Antics, not antisemitism, hurt the Squad with voters thumbnail

Antics, not antisemitism, hurt the Squad with voters

In one of the final primary races of the 2024 cycle, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) avoided the ignominious fate of Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Cori Bush (D-MO) by easily winning renomination, allowing Congress’ left-wing “Squad” to heave a sigh of relief.

In two highly publicized races, Bowman and Bush fell to primary challengers by wide margins, a shocking result for two high-profile incumbents who are associated with that small group of far-left lawmakers. The group also includes Omar and Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Summer Lee (D-PA), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). All of the members have been among the most vocal critics of Israel and, at times, have even offered tacit endorsements of the terrorist group Hamas.

The brazen antisemitism displayed by the Squad invited a cascade of outside money, primarily from the political arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which spent millions on bids to successfully unseat Bush and Bowman. In the aftermath of her loss, Bush vowed to AIPAC that she was “coming to tear your kingdom down.”

But Bush and Bowman lost not because of their antisemitism or their radical politics. The flavor of far-left politics that they both espoused was right at home in their heavily Democratic districts. One only needs to look at how easily Tlaib, Lee, and Ocasio-Cortez won their respective primaries. Bush and Bowman lost because voters, regardless of their partisan leanings, do not like performative representatives who create drama and act corruptly.

Bush and Bowman both had unique vulnerabilities that set them apart from the other members of the Squad. Bowman infamously pulled the fire alarm in a House office building last year in a bid to delay a vote. He later incredulously claimed that he believed the alarm was a button to open a door. Bush, for her part, is currently under investigation for using campaign funds to pay her husband to be a part of her private security detail.

With the two members losing their respective primaries, a pattern is emerging of voters taking a skeptical look at lawmakers who make public antics and social media fodder a focal point of their time in office.

In 2022, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who had been known to seek out media attention through viral videos and other means, came within a few hundred votes of losing to a moderate Democratic candidate in a district that typically favors Republicans by comfortable margins. The near-loss was followed by a string of bad headlines that included a racy moment in a theater.

The trail of self-inflicted bad publicity led her to embrace a much lower profile in Congress and avoid making headlines. She then moved to an even more Republican-friendly district for 2024 to allow a less controversial candidate to run in her old district.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

That same year Omar, who had already served two terms in Congress but had also developed a national profile that could be argued came at the expense of her constituency, nearly lost her primary to Don Samuels. But on Tuesday, running against Samuels again and carrying the same record of antisemitism as Bush and Bowman, she won handily after making a more robust effort to campaign.

Make no mistake, the ouster of Bush and Bowman is a welcome development, but their opposition to Israel’s war against Hamas had little to do with it. Their losses should serve as a warning to lawmakers of either party who put their personality and self-interests above their constituents.

2024-08-14 17:57:00, http://s.wordpress.com/mshots/v1/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fopinion%2F3120998%2Fantics-not-antisemitism-hurt-the-squad-with-voters%2F?w=600&h=450, In one of the final primary races of the 2024 cycle, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) avoided the ignominious fate of Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Cori Bush (D-MO) by easily winning renomination, allowing Congress’ left-wing “Squad” to heave a sigh of relief. In two highly publicized races, Bowman and Bush fell to primary challengers by,

In one of the final primary races of the 2024 cycle, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) avoided the ignominious fate of Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Cori Bush (D-MO) by easily winning renomination, allowing Congress’ left-wing “Squad” to heave a sigh of relief.

In two highly publicized races, Bowman and Bush fell to primary challengers by wide margins, a shocking result for two high-profile incumbents who are associated with that small group of far-left lawmakers. The group also includes Omar and Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Summer Lee (D-PA), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). All of the members have been among the most vocal critics of Israel and, at times, have even offered tacit endorsements of the terrorist group Hamas.

The brazen antisemitism displayed by the Squad invited a cascade of outside money, primarily from the political arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which spent millions on bids to successfully unseat Bush and Bowman. In the aftermath of her loss, Bush vowed to AIPAC that she was “coming to tear your kingdom down.”

But Bush and Bowman lost not because of their antisemitism or their radical politics. The flavor of far-left politics that they both espoused was right at home in their heavily Democratic districts. One only needs to look at how easily Tlaib, Lee, and Ocasio-Cortez won their respective primaries. Bush and Bowman lost because voters, regardless of their partisan leanings, do not like performative representatives who create drama and act corruptly.

