WASHINGTON, 6 September — After assisting in the defeats of Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Georgia and Rep. Earl Hilliard, D-Alabama, a Republican candidate for Senate is next on the list of a pro-Israeli attack. John Sununu, who is of Lebanese descent, is running against Sen. Robert Smith in the New Hampshire primary this Tuesday.
Sununu, a three-term Congressman, is the unofficial favorite of the national Republican establishment, including the White House and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). The latest New Hampshire poll shows Sununu 14 points ahead of Sen. Smith.
As a result of his lead, the Sununu campaign team has been preparing itself for a counterattack, based on reports that a pro-Israeli lobby has hired Republican consultant Arthur Finkelstein to prepare an ad that would depict Rep. Sununu as pro-Arab, anti-Israel and soft on terrorism.
Some Jewish leaders have criticized Rep. Sununu for what they say are his anti-Israel views and voting record. Rep. Sununu is challenging Sen. Smith — a right-wing conservative who has served 18 years in the Senate, and is a strong supporter of Israel — in the Republican primary.
Sen. Smith has already been criticized for a TV ad he ran on immigration that portrayed Rep. Sununu as soft on terrorism, an issued Sen. Smith raised last week in a televised debate.
“The idea that John Sununu is soft on terrorism is ludicrous,” former New Hampshire Attorney General Tom Rath recently told reporters. “The people up here know him. He’s grown up here. We have had six years to watch him in Congress, and quite apart from the outcome of the race between him and Smith, the attempt by some to question the depth of his patriotism is absurd and, frankly, borders on bigotry.”
A Democratic congressional source who works on Capitol Hill, and who spoke to Arab News on the condition of anonymity, said he was “conflicted” about the race, because — as Democrat — he would like to see Sen. Smith run, because he believes he would be easier to defeat than Rep. Sununu.
“But as a friend of the Arab-American community, I’ve been disgusted by the way Smith has used Sununu’s ethnicity in the way that he has. From what I’ve seen following the race — he has made the fact that he is Lebanese an issue in the race.”
Asked about the pro-Israeli AIPAC lobby said to be focusing on ousting Rep. Sununu, the congressional source said he was not surprised. “They’ve knocked off Hilliard, they’ve knocked McKinney, and I think that emboldened them. Now Sununu is next on their hit list.”
Asked what Rep. Sununu has done to deserve being targeted, the source said: “I don’t think that McKinney and Hilliard were all that deserving... The lesson any congressman will learn from this is that if you stray from the AIPAC line they are going to come after you.”
The Democratic source said the situation is a “beautiful dilemma, from a Democratic perspective... A lot of these pro-Israeli hawks are Republicans, and they’re trying to bring Sununu down. But, without the Republicans winning in New Hampshire, it will be almost impossible to see the Republicans taking back the Senate.
“I’m sure there are contortions going on at NRSC that AIPAC is getting involved in this, because Sununu is the anointed candidate inside the (Washington) beltway.”
Whoever wins Tuesday’s primary will go on to face Democratic candidate Gov. Jeanne Shaheen in the November general election. Rep. Sununu is viewed as being a stronger contender against Gov. Shaheen.
Former President George Bush and his wife, Barbara, have contributed money to Rep. Sununu’s campaign, and the elder Bush traveled to New Hampshire to spearhead a fundraiser for Rep. Sununu, whose father was once governor of the state and White House chief of staff in the first Bush administration.
