Libertarian congressman Thomas Massie reveals in an interview with Tucker Carlson that every Republican in congress has a personal Israel lobbyist from AIPAC with whom they are in close contact and who tells them how to vote on various issues.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is one of the most influential lobbying groups in the United States and the world, working to promote what it calls “pro-Israel policies” in the United States in various ways.
This often involves “buying” individual politicians at the federal or state level by simply donating very large sums of money to their election campaigns – in exchange for their pledge of loyalty to Israel and the Jewish diaspora in the United States.
Large sums are also spent on ad campaigns and other lobbying to smear and oppose politicians who are perceived in various ways as “enemies” of Israel – for example, for opposing Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
Thomas Massie, a Republican member of the House of Representatives, tells Tucker Carlson in an interview that AIPAC’s influence is greater than many could have imagined, and that all his party colleagues in congress have a personal Israel lobbyist with whom they are in very close contact, ask for advice, and who invites them on trips to Israel.
Fear of reprisals
Massie himself is deeply unpopular with the Israel lobby for questioning unlimited US military and economic support for Israel, and he says his party colleagues often complain that they are afraid to vote the way he does for fear of reprisals and problems.
– And I have Republicans who come to me and say, ‘That’s wrong, what a PAC is doing to you. Let me talk to my AIPAC person.’ By the way, everybody but me has an AIPAC person.
– It’s like your babysitter. Your AIPAC babysitter who is always talking to you for AIPAC. They’re probably a constituent in your district, but they are, you know, firmly embedded in AIPAC.
He goes on to say that he doesn’t know if Democratic members of congress also have a personal Israel lobbyist with whom they are in close contact, but notes that at least that is the case for Republicans.
– And when they come to D.C., you go have lunch with them. And they’ve got your cell number and you have conversations with them.
Nothing to gain by telling
When Tucker Carlson says it sounds “absolutely insane” and asks why the public doesn’t know about it, Massie explains that neither party benefits when the frequent contacts become public knowledge.
– It doesn’t benefit anybody. Why would they want to tell their constituents that they’ve basically got a buddy system with somebody who’s representing a foreign country? It doesn’t benefit the congressman for people to know that. So they’re not going to tell you that.
– They pay for trips for congressmen and their spouses to go to Israel. I’m not the only Republican who hasn’t taken the AIPAC trip to Israel, but I’m probably one of a dozen that hasn’t taken that trip and the other ones just haven’t got around to it.
Massie is one of the few Republicans who has long been at odds with AIPAC, and the lobbying group spent billions trying to smear him ahead of a Kentucky primary in early May, for example, effectively painting him as a supporter of the terror-listed Palestinian group Hamas. The witch hunt failed to produce the desired results, however, and the Libertarian managed to win with 76% of the vote.
Ahead of the November presidential election, the Israel lobby has announced plans to spend nearly $100 million to combat political candidates it perceives as harmful or hostile to Israel.
