Quote · The Bulwark Podcast
Maggie Haberman: A Gross and Messy White House
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The Israel Question as Progressive Primary Table Stakes
At 52:43 · chapter starts 52:35
Miller frames the Gaza question as 'table stakes' in progressive primaries — the minimum requirement to get in the door with progressive voters, after which other factors determine the outcome. Kasky agrees but adds texture: the Israel issue became a credibility problem specifically for Dan Goldman, whose ideological Zionism was genuine and visible, making his position politically untenable in NY-10. Espaillat's case was different — Kasky believes he probably could have survived had he adjusted his position, because unlike Goldman, there was no personal or religious tie to Zionism for Espaillat, just political habit. Kasky also notes that AIPAC's brand has become so toxic that even fundamentally pro-Israel Democratic candidates in NY-12 — including Alex Borres and Michael Lasher — were telling AIPAC explicitly not to donate to them. The discussion ranges across Daria Leza's upset of Espaillat in Harlem and the Brad Lander-Dan Goldman Brooklyn dynamic.
Gaza criticism is now the entry ticket for progressive voters to even hear your pitch — but it's just the ante. The candidates who have actually won built coalitions around energy, vision, and relentless work. The candidates who lost weren't simply pro-Israel; they were also stale, complacent, and neglecting chunks of their districts.
Cameron Kasky reported that even fundamentally pro-Israel candidates in New York's 12th district rejected AIPAC money because the organization's brand has become so toxic it could cost them their elections.
Dan Goldman won the 2022 NY-10 Democratic primary with just 26% of the vote in a crowded field, a result that left him politically vulnerable from the start.
