She’s Challenging an AIPAC Democrat. A National Progressive Group Wants In.

The last time Rep Jimmy Gomez D-Calif faced a primary challenge special interest groups came to his aid by pouring more than million into the race In contemporary times in the race another challenger is trying their hand against Gomez and they have the backing of progressive outfit Justice Democrats Supporters of Angela Gonzales-Torres think she ll be able to fight off spending from the pro-Israel and cryptocurrency lobby groups that dominated Gomez s last primary Justice Democrats reported it will help Gonzales-Torres raise money through its grassroots digital funding architecture Being deemed progressive isn t the same as delivering real change Gonzales-Torres a former Highland Park neighborhood council president launched her campaign against Gomez in April saying the incumbent had sold out the congressional district thanks to the influx of special interest money I didn t move to this district to become a politician funded by corporate super PACs reported Gonzales-Torres who was born and raised in North East LA We need to recognize that being deemed progressive isn t the same as delivering real change Gonzales-Torres criticized Gomez for not signing onto progressive bills that would have conditioned arms sales to Israel stanched the flow of corporate cash in politics and tackled price gouging It isn t just about calling for someone s resignation she narrated The Intercept It s about answering for our calls as Angelenos Justice Democrats reported Gomez s leadership isn t meeting the moment in a city that President Donald Trump has flooded with ICE agents and National Guard troops Jimmy Gomez got to Washington and closed the door on his region behind him to embrace the same corporate PACs and right-wing lobbies that are raising costs for Angelenos and demanding their tax dollars fund genocide declared Justice Democrats spokesperson Usamah Andrabi In a city that has become ground zero for Donald Trump s war on immigrant families Angelenos deserve a leader whose donors will never dictate how hard they fight back Defended by AIPAC Gonzales-Torres is the second challenger Gomez has faced in modern years from his left In office since Gomez easily beat a challenge during his first term from Kenneth Mejia now the Los Angeles city controller In each of the last three elections Gomez fended off more credible challenges from Democrat David Kim Kim came within percent points of beating Gomez during the general voting process in where they faced off thanks to California s jungle primary system and points in the general vote In the race Kim called for cutting off U S military funding to Israel and drew fire from the American Israel Populace Affairs Committee or AIPAC and its super PAC United Democracy Project Kim also supported the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement and called for an international court to prosecute illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank Kim endorsed Gonzales-Torres who previously volunteered for his campaign After AIPAC the nation s flagship Israel lobby spent more than half a million dollars against Kim last year Gomez won by points Related Facing Voter Pressure Swing-State Democrat Swears Off AIPAC Cash AIPAC has been among Gomez s top campaign contributors over the last decade AIPAC s candidate page for Gomez praises him for supporting pro-Israel statute including co-sponsoring a resolution affirming U S endorsement for Israel after the October attacks The group also touted his assistance for measure for supplemental prevention assistance to Israel condemning BDS and traveling twice to Israel on trips paid for by AIPAC s educational arm The lobby group congratulated Gomez in November for beating Kim who they described as running on an overtly anti-Israel platform AIPAC and its super PAC did not respond to a request for comment Still Gomez s record on Israel has not agreed with AIPAC s every position In the wake of the October attack he signed on hurriedly to measures affirming unconditional U S backing for Israel and a harshly worded resolution on escalating campus protest movements against the war In November though Gomez called for a cessation of hostilities in Gaza even as AIAPC raged against any call for an end to the violence When progressives responding to spiking Palestinian deaths in the early days of the war pushed a ceasefire resolution Gomez did not sign on Gomez s campaign did not respond to a request for comment He has voted both for and against U S funding for Israel and called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign Unlike a great number of other pro-Israel Democrats Gomez did not vote for a measure to condemn the slogan From the river to the sea Palestine will be free as antisemitic instead he abstained He was also absent for a vote to adopt a definition of antisemitism that includes any criticism of Israel And he voted present on a resolution to condemn antisemitism on college campuses Crypto Cash Gomez also received help in his last race from the cryptocurrency industry Putting in more than half a million dollars to back Gomez crypto was the second-largest outside spender in the race after AIPAC The political action committee Fairshake whose subsidiary PACs back candidates in both parties spent to advocacy Gomez Gomez has an A rating from a leading pro-cryptocurrency group and has voted for at least four bills in the last two years that were supported by the industry including Trump s bill to accelerate deregulation FairShake did not directly respond to a request for comment More in recent weeks however Gomez criticized Trump for profiting from crypto Replying to a story earlier this week about the Trump family making billions of dollars from its crypto venture Gomez tweeted that Trump and the billionaire establishment are profiting as everyone else gets screwed Related DNC Votes Down Overwhelming Popular Position Calling for Arms Ban to Israel Gomez has enjoyed steady help from constituents since he was first elected in Gomez has been a vocal critic of Trump He made national headlines in June for being denied entry to a federal immigration detention facility and in July sued U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement for blocking him and three other Democrats from visiting detention facilities The money Gomez gets from corporate PACs is what Gonzales-Torres is focusing on After pro-Israel groups Gomez s top donors throughout his career include real estate and insurance groups law firms and securities and financing outfits He has also received patronage from labor unions and progressives including another Justice Democrats candidate Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-N Y Gonzales-Torres for her part is rejecting corporate PAC money Instead she is running on affordable housing access to mental strength aid and ending mass incarceration And she supports protecting immigrants rights Medicare for All and a Green New Deal all things Gomez supports too Gonzales-Torres explained she s not focused on whether AIPAC will spend against her campaign She s betting small-dollar donors and a student-led campaign can overcome the big money She declared her campaign is focusing on mobilizing students in the district She reported That means that we are not selling out our communities to corporate PACs The post She s Challenging an AIPAC Democrat A National Progressive Group Wants In appeared first on The Intercept