Democrats’ AIPAC obsession — a small update on an ancient conspiracy theory

Swap one word for another and pretend you've said something different. That's the trick being played here, and it's not even a new trick. When Democratic candidates start talking about "AIPAC money" corrupting their opponents, or a shadowy pro-Israel lobby buying elections, they're reaching for language that has a very old and very ugly pedigree. Nobody on that side of the aisle wants to be caught saying the quiet part, so they say the loud part instead, dressed up as campaign finance reform.

The specifics matter here. AIPAC is a lobbying group like any other, one that raises money and spends it on candidates who share its priorities, which is how every single interest group in Washington operates. Nobody blinks when unions do it, when trial lawyers do it, when the Chamber of Commerce does it. But when it's a pro-Israel organization, suddenly it becomes evidence of some hidden hand manipulating American politics from behind the curtain. That's not a policy critique. That's the oldest conspiracy theory in the Western world wearing a fresh coat of paint.

We can debate Israel policy honestly. Plenty of serious people disagree about aid levels, about settlements, about the war in Gaza. That's fair game and Congress should argue about it loudly. What's not fair game is pretending that Jewish political engagement, organized through perfectly legal advocacy, is somehow more sinister than every other lobby in this town. Democrats know exactly what register they're playing in when they reach for "AIPAC" as shorthand for control. They just think the euphemism keeps their hands clean.