Westchester County Executive George Latimer, left, Congressman Jamaal Bowman, right
By Bill Gaston
When Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced in December his challenge to two-term incumbent Democratic Congressman Jamaal Bowman (CD-16), I was reminded of Upton Sinclair’s famous line “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
Latimer – a recent recipient of over $600,000 from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a lobbying group that purports to represent pro-Israel policies, but which Congressman Mark Pocan (D-WI) has called a “cancerous presence on our democracy, and politics in general” – certainly understands that waging a primary fight against Congressman Bowman wouldn’t come cheap.
As many seasoned politicians know all too well, AIPAC prides itself on cowing politicians, Democrat and Republican alike, who run afoul of its agenda. That agenda has for years included backing the most reactionary and repressive coalitions in Israel and ensuring that American taxpayers fork over billions in economic and military aid year after year with few if any conditions on that aid. Recently, AIPAC has announced it intends to spend upwards of $100 million against progressive Democrats around the country, including Congressman Bowman, who, in its view, are insufficiently supportive of Israel and the policies of its extremist government.
In agreeing to being bankrolled by AIPAC (which account for 40% of his most recent contributions), Latimer most likely misunderstood how the Faustian bargain he has struck has alienated many of his longtime supporters. As a district leader who has personally knocked on doors, canvassed at train stations, and attended fund raisers for him, I count myself among those longtime Latimer supporters deeply disappointed by his cynical opportunism.
By needlessly injecting himself into this contest, and accepting AIPAC’s funds, I believe George has let his pride and ambition get the better of him. Moreover, slandering his opponent, as he has done recently, with reckless and false accusations of Congressman Bowman receiving “money from Hamas” has only compounded the level of disappointment and anger at his unseemly tactics. To date, Latimer has not retracted those malicious remarks, despite receiving a letter from Congressman Bowman’s campaign threatening a defamation lawsuit if he failed to do so.
Is George Latimer so desperate to win at all costs that he is willing to drive a wedge through an already fragile Democratic Party coalition? More to the point, how does currying favor with the most reactionary elements of the Israel lobby supposed to win over progressive voters?
Regrettably, Latimer’s ambition – he prides himself on never having lost a race for office – has led him to hitch his fortunes to this lobby. That move might have made a lot of tactical sense in the immediate aftermath of October 7th. However, what he has failed to understand is that the base of the Democratic Party has shifted tremendously on the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the present war in Gaza.
Young people, people of color, liberal Jews as well as Arab-American and Muslim voters in greater numbers than ever believe we must end unconditional US military and diplomatic support for the Israeli assault on Gaza, a grave humanitarian catastrophe which has left more than 30,000 Palestinians dead, the vast majority of them women and children.
By now the world has witnessed both the unspeakable horror of the Hamas attack on October 7th and the subsequent savage response of the Israeli military. Rather than listen to his constituents who object to Israel’s scorched earth campaign in Gaza, and the endless bloodshed, Latimer continues to parrot AIPAC talking points, and to slander his opponent, all in his desire for victory at all costs.
To his credit, Congressman Bowman has been one of the few (but growing) legislators to call for a cease fire in Gaza, a position supported by large majorities of the American public, according to recent polls. He has met with interfaith groups of all stripes, and forged alliances with social justice groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace and If Not Now to try and arrive at a just resolution of the Gaza conflict. Michelle Goldberg, opinion columnist for the New York Times, has described Bowman’s attempt to bridge the increasingly tribal divides as “decent and brave…knowing how much ire would be directed at him.”
As for Latimer, one voter — whose conversation with him at a town hall meeting sparked the controversy on “Hamas money” – remarked, “What does it say about his [Latimer’s] character if this is what he’ll do to win?”
Bill Gaston, Bronxville, NY
Mr. Gaston is a Democratic Party District Leader in the Village of Bronxville. The views expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent the views of the Bronxville Democratic Committee, which has not endorsed any candidate in the race.
