-At least there is evidence that has been provided by many about the power of -AIPAC in shaping US foreign Policy towards the Middle East. I believe that -you have read Paul Findley's Best Seller, "they Dare Speak Out." Or Edward -Tivnan the Lobby.
I am always amazed that people in pursuit of this argument ignore the political survival of pro-Palestinian politicians like David Bonior (2nd ranked Democrat in the House) while citing a rightwing Republican like Paul Findley, who lost his job in the 1982 election where a large number of Republicans lost their jobs in the midwest due to the Reagan recession. Findley was so uncomprehending that his constituents might not have been happy with Republican policies that he had to blame the Israeli lobby for his loss rather than Reagan's policies. Speaking of lobbies, check out BIPAC's page which records its proud record of electing rightwing pro-corporate politicians like Paul Findley over the years at http://www.bipac.org/business_past.asp?page=221 They proudly note how they leverage $92 from other business PACs for every dollar they contribute.
Yes, Findley doesn't like Israel, although his hostility is also due to his rightwing economics: Here is Findley's 1996 speech with his hopes for Netanyahu's leadership:
"Weaning Israel from socialism will be the acid test of Netanyahu's political skills. The prime minister's Likud Party does not have a majority in the Knesset, and even if all Likud members stand together, Netanyahu must win support beyond his party in order to gain approval of any measure.
The stoutest supporter of socialism is Histadrut, Israel's all-powerful workers' union. A creation of the Labor Party during Israel's infancy, it exercises more power over Israel's domestic policy than the AFL-CIO wielded at the zenith of its influence in the United States. It is Israel's largest employer and its enterprises include the largest building firms, banks, insurance companies, and marketing and consumer cooperatives. It is not an exaggeration to say that he who rules Histadrut, rules Israel.
Historian Howard M. Sachar noted years ago that Histadrut must accept responsibility for the decline of the work ethic in Israel. He wrote, "With employees' rights guaranteed and institutionalized to the last degree over the years, it had become all but impossible to dismiss malingerers and sluggards-infecting society at large." He added that the steady infusion of U.S. aid enables Histadrut to perpetuate these inefficiencies.
In all this, Israeli economist Alvin Rabushka notes an astounding anomaly: "One can question the wisdom of the U.S. taxpayer subsidizing the government of Israel, which in turn uses the money to subsidize its own socialistic economy."
Rabushka's question is never raised. The socialist character of Israel is never mentioned by Congressmen and only rarely any place else in America."
-- Nathan newman