http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/SanFrancisco/34270787.html
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel
纽约客关于犹太政治游说的经验 By lirpa
看见前面说犹太人政治胜利证明选票无用的有感,最近纽约客一篇文章介绍了
American Israel Public Affairs Committee的前世今生。
www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel
AIPAC是著名的跺一脚参议两院震三震的强大lobby集团,也就是总是在这里躺枪
的所谓“米犹”。
躺枪也不冤枉,它们确实实力惊人,亚裔连羡慕的分都没有:
“AIPAC is prideful about its influence. Its promotional literature points
out that a reception during its annual policy conference, in Washington, “
will be attended by more members of Congress than almost any other event,
except for a joint session of Congress or a State of the Union address.” A
former AIPAC executive, Steven Rosen, was fond of telling people that he
could take out a napkin at any Senate hangout and get signatures of support
for one issue or another from scores of senators.”
有兴趣的同学请学习学习人家的战斗经验,没时间写太多,摘一小段,有心的同学请自
己看。
“AIPAC was incorporated in 1963, fifteen years after the State of Israel
came into being.” - 历史不长。
影响力膨胀的历史更不长, 有和华人类似的挑战,选民数只占3%不到
“In 1980, AIPAC hired Thomas Dine, a former diplomat and congressional
staffer, as its executive director. Dine set out to develop a nationwide
network that would enable AIPAC to influence every member of Congress. This
was a daunting challenge. Jews made up less than three per cent of the
American population, concentrated in nine states, and they voted
overwhelmingly Democratic. How could AIPAC, with such a small base, become a
political force in both parties and in every state?”
但这并不代表他们的声音没用,只是要更加坚持:
Dine launched a grass-roots campaign, sending young staff members around the
country to search for Jews in states where there were few. In Lubbock,
Texas, for instance, they found nine who were willing to meet—a tiny group
who cared deeply about Israel but never thought that they could play a
political role. The lobby created four hundred and thirty-five “
congressional caucuses,” groups of activists who would meet with their
member of Congress to talk about the pro-Israel agenda.
还要团结有组织性的捐钱。而且有目的的做长期计划,AIPAC做到了对每个议员精心培
养一个可以随时电话联系到他/她的线人。
Members’ contributions were often bundled. “AIPAC will select some dentist
in Boise, say, to be the bundler,” a former longtime AIPAC member said. “
They tell people in New York and other cities to send their five-thousand-
dollar checks to him. But AIPAC has to teach people discipline—because all
those people who are giving five thousand dollars would ordinarily want
recognition. The purpose is to make the dentist into a big shot—he’s the
one who has all this money to give to the congressman’s campaign.” AIPAC
representatives tried to match each member of Congress with a contact who
shared the congressman’s interests. If a member of Congress rode a Harley-
Davidson, AIPAC found a contact who did, too. The goal was to develop people
who could get a member of Congress on the phone at a moment’s notice.
甚至神奇的做到了在大多数犹太人是民主党票仓的形势下,对共和党也有同样强大的影
响力,靠什么?钱。
Republicans knew that they would never get more than a minority of the
Jewish electorate, but AIPAC members convinced them that voting the right
way would lead to campaign contributions.
钱海外中国人从来不缺。缺乏团结组织智慧这些都是老生常谈了。我只是想说,我们的
缺点都是能改变的,改变不在我们这一代开始从什么时候开始?临渊羡鱼不如退而结网
,请大家不要自愿自艾,从现在开始行动,在自己社区的草根政治中发声。