You wouldn’t normally expect Washington Democrats to spend much time fretting over a congressional primary in Arizona. But the three-way Democratic race between Kyrsten Sinema, Andrei Cherny, and David Schapira is getting a surprising amount of attention from national Democrats, the pro-Israel community and the political media.Continue reading.
Ten years ago, Sinema was one of those radical left-wing activists who donned pink tutus at anti-war rallies and organized with anti-Israel groups. Today, the 36-year-old is running for Congress as an AIPAC-supporting moderate who would have voted in favor of the Afghanistan intervention.
The problem? Some Democrats say her evolution doesn’t add up. For one, Sinema’s been involved with anti-Israel and anti-war groups much more recently than her campaign has acknowledged. And while she recently released a strongly-worded pro-Israel position paper, her latest comments on foreign policy issues have been dodgy and confusing.
“Is she for or against killing bin Laden?” asked former AIPAC spokesman Josh Block. “Based on her record, you don’t know. You would think when you’re considering a member of Congress, you would know their positions on these issues.”
One Democratic Arizona state representative who has worked with Sinema said her views are impossible to decipher.
“When she wanted to be an activist, she was anti-war, all these kinds of things that now she says she never was,” he said. “I don’t think she actually has a foreign policy core, I think she has a political core.”
According to the Washington Free Beacon’s Adam Kredo, Sinema didn’t just dabble in radical circles; she helped organize and lead extreme anti-war groups that took anti-Israel positions on issues like the right of return and Israel’s self defense. Townhall’s Guy Benson reported that she was involved in anarchist riots that encouraged property destruction.
Sinema’s campaign disputed the claim that she was involved with anti-Israel activism, calling it a smear tactic by opponents.
Look, obviously the woman wants to hide her really despicable past. She wouldn't talk to Goodman on the phone, told her to schedule an interview with her staff, and after Goodman called back she hasn't returned her messages. I guess that's getting too close to home.
It's so bad that even Philip Weiss has denounced Sinema at the anti-Israel Mondweiss, "Once she joined ‘Women in Black’ and opposed aid to Israel. And then – she ran for Congress and went to AIPAC."
Following the links, it turns out that Marc Tracy has a report on the Ninth District race at the Tablet, which has this on Sinema:
Soon after 9/11, at 25 years old, she co-founded Local to Global Justice, a local advocacy group. Its initial mission was to oppose the invasion of Afghanistan, but in 2007 it signed a petition calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel and another in 2008 decrying Israeli “human rights violations against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and against civilians in Lebanon.” Sinema joined Women in Black, a group founded by Israelis during the First Intifada to protest human rights abuses in the territories—a history of which Sinema claimed to be unaware. (That’s pretty hard to believe, since the group was founded in 1988 and is easily located on Google.) Also in 9/11’s aftermath, she helped organize the Arizona Alliance for Peaceful Justice; its motto was, “military action is an inappropriate response to terrorism.” According to The Hill, this was her position, too. At least as late as 2010, she continued to associate with these groups, speaking, for example, at an antiwar rally several sponsored. She has since severed ties.The post is documented with lots of links, damning links.
BONUS: Sinema is a switch hitter, according to the Advocate, "Bi Politician Announces Congressional Bid":
Arizona state senator Kyrsten Sinema has resigned from her post to pursue a U.S. House seat that has been created due to redistricting. If elected, Sinema would be the first openly bisexual member of Congress.More at the Washington Free Beacon, "Adult Sinema."
PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons.
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