Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI), a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel and progressive policies run by renowned pollster and CEO of The Mellman Group, Mark Mellman, is airing an attack ad against Senator Bernie Sanders, starting Wednesday.
It’s about time, say those of us who have been brought up Democrats and have been looking at our party starting to toe the Stalinist line.
Mellman told Politico, “The ad raises serious questions about his electability […]. Health is one of the things that people raised. But in general people say they like Bernie Sanders, they respect him but they say he can’t win.”
The new ad features six Iowa voters, and argues that Bernie Sanders would be unable to defeat Trump because of the senator’s heart attack last year and his leftist ideology.
One voter says: “I like Bernie, I think he has great ideas, but in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa, they’re just not going to vote for a socialist. I just don’t think Bernie can beat Trump.”
Another voter says: “I do have some concerns about Bernie Sanders’ health considering the fact that he did have a heart attack.”
The ad is blunt and aggressive, but presidential races are not for the faint of heart (so to speak), and the facts back the pro-Israel folks: Sanders said in October that he would release “comprehensive” medical records by the end of 2019, but instead of releasing a real report as promised, the 79-year-old candidate borrowed a page from President Trump’s playbook and issued a cryptic note from his personal cardiologist, Dr. Martin M. LeWinter, stating carefully: “At this point, I see no reason he cannot continue campaigning without limitation and, should he be elected, I am confident he has the mental and physical stamina to fully undertake the rigors of the presidency.”
Here’s a reason: what if he strokes in the middle of one of those three-in-the-morning phone calls? Would be a shame, God forbid…
The new ad does not mention foreign policy, but it stands to reason that Democratic Majority for Israel will get there in primary states like Florida, where Israel’s interests vs. Bernie Sanders’ strongly anti-Israel agenda will matter.
In addition to Mellman, DMFI includes former Clinton White House aide and co-chair Ann Lewis, the older sister of former Congressman Barney Frank; and Democratic strategist Paul Begala of CNN’s Firing Line fame.
“We have two concerns,” Mellman said about his campaign against Sanders. “One is that it is fundamental to beat Donald Trump and it is fundamental to achieving that goal. Second is that Sanders is in a uniquely bad place concerning the US-Israel relationship.”
Brother, we could tell you stories…