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Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy
No. of Recommendations: 2
No. of Recommendations: 1
And the democrats' bench - already very, very thin - takes another hit.
I haven't been terribly impressed with her governance of the state. That being said, the GOP candidates, that ran against her, had they won, would have continued the "work" of Engler and Snyder of taking from the Proles, to enrich the rich. Seems every GOP candidate for Gov on this go around, wants to repeal the income tax and education property tax, which mostly benefits the rich, with no firm plan to replace the lost revenue, or clearly state what spending cuts would be made. Typical Lansing shell game, asking voters to buy the proverbial "pig in a poke". I would much rather the SecState drop out, and Duggan run as a Dem, because Duggan has a pretty good track record, but no-one pays any attention to Proles like me.
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 2
Dope1: And the democrats' bench - already very, very thin - takes another hit.
A woman was not going to be at the top of the ticket in '28.
Thinking maybe a Beshear-Moore, or Beshear-Kelly ticket. Maybe Raimondo as VP on some ticket. Or maybe Roy Cooper, Booker, Grisham, or Healey.
Still early, though.
No. of Recommendations: 1
It would have been a huge surprise had Gretchen decided to run
No. of Recommendations: 1
Thinking maybe a Beshear-Moore, or Beshear-Kelly ticket.
If you buy what Tom Massie, Joe Kent, and others, are saying, Beshear has no chance at the federal level. He has made a point of not taking money from AIPAC.
Here is a starting list, for likely candidates, from the net sifter.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and affiliated groups, such as Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) and Pro-Israel America, represent the largest financial backers.Top Career and Recent Recipients.
Rep Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ): One of the highest career recipients from pro-Israel PACs and donors, having raised over $2 million from the sector.Sen.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY): A major recipient in the House, pulling in over $1.1 million in the 2023–2024 cycle alone.
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA): Has received over $1.09 million from the Israel lobby since 2020.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): Received over $1.7 million in cumulative career funds, heavily augmented in recent cycles.
My cynical pick would be Auchincloss. He is "young and dynamic" (will be 40 on election day 2028, also rich, Harvard, and connected), and gives the DNC an opportunity to show they aren't "antisemitic". Most of the top AIPAC recipients who have been in the Senate are too decrepit to run (Biden, Hillary, Sherrod Brown (OH)), or in prison (Menendez)
Of course, if you don't buy what Massie, Kent, and others, are saying, then a Million one way or the other, in a House race, does not exercise undue influence on the candidate.
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 5
He has made a point of not taking money from AIPAC.
Here is a starting list, for likely candidates, from the net sifter.
Steve, I know that you've really been banging the drum on this, "Israel controls American politics" thing for a while - but are you serious about this? Or was this a bit of dark humor?
No. of Recommendations: 1
...but are you serious about this? Or was this a bit of dark humor? Yes.
Actually, I think what tipped me over the edge was seeing a clip of Hillary speaking at AIPAC. Her language was so servile I started to smell a rat. Since then, I have been commenting on "candidates for President, making their pilgrimage to AIPAC, to pledge fealty to Israel". As is often the case, I wondered if I was wrong, or just early. Now, it seems others are starting to catch up to me.
Open Secrets lists Hillary as the third highest recipient of Israeli lobbyist money at over $2.3M, in spite of her short stint in the Senate. #1 and #2 are Biden and Menendez, who were each in the Senate a lot longer.
https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary?cyc...Steve
No. of Recommendations: 3
Steve, I know that you've really been banging the drum on this, "Israel controls American politics" thing for a while - but are you serious about this? Or was this a bit of dark humor?
I'm not Steve, but I've been aware for a long time that the pro-Israel lobby(ies) have more influence than their size might suggest. The US has been a staunch defender of Israel, even when the entire UN wanted to condemn some action. Even when they bombed one of our ships. The Irish grad students in our collaboration were curious about that, and I didn't really have a good answer for them. My guess is that Jewish persons are very successful, and have money, and apply that money to pro-Israel causes and candidates. Even though less than 3% of the population is Jewish, their money talks.
Certainly, Israel is a way of asserting influence in the region (for better or worse, since Israel p-o's all their neighbors). And previously, Israel could shoot at Saddam or Iran or whomever without any US involvement. But I still think support is disproportionate -at times- to the advantages.
Just my impression of the situation. I haven't done a deep dive on it.
No. of Recommendations: 0
I started to smell a rat. Interesting tidbits hitting the "news" today. This is about the Michigan Dem primary for the open US Senate seat, caused by Dem Gary Peters' retiring from the Senate. The Detroit News piece is paywalled.
Pro-Israel PAC uses 'loophole' to quietly fund Stevens in Dem primary
Washington — A prominent pro-Israel political group is responsible for a significant share of the donor base for Haley Stevens’ Democratic U.S. Senate bid, despite not showing up by name in public disclosures, a Detroit News analysis of campaign finance records shows.https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/20...A Democrat’s Dodge on AIPAC Points to the Party’s Tensions Over Israel
When Representative Haley Stevens of Michigan was asked on Thursday during a Democratic primary debate for Senate what it meant that she had accepted campaign contributions from donors to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, she spoke 160 words without coming remotely close to answering the question.
Instead, Ms. Stevens said her campaign was “a love letter to our state,” called for campaign finance reform and highlighted her endorsements from several high-profile former Democratic politicians from the state. She did not mention Israel or her support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
AIPAC, which has become toxic in Democratic primary politics, has not sent campaign money directly to Ms. Stevens or to other Democratic primary candidates this year. Instead, its donors have funneled money to preferred candidates and funded shadowy super PACs that have spent millions on Democratic primary contests in other states.
The question to Ms. Stevens followed a report on Thursday by The Detroit News that found that 31 percent of donors to Ms. Stevens’s Senate campaign had also given to AIPAC, a percentage far higher than during her previous two House bids. AIPAC’s fund-raising website has a page through which donors can give directly to Ms. Stevens.https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/us/politics/el-...TYT covered the content of the Detroit News article tonight, along with some other bits. One of the other bits was video of Stevens saying "Israel comes to me in my dreams".
Now all this, the Detroit News article, the video of Stevens saying she has visitations from Israel in her sleep, could all be fake, to sabotage her campaign, to plant that thought that, as a Senator, she will be more interested in working for Israel, like Ted Cruz says he does, out loud, rather than serving the taxpayers of Michigan. But my suspicion of excessive Israeli influence in US government deliberations, started with Hillary, either when she was campaigning against Trump, 10 years ago, or campaigning against Obama, 18 years ago, long before Israel became so toxic to most USian voters.
If I think of it, I'll post a link to the TYT piece, when it goes up on YT.
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 1
If I think of it, I'll post a link to the TYT piece, when it goes up on YT.Here's the TYT piece. Pay no heed to Cenk's hyperbole. Just look at the direct quotes and facts presented, like the $5.5M that Stevens has pocketed from Israeli lobbyists. The bit about Stevens saying Israel comes to her in her dreams starts around the 11:40 mark. I wonder if the citizens and taxpayers of Michigan appear in her dreams too? I bet that $5.5M gets Israel the prime time slot. There are two other Dems running in the primary. One is AIPAC lite, and the other one says crazy stuff like "defund ICE". We are frelled.
AIPAC Is In A State Of PANIChttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ-skmBzlqM&t=22sSteve
