{news} Pro-Israel political funds in U.S. target friendly incumbents - and challengers (re: Lieberman)

[Justine McCabe]

> Following is an article from JTA - The Global News Service of the Jewish
> People. For in-depth coverage of the latest developments affecting Jews 
> all
> over the world, click: www.jta.org


> http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=17122&intcategoryid=3

> Pro-Israel political funds in U.S. target friendly incumbents - and
> challengers
> By: Ron Kampeas
>
> WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (JTA) - Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) moved out of one
> political home when Democrats rejected him in an August primary, but an
> influx of campaign cash since his loss shows he's more welcome than ever 
> in
> another - the pro-Israel community.
>
> Since he lost the Democratic party's nomination - and its financial 
> backing
> - for his Senate seat, Lieberman has become the top fund-raiser among
> American Jews whose primary political focus is support for Israel .
>
> Insiders say Lieberman is expected to earn as much as $2 million from
> pro-Israel donors, about one-tenth of his total projected war chest.
>
> Other candidates topping the list of pro-Israel financial support include
> Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.); Sheldon Whitehouse, who is challenging Sen.
> Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.); Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.); and Brad 
> Ellsworth,
> who is challenging U.S. Rep. John Hostettler (R-Ind.).
>
> The money is being raised by a loose network of donors, many of whom have
> strong ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the 
> pro-Israel
> lobby. Other Jewish donors may make Israel a high priority but also 
> consider
> domestic issues, including reproductive choice, church-state separation 
> and
> other social and welfare policy concerns.
>
> With Democrats and Republicans vying for control of the U.S. Senate and
> House of Representatives, the Nov. 7 elections have generated an unusually
> high level of political donations and spending. Jewish donors, often 
> central
> to political fund-raising, are deeply engaged once again.
>
> Numbers are hard to track, but multi-issue Jewish givers are believed to
> give much more overall than single-issue, pro-Israel donors.
>
> Among the trends in pro-Israel money, fund-raisers say, is a rush to 
> defend
> endangered Israel-friendly incumbents, the majority of whom are 
> Republicans.
> There is also significant support directed toward challengers of 
> incumbents
> such as Chafee and Hostettler, who are not considered friendly to Israel .
>
> Speaking on condition of anonymity, several Lieberman donors told JTA that
> the iconic Jewish politician is drawing heavy support from Republican as
> well as Democratic Jewish donors. Lieberman, who was the Democratic vice
> presidential candidate in 2000, is running as an independent after his
> primary loss, but has pledged to support the Democratic caucus if
> re-elected.
>
> Lieberman always has elicited significant Jewish support, but backers say
> that support intensified among pro-Israel donors once he lost his party's
> backing.
>
> Lieberman backers have hosted major fund-raisers in Connecticut ; in Boca
> Raton , Fla. ; in Chicago ; and in northern New Jersey . Those events earn 
> a
> minimum of $50,000, and a mid-October event in Los Angeles is expected to
> bring in $1 million, organizers said.
>
> "Joe's experience and his commitment to the State of Israel would be a 
> huge
> loss" if he were ousted from the Senate, said Marvin Lender, a Connecticut
> entrepreneur and longtime Lieberman backer who has contributed to his
> campaign.
>
> Few believe that Ned Lamont, the cable TV millionaire whose anti-Iraq war
> campaign defeated Lieberman in the Democratic primary, won't be supportive
> on Israel . Indeed, Lamont explains his opposition to the Iraq war by 
> saying
> that it strengthened Iran , Israel 's deadliest rival.
>
> But Lieberman's long record defending Israel , not to mention his strong
> Jewish identification, makes him the favorite for pro-Israel funders, 
> Lender
> said.
>
> Lieberman characterizes Lamont as an unaccountable millionaire - but
> Lamont's wealth, paradoxically, has boosted Lieberman.
>
> U.S. law allows donors to increase their donation limit from $2,100 each 
> for
> primaries and general elections, and as much as $12,600 if the candidate's
> opponent is self-funded. Insiders say that helps explain Lieberman's
> stunning showing among Jews and those focused on the Israel issue.
>
> Other major beneficiaries of pro-Israel munificence in midterm elections 
> for
> the Senate include Santorum, Menendez, Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), Sen.
> Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) and Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.).
>
> Along with Lieberman, those senators have three things in common that are
> surefire magnets for pro-Israel money: They're incumbents, they're very
> friendly to Israel and their re-election prospects are grim.
>
> "I believe in loyalty: You help people who were there when you needed 
> them,"
> said Lonnie Kaplan, the self-identified Democrat leading pro-Israel 
> funding
> for Santorum, who is fighting an uphill battle against challenger Bob 
