In early January, US Senate GOP candidate Dave McCormick emphasized his unwavering support for America’s longtime ally, Israel, following his recent visit there and his meetings with survivors of the October 7 Hamas massacre. McCormick returned from Israel more determined than ever to show solidarity with the Jewish State, and during a call with reporters, he stressed the importance of addressing Hamas as a source of evil that must be eliminated.
McCormick, 59, a successful hedge fund CEO and Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs for President GW Bush, is no stranger to the Middle East. A West Point graduate, he was part of the first wave of US troops that were sent to Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War. He served as executive officer of a combat engineering company of 130 soldiers tasked with clearing minefields and destroying enemy munitions.
McCormick was one of those brave individuals (yours truly not included) who watched the 47-minute IDF video from footage taken from Hamas body cams and surveillance cameras. He said about it: “Brutal killings of families. Fathers killed in front of their children. Women dragged and mutilated. Houses burned. Families destroyed,” and concluded, “The necessity of destroying Hamas is even more clear in my mind now.”
TWEETSALOT
On his social network posts, McCormick combines his agenda for the State of Pennsylvania with his views on the Biden administration’s failure to support Israel in its war against evil. He recently shared this Peter Berkowitz commentary headlined, “Hamas, PA, and UNRWA Educate Gaza Schoolchildren for Jihad.”
.@BerkowitzPeter: “Hamas, PA, and UNRWA Educate Gaza Schoolchildren for Jihad”
Since 2021, Pres. Biden has sent roughly $1 billion to UNRWA, a group that is helping Hamas brainwash Gazan youth into the next generation of terrorists. It has to stop.https://t.co/QSaEWliBwL
— Dave McCormick (@DaveMcCormickPA) January 19, 2024
And a NY Post article about the trash that was thrown at a Holocaust memorial in Philadelphia:
It’s a disgrace that anyone would desecrate a Holocaust memorial in our commonwealth.
The only way to defeat antisemitism is to continue calling out these acts of evil and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our Jewish community. https://t.co/I6n51KbTI9
— Dave McCormick (@DaveMcCormickPA) January 18, 2024
McCormick has described his Democratic opponent, incumbent Senator Bob Casey Jr. as a “rubber stamp for Pres. Biden’s appeasement of Iran.”
Sen. Fetterman and I disagree on most things, but even he has demonstrated moral clarity by standing with our ally Israel.
Bob Casey’s failed the test, and he’s been a rubber stamp for Pres. Biden’s appeasement of Iran.@KassyDillon @realDailyWirehttps://t.co/9SbV9f2yzR
— Dave McCormick (@DaveMcCormickPA) January 17, 2024
McCormick was considered by the Trump administration for Secretary of the Treasury, and later of Defense, but was rejected, possibly because he never donated to Trump’s campaign while contributing to the campaigns of Senators John McCain and Mitch McConnell and the congressional campaign of Mike Pompeo.
McCormick believes in a strong United States that can focus on domestic issues while promoting human rights around the globe. In 2016 he told the Chicago Tribune, “If we are to promote equality and pluralism around the world, we must walk towards, rather than away from, our unique success in advancing these values at home while still embracing the idea that America is, and always will be, a work in progress.”
Last Wednesday’s Quinnipiac survey has Casey with 53% of the vote vs. McCormick with 43%, which is not too bad for the challenger, considering he has yet to be picked by his party (the primary is on April 23).
THE VISIT
McCormick and his wife, Dina, a Coptic Christian born in Cairo who left Goldman Sachs to become chair of the Robin Hood Foundation (she also served as President Trump’s Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy) toured a kibbutz that had been attacked by Hamas, engaged with survivors of the music festival massacre, visited the Western Wall, and held meetings with the IDF brass and President Isaac Herzog.
While observing Gaza from a distance of 600-700 meters on the ravaged kibbutz grounds, McCormick expressed heightened awareness of the threat posed by Hamas. He emphasized the impossibility of coexisting with such terror and evil and advocated for clear moral leadership and unwavering support for Israel.
Reflecting on his trip, McCormick asserted his commitment to decisive action, understanding complex issues, and taking a leadership stance with conviction. He drew a contrast with his opponent, Bob Casey, characterizing him as weak and timid, particularly in matters concerning Israel.
Casey’s campaign said in return that McCormick “can’t cover up the truth of his record with a political stunt,” seeing as he “spent his career cozying up to foreign adversaries like Saudi Arabia and China, and now he actually supports Speaker Johnson’s efforts to block funding for Israel. Meanwhile, Senator Casey has been a leader in the Senate fighting for aid to help Israel defeat Hamas.”
It was a deeply dishonest response, which leads me to believe that the 53 to 43 gap will not stay that way for long.