Bush and Bowman both had unique vulnerabilities that set them apart from the other members of the Squad. Bowman infamously pulled the fire alarm in a House office building last year in a bid to delay a vote. He later incredulously claimed that he believed the alarm was a button to open a door. Bush, for her part, is currently under investigation for using campaign funds to pay her husband to be a part of her private security detail.

With the two members losing their respective primaries, a pattern is emerging of voters taking a skeptical look at lawmakers who make public antics and social media fodder a focal point of their time in office.

In 2022, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who had been known to seek out media attention through viral videos and other means, came within a few hundred votes of losing to a moderate Democratic candidate in a district that typically favors Republicans by comfortable margins. The near-loss was followed by a string of bad headlines that included a racy moment in a theater.

The trail of self-inflicted bad publicity led her to embrace a much lower profile in Congress and avoid making headlines. She then moved to an even more Republican-friendly district for 2024 to allow a less controversial candidate to run in her old district.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

That same year Omar, who had already served two terms in Congress but had also developed a national profile that could be argued came at the expense of her constituency, nearly lost her primary to Don Samuels. But on Tuesday, running against Samuels again and carrying the same record of antisemitism as Bush and Bowman, she won handily after making a more robust effort to campaign.

Make no mistake, the ouster of Bush and Bowman is a welcome development, but their opposition to Israel’s war against Hamas had little to do with it. Their losses should serve as a warning to lawmakers of either party who put their personality and self-interests above their constituents.

, In one of the final primary races of the 2024 cycle, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) avoided the ignominious fate of Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Cori Bush (D-MO) by easily winning renomination, allowing Congress’ left-wing “Squad” to heave a sigh of relief. In two highly publicized races, Bowman and Bush fell to primary challengers by wide margins, a shocking result for two high-profile incumbents who are associated with that small group of far-left lawmakers. The group also includes Omar and Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Summer Lee (D-PA), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). All of the members have been among the most vocal critics of Israel and, at times, have even offered tacit endorsements of the terrorist group Hamas. The brazen antisemitism displayed by the Squad invited a cascade of outside money, primarily from the political arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which spent millions on bids to successfully unseat Bush and Bowman. In the aftermath of her loss, Bush vowed to AIPAC that she was “coming to tear your kingdom down.” But Bush and Bowman lost not because of their antisemitism or their radical politics. The flavor of far-left politics that they both espoused was right at home in their heavily Democratic districts. One only needs to look at how easily Tlaib, Lee, and Ocasio-Cortez won their respective primaries. Bush and Bowman lost because voters, regardless of their partisan leanings, do not like performative representatives who create drama and act corruptly. Bush and Bowman both had unique vulnerabilities that set them apart from the other members of the Squad. Bowman infamously pulled the fire alarm in a House office building last year in a bid to delay a vote. He later incredulously claimed that he believed the alarm was a button to open a door. Bush, for her part, is currently under investigation for using campaign funds to pay her husband to be a part of her private security detail. With the two members losing their respective primaries, a pattern is emerging of voters taking a skeptical look at lawmakers who make public antics and social media fodder a focal point of their time in office. In 2022, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who had been known to seek out media attention through viral videos and other means, came within a few hundred votes of losing to a moderate Democratic candidate in a district that typically favors Republicans by comfortable margins. The near-loss was followed by a string of bad headlines that included a racy moment in a theater. The trail of self-inflicted bad publicity led her to embrace a much lower profile in Congress and avoid making headlines. She then moved to an even more Republican-friendly district for 2024 to allow a less controversial candidate to run in her old district. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER That same year Omar, who had already served two terms in Congress but had also developed a national profile that could be argued came at the expense of her constituency, nearly lost her primary to Don Samuels. But on Tuesday, running against Samuels again and carrying the same record of antisemitism as Bush and Bowman, she won handily after making a more robust effort to campaign. Make no mistake, the ouster of Bush and Bowman is a welcome development, but their opposition to Israel’s war against Hamas had little to do with it. Their losses should serve as a warning to lawmakers of either party who put their personality and self-interests above their constituents., , Antics, not antisemitism, hurt the Squad with voters, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/cori-bush-aipac-1024×591.webp, Washington Examiner, Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon-32×32.png, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Jeremiah Poff,

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