Fury and Dismay

There is a lot of rage in the liberal blogosphere over the Feinstein and Schumer endorsement of "I can't tell if waterboarding is torture" judge Michael Mukasey for Attorney General. Check out the comment section of this TPM Muckraker post. Many of the comments have an anti-semitic tinge, and claim that Schumer and Feinstein have sold out to Bush and AIPAC (The American-Israel Public Affairs Committee). The basis for this, so far as I can tell, is the fact that Schumer and Feinstein, like Mukasey and the three uncommitted Democrats on the Judiciary Committee (Feingold, Kohl, and Cardin) are Jewish.

I doubt that tribal solidarity is a big factor in this vote, but I do wonder if AIPAC and the rest of the Israel lobby really have put their oars in the water. If so, why? The AG would seem a bit remote from international policy, but two former high AIPAC officials are on trial for spying for Israel - and that's the Justice Department's case.

Schumer and Feinstein must have thought this vote important, whatever their reasons, because the hard core base is really pissed.

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