August 23, 2002

Two questions:

1. Why was Ariel Sharon going to Florida anyway, if not to "campaign" for Jeb Bush?

2. What exactly is wrong with AIPAC, or any other politically-interested group, targeting a politician they don't like? It's not like the voters in Cynthia McKinney's district were unaware of who was financing her opponent, or what its agenda was. They knew, they considered, and they voted the lady out of office. I don't happen to be a fan of the extreme agenda of AIPAC, but I do like the First Amendment, and as long as we allow people and interest groups the power to contribute to campaigns, AIPAC has the right and the duty to get involved, just as groups more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause have a right to get involved. Involvement should be based on principal, not whether it is tactically disadvantageous in the context of Jewish-Black relations. AIPAC is no different than NCPAC was twenty years ago, or the Moral Majority; in time, their extreme agenda will taint any campaign they contribute to. In any event, the political discourse in our country is not the poorer for no longer having Ms. McKinney in Congress.

No comments: