A rematch of an Ohio primary race between Bernie Sanders acolyte Nina Turner and establishment Democrat Shontel Brown ended up with Brown once again prevailing and the radical left licking its wounds and blaming Jewish groups for Turner’s defeat.
Turner was backed at the last minute by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). But one group of Turner’s primary supporters, the radical Justice Democrats, declined to back her because pro-Israel super PACs run by DMFI (Democratic Majority for Israel) and AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) “massively outgunned” Turner’s fundraisers.
Turner and Brown were competing to see who would represent Ohio’s 11th Congressional District. Brown previously beat Turner in a 2021 special election primary to fill the seat of former Rep. Marcia Fudge, whom Biden chose as his Housing and Urban Development secretary. Since the 11th is a safe Democratic seat, the winner of the Democratic primary is an almost certain winner in November’s midterms.
In the end, it wasn’t even close. Brown prevailed 65%-35%. And the Justice Democrats scapegoated the Jews for her defeat.
The Intercept:
In the 2021 cycle, DMFI PAC spent just under $2 million on ads supporting Brown and attacking Turner. The AIPAC-aligned Pro-Israel America PAC gave Brown’s campaign more than half a million dollars. Last year, Justice Democrats helped raise more than $100,000 for Turner and supported a half-million dollar independent expenditure backing her.
This year, Brown’s campaign was again propelled by outside pro-Israel groups that claimed Turner “stokes division” and painted her as an “anti-Israel” candidate. And Brown’s reelection campaign was again backed by AIPAC and DMFI, which is funded by $2 million from an oil and gas heir, along with a super PAC funded by a cryptocurrency billionaire. United Democracy Project, an AIPAC political action committee, spent more than $280,000 on the race last month, including more than $198,800 on ads attacking Turner. DMFI PAC spent more than $1 million on the race last month, including more than $312,000 on ads against Turner.
Brown outpolled Turner by 30 points. It’s highly unlikely that any amount of money would have saved Turner from her own worst enemy — herself. Prior to the Trump-Biden election, she compared Biden to a bowl of sh*t.
“It’s like saying to somebody, ‘You have a bowl of sh*t in front of you, and all you’ve got to do is eat half of it instead of the whole thing.’ It’s still sh*t,” Turner said at the time.
Instead of blaming the Jews, she should look to her own side — including the so-called “progressives.”
Another major diversion came from the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, which endorsed Turner last year, spent $104,000 on an independent expenditure supporting her, and last month endorsed Brown. After her first election to Congress, Brown became a simultaneous member of the CPC and the centrist New Democrat Coalition, raising eyebrows.
Several prominent CPC members who backed Turner’s race last cycle — including Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.; Whip Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Deputy Whip Cori Bush, D-Mo.; and Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y.; and Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y. — did not make endorsements in the race this year. The caucus, which has endorsed more than 20 incumbents so far, is reportedly reviewing its endorsement process after backlash over its endorsement of Brown.
Nothing AOC said or did would have helped, which raises the question: why did she endorse a loser candidate in the first place? Ocasio-Cortez is from a school that downgrades the idea of “winning” and places “being right” at the top of the list. It feeds a narcissistic self-image of the lonely crusader, opposed on all sides, standing up for what she believes even though she has no chance of winning.
That’s why the left romanticizes losers like Turner and Bernie Sanders. It makes victimhood attractive.
Contrasting Trump’s success in backing candidates like J.D. Vance and 54 others with AOC’s failed support for Turner really isn’t fair.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not fun.
Source: PJ Media
