, is among a group of congressional progressives known as the “squad”.

Critics say money from groups such as AIPAC, which has largely embraced the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, distort local races by flooding the airwaves with attack ads funded by individuals outside of the district or the Democratic Party.

“This is only the beginning,” Bush has told AP. “Because if they can unseat me, then they’re going to continue to come after more Democrats.”

The half a million dollar they spent to knock out Nina Turner years ago now looks like pocket change in comparison. A foreign organisation representing a far right government interests is deciding winners and losers in what is meant to be a fair democratic process, if this isn't election interference, I don't know what is.