REP. JAMAAL BOWMANâS Tuesday upset defeat by Westchester County Executive George Latimer generated many perspectives on what exactly precipitated his downfall.
The New York Times published the headline âBowman Falls in House Primary, Overtaken by Flood of Pro-Israel Moneyâ â before swapping it out for âBowman Falls to Latimer in a Loss for Progressive Democrats.â Other coverage emphasized that the American Israel Public Affairs Committeeâs spending wasnât the only factor in the race and that Bowmanâs flaws made him particularly vulnerable, as did changed district lines that made his reelection even tougher.
Progressive strategists, however, had a much more clear takeaway from the results.
âYou donât drop $15 million on an election if your positions are popular,â said Eva Borgwardtâ©, national spokesperson for the Jewish advocacy group IfNotNow, which endorsed Bowman. âThis was an act of desperation from a pro-war lobby that is at odds with the majority of Americans, including American Jews.â
Borgwardtâ© was referring to nearly $15 million spent on the race by AIPAC, the Israel lobbyâs flagship in the U.S. Millions more poured in from AIPAC-aligned groups and donors, bringing the outside spending total to around $25 million.
Hereâs a few good ones.
The Bureau of Investgative Journalism
The Economist (requires a subscription)
Greg Palast does some great investigative journalism:
The problem with The Intercept is that it was founded by Glenn Greenwald, who is constantly not only going on right-wing media, but often agreeing with their terrible points.
So I donât trust it a lot of the time.
I donât doubt what they are saying in this case, however.
I totally agree about Greenwald, but he was pushed out/resigned in 2020, he has nothing to do with them anymore. When he co-founded it, he was still a well-respected journalist. He isnât anymore, but The Intercept still does exceptional journalism. I recommend taking another look.
Disagreeing with one of the founders which doesnât work there anymore means itâs untrustworthy? If you believe The Intercept is a âright wing propaganda outletâ youâd better to cite examples of that than what you think of an ex-employee.
What has The Intercept done since then to regain my trust? Because I certainly havenât heard them disavow or criticize their founder.
