Rudy Boschwitz is Back, Unless We Stop Him

By Sen. James G. Abourezk

Remember Rudy Boschwitz? He was the Republican U.S. senator from Minnesota who became an outstanding member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee? He was also Israel’s point man in the Senate, doing all of its chores and nearly replacing Israel’s ambassador as its chief functionary in Washington.

After his defeat six years ago by Democrat Paul Wellstone, the political science professor from Minnesota’s Carleton College, we thought we wouldn’t have Rudy to kick around anymore. But this year he’s back. He’s running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota, and aiming for another showdown with Senator Wellstone. Although the Minnesota Republicans have not yet made their choice, Rudy’s a shoo-in to be nominated, thus putting him into a head-to-head confrontation with Wellstone for the next six-year Senate term.

True to his old form, Boschwitz once again is running more as a senator from Israel than as a senator from Minnesota. He has criticized Wellstone, who is Jewish, because he is not raising his children as Jews, probably not a burning issue with Scandinavian-American Minnesotans. But what Rudy has really grabbed onto as an issue is Wellstone’s serious criticism of Binyamin Netanyahu and the Likud coalition in Israel. Just so you understand, Wellstone does not believe he is running for a Senate seat in Israel. He understands that he is an American senator, which is what bothers Mr. Boschwitz. It bothers him so much, in fact, that Rudy has been roundly denouncing Senator Wellstone in the Jewish press, in particular The Forward newspaper, which is read by Jews nationwide. His strategy of calling into question Wellstone’s lack of Israeli patriotism is, of course, designed to prevent Wellstone from raising money in the Jewish community. That makes sense from Boschwitz’s point of view. If he can dry up Wellstone’s money, saving it all for himself, he then can flood Minnesota with television commercials with the hope that it will sweep him right back into office. And it probably will, if his strategy is made to work.

What can readers of the Washington Report do to try to spoil Boschwitz’s comeback? We can replace the money from pro-Likud contributors which might have gone to Wellstone, but which, because of Wellstone’s bad-mouthing of Netanyahu, now will go to Boschwitz. It’s that simple. Politicians don’t need our advice, and they don’t need comforting words. They need money. With money, they can advertise. They can get their message across and match their opponent, which is probably the most important thing.

I for one believe we do not need another right-wing, neo-conservative, unreconstructed Zionist in the U.S. Senate, especially one such as Rudy Boschwitz, who goes above and beyond most other senators in doing Israel’s dirty work. I hope you will join me in sending Wellstone a contribution, no matter how small. I’ve even saved you the trouble of finding out where to send the money. It is:

Paul Wellstone for Senate, 236 Massachusetts Avenue, #202, Washington, DC 20002.

We have a rare chance to strike a blow for freedom, as well as to do something about Rudy’s comeback attempt. Let’s retire him for good this time.