> Casey,
> the Pennsylvania state treasurer.
>
> "He's got a tough fight and I have worked hard for him."
>
> Kaplan would not say how much pro-Israel money was raised for Santorum, 
> but
> some reports have indicated that it is $1 million of the $21 million the
> embattled campaign has brought in so far.
>
> Two Democratic non-incumbents benefitting from pro-Israel largesse are
> Whitehouse, a former Rhode Island attorney general hoping to unseat 
> Chafee;
> and Ellsworth, an Indiana sheriff taking aim at Hostettler. Both 
> challengers
> are leading the incumbents in polls, thanks in part to the infusion of
> pro-Israel funds.
>
> Whitehouse can thank Chafee for the estimated $1 million in pro-Israel
> funding he's expected to attract across the country. Chafee, a Rhode 
> Island
> moderate, is consistently cool on Israel , and didn't help himself earlier
> this month when he delayed confirmation of John Bolton, the strongly
> pro-Israel ambassador to the United Nations.
>
> Chafee cited Israel 's settlement policy in explaining the delay on Bolton 
> .
> Analysts now say that Bolton , who is serving as an interim ambassador, 
> will
> have to be replaced in January.
>
> In Indiana , Hostettler, who often votes against legislation backed by
> AIPAC, is a social conservative, making him an especially tempting target
> for Jews, who tend to be overwhelmingly liberal-to-moderate.
>
> In some races, those values ultimately clash: For many Jews, Santorum's
> strong pro-Israel support is not enough to offset his hard-line opposition
> to abortion, embryonic stem-cell research and support for tax cuts and
> expanding the government's subpoena powers.
>
> His opponent, Casey, is getting far less purely pro-Israel money but
> overall, he is getting more Jewish money than Santorum's $1 million,
> insiders say. Casey has easily raised $3 million among Jews in 
> Pennsylvania
> and other states such as New York and California , political insiders say.
>
> "For people who are only single-issue, they're sticking with Santorum," 
> said
> Betsy Sheer, a media training specialist who is advising the Casey 
> campaign.
> "For people who are pro-Israel and are looking at domestic issues, like
> separation of church-state and privacy, they're supporting Casey."
>
> That face-off - between single-issue, pro-Israel givers who back friendly
> incumbents, and liberal Jewish donors who back challengers who also have
> proved their pro-Israel bona fides - is occurring in several states.
>
> In Montana , Jews are giving both to Sen. Conrad Burns, a Republican, and 
> to
> his challenger, Jon Tester, the Montana Senate president. The same is true
> in a House race in Florida , where long-serving Republican Rep. Clay Shaw 
> is
> fighting back Ron Klein, who is Jewish and the minority leader in the 
> state
> Senate.
>
> Shaw is getting much more purely pro-Israel cash than is Klein, while 
> Klein,
> who also is supportive of Israel , is getting more money from Jews in
> general.
>
> It's hard to assess overall giving levels, because individuals are 
> likelier
> to donate directly to the campaign instead of to political action
> committees, which have a $10,000 limit to any particular candidate in an
> election season. Direct donations are more appealing because they offer
> better access and are difficult to trace.
>
> The Center for Responsive Politics tracked 33 pro-Israel PACs that had 
> given
> $2,096,782 by the beginning of September, including $1,135,383 to 
> Democrats
> and $873,899 to Republicans. Insiders say PACs account for about 10 
> percent
> of overall donations made by donors concerned primarily about Israel .
>
> Many of the House incumbents earning pro-Israel attention are Republicans,
> including Reps. Curt Weldon and Jim Gerlach in Pennsylvania and Reps. 
> Chris
> Shays and Rob Simmons in Connecticut . That's partly because it's mostly
> incumbent Republicans who face strong challenges this season, reeling from
> bad news in Iraq and an economy that many middle-class Americans still 
> find
> daunting.
>
> At the same time, Jews are heavily supporting some of their Democratic
> challengers, including Lois Murphy in Pennsylvania , who is challenging
> Gerlach.
>
> "Some of it is legitimately attributable to this phenomenon of Republicans
> in power," said Steve Rabinowitz, a Clinton administration communications
> official who is a Democratic strategist. "The pro-Israel money goes 
> grossly
> disproportionately to incumbents who have been good on Israel ."
>
> He expressed concern, however, that pro-Israel givers have been swayed by 
> an
> aggressive Republican campaign to draw Jewish donors away from the
> Democrats, the party Jewish voters overwhelmingly have favored.
>
> "Turning Israel into a partisan issue is just about the worst thing that 
> can
> happen," Rabinowitz said. "Why would an Israel supporter want to make it a
> wedge issue?"
>
> Republican Jews say Democrats have the problem, citing surveys that show
> rank-and-file Democrats much likelier to favor a more balanced U.S. 
> approach
> to Israeli-Arab issues.
>
> "We're illuminating the fact that support for Israel is eroding within the
> Democratic Party," said Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican
> Jewish Coalition. "They need to address the root causes."