Democrats Vote Down Resolution Critical of AIPAC During Spring Party Meeting

The Resolutions Committee of the Democratic National Committee has voted down a resolution which would have decried the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Members of the panel said calling out AIPAC specifically was unnecessary, given a resolution opposing dark money in politics has already been adopted. AIPAC has become a major player in Democratic primary politics this year, with tens of millions of dollars being spent across the country to ensure pro-Israel Democrats are elected to Congress. In Illinois alone, AIPAC played a role in several Democratic primaries in the hopes that anti-Israel candidates would lose their primaries. During their spring meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana on Thursday, members of the Resolutions Committee debated the anti-AIPAC resolution, which stated that the group’s role in Democratic politics “raises concerns about undue influence over democratic debate and policymaking.” The debate was livestreamed by the DNC. The proposed resolution was introduced by Allison Minnerly, a DNC member from Florida.“I believe there is merit to calling out different PACs with intention — putting face and name to the forces that influence our elected officials,” Ms. Minnerly said. She said that the party’s voters have a deeply negative view of Israel, and that the DNC should follow their lead.According to a recent poll from Pew Research, 80 percent of Democrats have either a very or somewhat unfavorable opinion of Israel. “In the recent Illinois primary election, AIPAC spent $14 million in the Democratic primary alone,” Ms. Minnerly said, urging her colleagues on the Resolutions Committee to vote yes. A former co-chairwoman of the Rules Committee, Lottie Shackelford of Arkansas, however, argued that it is not “efficient” to go after organizations “one by one.” Ms. Shackelford said that there are “too many to name and it would consume the entirety of the committee’s work.”Another Resolutions Committee member, Peg Schaffer, was more direct: “We can’t pick on the Jews and expect this committee to be respected,” Ms. Schaffer, the vice chairwoman of the New Jersey Democratic Party, said. She argued, like Ms. Shackelford, that to “single out AIPAC” would not be worth the committee’s time because “money is coming from all different places trying to influence elections.” “We’ve already taken care of this,” Ms. Schaffer said, arguing that a separate resolution condemning dark money in politics was sufficient. Earlier this year, AIPAC accidentally helped nominate a fiercely progressive, anti-Israel candidate in a special congressional primary in New Jersey, something Ms. Schaffer noted. In that primary, AIPAC spent money to run ads against a former lawmaker, Congressman Tom Malinowski, who was running in the special election to reclaim a seat in the House. In tearing him down, AIPAC accidentally helped elevate the now-Democratic nominee for the seat, Analilia Mejia, who has accused Israel of committing a genocide in Gaza. Ms. Schaffer said that Mr. Malinowski personally reached out to her to ask her to stand up against the anti-AIPAC resolution, despite the group taking him down earlier this year. The lone Resolutions Committee member to vote in favor of this proposal was Sophia Danenberg of Washington State. Before the vote was held she urged her colleagues to vote yes in order to better align with their party’s voters. “We have to have a conversation on AIPAC,” she said before casting the only “yes” vote on the resolution.

Democrats Vote Down Resolution Critical of AIPAC During Spring Party Meeting

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