Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street's director, acknowledged that the Pennsylvania race is a test for his group.At the same time, Ben-Ami was hedging his bets:
"There's no question that this race is a very important test of what kind of support J Street andf its supporters can deliver," he said. "We will show a substantial amount of money can be raised from our political action committee, and that a substaintial amount of money can be raised for a candidate that opposes the right wing on these issues."
Donors thus far have dedicated $100,000 to Sestak's race through the J Street PAC -- a hefty chunk of the $650,000 the organization has raised this cycle.
Ben-Ami, however, qualified that the race is not make or break: The fight this year will be principally fought over bread-and-butter issues like the economy.
"This is not an issue that turns elections," he told JTA.So Ben-Ami seems to be saying that the Pennsylvania race is a test of J Street--not for whether their support can actually win the race for the candidates that they stand behind, but rather a test for how much money they can raise for those candidates.
For J Street, their political support is all about the money and not about the issue of Israel.
But as JTA itself points out, that is not always the case:
In fact, in neck-and-neck races such as this one, a lot can turn an election -- including Israel issues. In 1992, Specter was a Republican senator in a GOP-unfriendly year when he came from behind to defeat challenger Lynn Yeakel. Among the reasons for Specter's rally: Yeakel refused to criticize her church for hosting speakers critical of Israel.In fact, Israel became an issue for Sestak as well, and as I posted about earlier, both in Pennsylvania and elsewhere J Street did in fact support a number of Democrats in tight races--and in when it came to tight races, J Street money did not help.
When it comes to a choice between the financial support on the one hand and losing votes for the candidate on the other, politicians may learn from this election that being associated with J Street just is not worth the price.
Technorati Tag: J Street and Joe Sestak.
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