The primaries ended a long time ago, and we are all focused assiduously on the general election. However, there is one major Republican primary contest that is still outstanding. The member-on-member battle between conservative Jeff Landry and pro-Palestinian leftist Charles Boustany in Louisiana District 3.
Louisiana holds a jungle primary in which all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, are put on the same ballot on November 6. The top two vote-getters, which in this case will invariably be Landry and Boustany, will head to a runoff in December if no one secures 50% of the vote.
There are few issues that bind together all factions of the Republican Party. Even the tax issue has become unglued as many Republicans, including Charles Boustany, have expressed their willingness to raise taxes as part of some phantom grand bargain. The only issue that seems to bind together almost every Republican is their strong support for Israel and the global war on Islamic terror. Even the RINOs are good in that regard.
Well, out of 242 House Republicans, there is only one who is incorrigibly on the wrong side of the issue.
There is a pro-Palestinian lobby group, named J[ihad] Street, which tries to counter AIPAC and some of the Christian pro-Israel groups. They are so far to the left that many Democrats are unwilling to associate with them. Yet, it’s only Democrats who associate with them. That is – except for Charles Boustany. J Street is committed to defeating Pro-Israel conservatives like Joe Walsh and Allen West. Meanwhile, Charles Boustany not only attended their first annual conference, he received their endorsement for Congress.
Why would J Street endorse a Republican? Here’s why.
- Boustany was one of only 3 Republicans to join 33 members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Progressive Caucus to vote against a congressional resolution condemning the “Goldstone Report,” which accused Israel of war crimes. (11/2/2009 Roll Call # 838 on H.Res. 867).
- Boustany offered an amendment that would have removed Egypt’s accountability for Hamas’ arms smuggling into Gaza (roll call #535, 6/21/2007, H.AMDT 371 to H.R. 2764).
- Co-led a letter to President Obama urging him to intervene in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace negotiations. The letter urged Obama to become intimately involved in forcing talks between Israel and the PA, and said the creation of a Palestinian state must precede transparency of the PA government, control over security, or a stable economy. Among the most radical leftists, the only other Republican signatures were Bob Inglis and Geoff Davis (Cohen-Boustany-Carnahan Letter, May 2009).
- Charles Boustany: Led a letter to Secretary of State Rice requesting more foreign aid be delivered to the Palestinian Authority. It was signed by some of the most radical members of the House (Ackerman-Boustany letter, November 2007).
Seriously folks, is this the best we can do from a conservative southern district? Jeff Landry is the no-brainer choice. We don’t need to elect a Debbie Wasserman-Schultz from such a red state. The loss of one district through reapportionment should serve as a clean way for Louisiana to get rid of the most pro-Palestinian “Republican” in Congress.