Missouri’s Largest Newspaper Comes Out Against Cori Bush

After the victory of George Latimer over the virulently anti-Israel Jamaal Bowman in the Democratic primary for the 16th Congressional district of New York, it is now Cori Bush, another member of The Squad, even more anti-Israel than Bowman, who is fighting for her political life in the Democratic primary for the Ist Congressional District of Missouri. AIPAC poured $14 million into the campaign to defeat Bowman. Now AIPAC and others alienated at Bush’s anti-Israel and pro-Hamas views are helping to fund the campaign of her opponent Wesley Bell. In the opinion polls, Bell already leads Bush by double digits.

Now the largest newspaper in Missouri, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, has come out with an editorial endorsing Wesley Bell. And one of the main reasons, though not the only one, for this endorsement was the paper’s unhappiness with Bush’s extreme animus toward the Jewish state. More on this endorsement, that makes Bush’s chances of winning the primary even more unlikely, can be found here: “Top St. Louis Newspaper Endorses US Rep. Cori Bush’s Opponent, Argues Incumbent’s Israel Stance Is ‘Disqualifying,’” by Corey Walker, Algemeiner, July 26, 2024:

The editorial board of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the largest daily newspaper in Missouri, has endorsed the opponent of US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), pointing to the incumbent congresswoman’s lack of legislative accomplishments and stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

The Post-Dispatch argued that Bush’s position on Israel and the Gaza war should be “disqualifying” for any elected representative. The outlet took umbrage with Bush for equating a close democratic ally of the US with a genocidal terrorist organization.

“Israel’s conduct of the war has been far from perfect, but it remains a democracy fighting for survival against an evil terrorist organization. Bush’s tendency to equate both sides — and even to side with the terrorists, as when she cast one of just two House votes against a resolution to bar Hamas members from the US — should in itself be disqualifying for re-election,” the editorial board wrote.

Bush has established herself as one of the most vocal critics of Israel in the US Congress. Only nine days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 slaughter of roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel, Bush called for an “immediate ceasefire” between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group. As the war dragged on, Bush’s rhetoric toward Israel sharpened, with the congresswoman accusing the Jewish state of committing “genocide” in Gaza and “apartheid” in the West Bank. Bush has also accused Israel of inflicting a “famine” in Gaza without providing evidence.

There is no “famine” in Gaza. According even to the Hams media office, only 34 died so far from malnutrition in Gaza since October 7. At an annual rate, that is about 2 people per 100,00 population. In 2022, in the United States, 20,500 people died from malnutrition, or 6 people per 100,000 population. No one describes the U.S. as undergoing a “famine.” Why then is this charge flung at Israel?

Bush seems more interested in pandering to the far-left fringes of the progressive movement than serving her constituents, the Post-Dispatch argued. Bush’s membership in “The Squad” — a clique of far-left progressive, anti-establishment lawmakers in the House of Representatives — has rendered her completely incapable of “accomplishing anything” in the halls of Congress, according to the newspaper….

Bush is much more interested in bashing Israel on the floor of the House than in bringing home the bacon for her constituents in Missouri. Economic development, infrastructure projects, attracting new businesses to the First Congressional District are all a matter of apparent indifference to her. She has, as the Dispatch editorial says, been unable to “accomplish anything” in Congress. But she is intent on maligning the Jewish state, repeatedly accusing it of “apartheid” in the West Bank and of “genocide” in Gaza. There is no “apartheid” in the West Bank. The Palestinians in the West Bank are not citizens of Israel, and so cannot expect to receive identical treatment to those, both Jews and Arabs, who are citizens of the Jewish state. Nor is there “genocide” in Gaza. It is Hamas that causes civilian casualties by embedding its fighters, weapons, and rocket launchers among civilians, even hiding them in schools, mosques, and hospitals. Hamas’ goal is to maximize civilian casualties. Israel wants to minimize them, and does so by an elaborate system of warning civilians to flee from cities, and even buildings, in advance of Israeli attacks. As part of its warnings, the IDF had by March dropped nine million leaflets, sent 15 million messages, made 14 million robocalls, and 100,00 personal calls, to Gazans, providing both warnings of an impending attack, and advice as to where to move to be safe from harm.These are not the acts of a state bent on “genocide.” The civilian-to-combatant ratio of deaths is also the lowest in the history of warfare: 23:16. This is far less than the 9:1 ratio that according to th UN has been recorded for all the wars since 1945. It is less than the 4:1 ratio achieved by the Americans during the war in Afghanistan, and less than the 3:1 ratio attained by the Americans in Iraq. In fact, this low ratio is unheard of, as Professor John Spencer of West Point has noted, in the annals of modern warfare. Some genocide!

It looks as if the Democratic electorate in Missouri’s First Congressional District has already made its clear choice. Cori Bush is best known for her hostility to Israel — she apparently has no other issue that comes remotely as close to preoccupying her —and it is that one subject that clearly distinguishes her from her challenger, Wesley Bell. Even before the endorsement of her challenger by the main newspaper in Missouri, she had been losing overwhelmingly in the opinion polls, where Bell has 56 percent and Bush 33 percent of the vote — a lead so great, and so early on, that it could be impossible for Bush to overcome.

With two Squad members down for the count, who will be the next anti-Israel candidate to fall victim to the disapproval of the voters?

Rashida Tlaib (D-Khan Younis) and Ilhan Omar (D-Mogadishu) are considered to be unbeatable; both represent districts with large Arab and Muslim populations. Summer Lee has already defeated her Democratic primary challenger, Bhavini Patel, with 60% of the vote. But Ayanna Pressley may be more vulnerable; she has some skeletons rattling in her family closet, including her husband Conan Harris, who spent ten years in jail for drug trafficking. After her election, he set up a consulting business to “further diversity in the workplace” that now earns him more than $1 million a year from businessmen who are no doubt eager to curry favor with the Congresswoman by employing her husband’s services. This kind of corruption may not go down well with the voters.

The Squadroons are losing members. Jamaal Bowman has been defeated; Cori Bush now faces near-certain defeat. Ayanna Pressley may be the next to lose her primary. The group’s members are under siege. For those who want to cleanse Congress of its Israel-haters and antisemites, so far in this primary season, things are looking up.