Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday singled out AIPAC as a ‘special interest group pushing a wildly unpopular agenda,’ starting a new debate about the pro-Israel organization’s involvement in the party

The debate has been simmering since AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC spent unprecedented sums to unseat two progressive Democrats in their respective primaries over the summer – largely, but not exclusively, bankrolled by donations from Republican megadonors in an election year that was far and away the most expensive in history.

As internal Democratic debate over the party’s ills and its future reached fever pitch in recent days, AIPAC was once again catapulted to the center of the matter.

“Weird to have a whole discourse about ‘special interest groups’ that completely leaves out corporate and industry lobbies – by far the most influential ‘groups’ in the Democratic Party,” Jeremy Slevin, a senior adviser to AIPAC foe Sen. Bernie Sanders, wrote on Sunday.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the most nationally prominent AIPAC critic despite, ironically, being attacked from the left as an apologist for the group earlier this summer, singled out the pro-Israel organization while echoing Slevin’s point. “If people want to talk about members of Congress being overly influenced by a special interest group pushing a wildly unpopular agenda that pushes voters away from Democrats then they should be discussing AIPAC,” she tweeted in response.

  • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
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    4 hours ago

    Lol, id hardly call Justice Democrats “the establishment”. They are libs of course, but it’s just a pet project of some of Sanders old campaign staff and a dude from the Young Turks.

    I don’t think they’re even operational anymore, and there only real goal was to make libs slightly more progressive. Assigning so much control and enigma to the project of a few fail sons is giving them too much credit.

    People need to stop engaging in so much conspiratorial thinking, reality is usually much a lot more simple and boring than people like to suppose.

    • TheFriar@lemm.ee
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      29 minutes ago

      I’m with you on the whole reality being much more boring bit, but simple? I don’t think so.

      All of our problems are interconnected. I find it hard to talk about any issue without having to work backwards up the cascading flowchart of money to corruption to capitalism to heirarchy and the deep indoctrination into these systems of control.

      And I don’t mean in a conspiratorial way, I mean in the way that any issue you point out has larger, macro issues the feed into these more specific micro issues. In short: the fruit is poisoned because the tree is poisoned because the seeds were poisoned because the farmer was poisoned and the soil itself has taken on the poison and spreads to every other tree.

      • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
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        8 minutes ago

        Maybe a better word for simple would have been straight forward. It’s a complex web of tit for tat, but the underlying motivation and how it’s actually accomplished is fairly straightforward.

        There is no reason to believe that there is a need to create a secret society of liberal ngo that hand pick the future president. Pacs and political think tanks are completely legal, and have no real fear of operating in the daylight.

    • demesisx@infosec.pub
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      3 hours ago

      People need to stop engaging in so much conspiratorial thinking

      If it barks like a neolib, excuses genocide like a neolib, breaks national labor strikes like a neolib, kisses Papa bear Pelosi’s ass like a neolib, it just might be a neolib.

      The same genocide-excusing Sanders that has been the quintessential sheepdog for the DNC since he was cheated in 2016? Sanders literally sold his list of supporter info to the DNC after 2016. Ask me how I know.

      • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
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        2 hours ago

        If it barks like a neolib, excuses genocide like a neolib, breaks national labor strikes like a neolib, kisses Papa bear Pelosi’s ass like a neolib, it just might be a neolib.

        Lol, I wasn’t making any claims on neoliberalism. I was just saying the org Justice Democrats isn’t some cabal of movers and shakers planting neolib sleep agents…

        Stop being so fucking dramatic.

        • demesisx@infosec.pub
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          2 hours ago

          I’m not the one appearing in the comment section to excuse a congresswoman that was groomed in an American Idol style talent search and has shown all the signs of someone being primed for the highest office EXACTLY like Obama was.

          She’ll bravely grandstand against Trump throughout his presidency. Then, she’ll be the next President. Just watch.

          Shall we get the remindMebot in here to let time tell us who was right in 5 years?

          • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
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            2 hours ago

            not the one appearing in the comment section to excuse a congresswoman that was groomed

            Lol, is the leader of the secret society of liberals in the room with you right now?

            Again, I’m not defending anyone here. I’m just simply pointing out that the organization you are accusing of being in charge of the entire outlook of dnc is a pretty straightforward liberal think tank that is now defunct.

            They did this for dozens of candidates, and failed with the vast majority of them. I think the only two people I can think of who are still around are aoc and ilhan Omar.

            You are just giving them and the Democrats way too much credit.

            Tbh, I’m not really sure how the dnc will respond to the trump presidency, but it would surprise me if they don’t stumble through the process and ultimately end up even further center right.

            • demesisx@infosec.pub
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              1 hour ago

              It’s called corporate strategy. Regulatory capture is a real, PERVASIVE thing. Come back to this comment section after you read even a paragraph of Chomsky.

              • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
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                1 hour ago

                Regulatory capture is a real, PERVASIVE

                No shit…

                How does regulatory capture play into your highly specific accusation?

                Does the org have a history of involving itself in regulatory capture? Do it’s members work for other organizations that involve themselves in regulatory capture? What specific bills have Omar or aoc put towards forward that you think are part of regulatory capture, and how is the defunct org that sponsored them in 2016 involved?

                Again, you are taking generally true concepts and then applying them very specific accusation with little to no real logic or evidence. This is conspiratorial thinking

                Maybe just pump the brakes and breathe for a second? You are starting to sound like some pizza gate schizophrenic.

    • Optional@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      They are libs of course,

      oooOOO! Those libs! So cucked! wompwomp

      Jesus fucking christ.