From the Sunday Montgomery [Ala.] Advertiser:
Davis Tops List for Perk Trips
Rep. Artur Davis, D-Birmingham, accepted trips from special interests that cost nearly $13,000. Davis flew to Israel, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Pittsburgh. Davis’ weeklong trip to Israel in August was valued at nearly $6,000. It was paid for by the American Israel Education Foundation, which is associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful lobbying organization.
Davis represents district 7, which included my hometown prior to the last redistricting. The 7th is an exercise in racial gerrymandering, an effort to create a slam-dunk for an African-American/Democratic candidate. It’s extremely poor and almost completely rural, save for a slice of inner-city Birmingham. And I guarantee you that Israel is the last thing on its voters’ minds. I’ll bet that 99% of voters in the 7th, regardless of race or income, could not locate Israel on a map.
And yet… the Israel lobby bought the 7th’s congressman. From 2002:
Artur Davis may want to thank New York for his stunning win over five-term Rep. Earl Hilliard in a mostly poor Alabama congressional district that has little in common with the Big Apple.
Davis, a 34-year-old attorney trounced by Hillard two years ago, financed his campaign with a flood of donations from out of state – especially from New York, where Davis received money linked to his pro-Israel stance.
Of the $306,482 Davis received in individual donations, nearly $189,000 came from New York state – $134,000 of that from New York City, according to FECInfo, a Web site that tracks political money. …
On the other side, Hilliard received support from Arab-Americans, who liked his call for a balanced U.S. policy toward the Mideast.
Jim Zogby, president of the Washington-based Arab American Institute, said Hilliard received many donations from Arab-Americans in response to a column he wrote discussing the way Jews were backing Davis.
A pro-Palestinian group posted a Web site backing Hilliard, and Arab-Americans were among Hilliard’s campaign workers.
Another cost of empire: the importation of conflicts from all around the world.