Left-wing media pundits and activists had been enraged after “Squad” member Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., misplaced his major election on Tuesday, blaming the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) function within the race.
“One of the House Democrats to come out for a ceasefire last year … is defeated,” former MSNBC host and Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan wrote on social media. “Replaced by a new House Democrat, backed by AIPAC, who deploys racist dogwhistles and refuses to criticize Benjamin Netanyahu.”
“Congress just got a lot worse than it already is,” Hasan added.
‘OUTSPOKEN BLACK MAN’: ‘SQUAD’ REP BOWMAN POINTS TO THIS REASON FOR PRO-ISRAEL LOBBY’S ATTACKS
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) speaks throughout a rally at St. Mary’s Park on June 22, 2024 within the Bronx borough of New York City. Supporters gathered three days earlier than New York’s major elections. Bowman misplaced the first on June 25. ( (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images))
Bowman lost to George Latimer in New York’s sixteenth congressional district Democratic Primary on Tuesday. Bowman, a member of the left-wing “Squad” Democrats within the House, accused AIPAC of brainwashing voters after he was projected to lose, and argued voters must be outraged.
The defeated candidate said, “We should be outraged when a super PAC of dark money can spend $20 million to brainwash people into believing something that isn’t true. We should be outraged about that.”
Bowman, who has been outspoken about his help for Palestinians amid the battle in Gaza and has charged that Israel has dedicated genocide, was focused by roughly $14 million in spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the deep-pocketed pro-Israel group that supported Latimer.
“AIPAC bought another member of Congress,” Nina Turner, a former surrogate for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaigns, wrote.
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., additionally took subject with AIPAC’s function, and instructed Bowman’s loss had nothing to do with Israel and Gaza.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York supported Bowman, and teamed up with the lawmaker at a rally Saturday in The Bronx.
“We are going to show f—— AIPAC, the power of the motherf—— South Bronx!” Bowman said at the rally, which was held outdoors the congressional district’s boundaries.
“Regardless of your opinion on Bowman, you shouldn’t celebrate an interest group, in this case AIPAC and its big donors, spending a historic $14.5 million in a primary race. Probably not the best thing for democracy,” a columnist for the Daily Beast, Wajahat Ali, wrote on social media.
“Congratulations to @AIPAC on their win in NY-16, proving once again that they are willing to buy our democracy if it means propping their far right regime abroad,” Sunjay A Muralitharan, the National Vice President of College Democrats of America, mentioned.
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Cliff Albright, a co-founder of Black Voters Matter, additionally took purpose at AIPAC.
“Moderate Democrats—some claiming to be pro-Black—celebrating MAGA billionaires ability to literally BUY a congressional seat by replacing an unapologetically Black Black man with a mini Manchin with racist tendencies… is not gonna age well. But by all means, celebrate,” he mentioned.
Ravi Mangla of the New York Working Families Party reacted to Latimer’s victory by suggesting that if AIPAC’s points had been fashionable, “they woudln’t have to spend $17 million to take out a public school principal.”
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The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank wrote a column on Tuesday that referred to as Bowman the “Democratic Trump.”
“This is the story of two New York demagogues. Both men have a history of bigotry, bullying, law breaking, promoting bogus conspiracy theories, engaging in obscene public rants and playing the martyr,” he wrote.
Milbank pointed to Bowman’s resolution to pull a fireplace alarm whereas Democrats had been attempting to delay an vital vote within the House. He additionally wrote that Bowman, a former college principal, “called the (accurate) reports of Hamas attackers raping Israeli women on Oct. 7 a ‘lie’ and ‘propaganda.’”