Was Sestak THE Test For J Street? Back In July, J Street Seemed To Think So

Back in July, the Jewish Telegraph Agency was reporting that J Street saw Sestak as an important test for J Street:

Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street's director, acknowledged that the Pennsylvania race is a test for his group.

"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.

At the same time, Ben-Ami was hedging his bets:

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.