Republicans Boost Jill Stein as Potential Harris Spoiler
wsj.com
“Federal Election Commission records show Stein paid $100,000 in July to a consulting outfit that has worked with Republican campaigns, as well as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential bid. The firm, Accelevate, is operated by Trent Pool. The Intercept reported that he appeared to be part of the mob that breached the grounds of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6., 2021. The Journal hasn’t independently verified the reporting.”
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Then what is? It's fine to buy candidates as long as your PAC has the fig leaf of US funding when it operates on behalf of a foreign government? Because that's what happened. Israel didn't like the incumbents. AIPAC spent loads of money on their challengers.
Back in 2022, we were told that when the party propped up the anti-choice, pro-nra, anti-labor Henry Cuellar against his progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros, it absolutely wasn't because he was a centrist and she a progressive. It was that the party protects its incumbents in order to maintain the incumbency advantage and the proven track record for winning.
But we just saw the party do absolutely fucking nothing at all to protect the progressive incumbents Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, while their opponents took boatloads of cash from AIPAC to sink them.
As far as I'm concerned, the party supports Netanyahu's ongoing genocide, and in exchange AIPAC spends heaps of money in opposition to progressive incumbents that party leadership refuses to protect.
I understand what you're trying to say, but you've mixed in 3 different topics into a blender to build up a narrative. This is literally a gish gallop and it's intentional.
The only thing I pushed back was that AIPAC was taking money directly from Israel and circumventing FARA, which is a common conspiratorial talking point.
Now in addition to addressing FARA, you want to talk about
incumbent advantage and popularity of these candidates
dems support for genocide,
the influence of lobbying in elections.
Ok, let's both take a step back here, I ask that you humor me for a moment. Could you please quote where I said that Israel directly funded AIPAC in contravention of FARA? I don't recall making such an assertion, but you seem to be arguing as though I did.
Accusing me of being a conspiracy theorist for noticing that AIPAC spent loads of money to essentially buy candidates is low. Calling it a gish gallop when I expanded on it is lower still.
Isn't the implication here that Israel - a foreign entity - is directing an american Lobby directly?
They can do that without so much as a dime of Israeli funds.
I don't know if you are doing it intentionally. The alt right uses AIPAC funded by Israel extremely often as an Anti-semitic talking point and also as a method to minimize any Ukraine involvement. Whether intentional or not, your initial claim insinuated this heavily as if Israel and the deepstate are pulling the strings on our politicians. The reality is there are many Jews living in the US, and those jews are sympathetic to Israel. It also happens that Israel has been a longstanding ally of the US (whether that's ethical or not is a different discussion). If you want to make the claim that AIPAC has influence in politics that's significantly different than a foreign entity crossing FARA and directing US policy. The world is not so black and white.
You see me say AIPAC and add "funded by Israel" which I never fucking said or even implied. They aren't funded by Israel. You will of course ignore this and keep lying about my position.
Dafuq? I didn't even mention Ukraine. For the record, Putin is a dictator who is also committing genocide. I'm glad we're not selling him weapons. It's too bad we're selling any to Netanyahu just so he can murder Palestinians in order to prop up his political career.
The deepstate? Dude. AIPAC shoveled tons of money at two centrists right out in the open. There was no secrecy. No attempt at secrecy. Just money for people who do what Netanyahu wants.
You're deliberately and repeatedly lying about my position. I never said that Israel is funding AIPAC. Not fucking once. Nothing you have said during this entire conversation has even approached good faith.
You can't argue against what I've actually said, so you falsely claim I said things I did not say and hold positions I do not hold. You can beat the shit outta the straw effigy you've constructed of me in my absence.
What does this mean:
Walk us through what you meant to say with that.
I already did. You added things I didn't say to construct a strawman. You and him have fun.
So there is direct foreign interference from Israel violating FARA?
Or is AIPAC an American Lobby group that is sympathetic to Israel?
Which is it?
They use only US funds when they buy politicians on behalf of Netanyahu.
Need some more straw?
Eh, as long as Netanyahu (or any foreign government) isn't instructing them directly on how the funds should be spent it's perfectly legal. Otherwise any lobby group is allowed to lobby on behalf of any interest, including an ally nation. Is it ethical? That's debatable. Is it legal? Yes, as long as FARA is not being violated.
You're welcome to start your own lobby group, Ensign.
For what it's worth, I'm not down voting you.
And it's really difficult to prove such a thing, and there's virtually no interest in pursuing it.
And I consider that to be foreign interference in US elections. Of course it's legal. Lots of shitty things are legal.
And we're back to "just start your own group to interfere with elections!" I want less interference, not more.