A few days ago, Democratic Congressman Jamaal Bowman was joined at a campaign event by his House colleague, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, his fellow New Yorker and "squad" member (we hate that term). AOC campaigned enthusiastically for Bowman, but the two of them couldn't be more different. She's smart and savvy. He's an idiot.
Here's why. When you're elected to Congress, you have two immediate and overriding responsibilities: One is to your constituents, and the other is to your caucus.
AOC gets this. Personally, we think it's because Speaker Pelosi schooled her in the ways of the House when she got there in 2019. Pelosi never endangered legislation she was bringing to the floor, but she wisely gave AOC room to maneuver on various votes. At the same time, she made sure that AOC got good committee assignments, which have allowed her, even when she was a freshman, to shine. And out in the field, beyond her social media presence, AOC's been recognized for employing, yes, old-school — but effective — constituent services that help people in her district in tangible ways.
Bowman, on the other hand, failed at both. His responsibility to his caucus? Not stellar. Think back to last fall, when he pulled a Capitol Hill fire alarm during a crucial vote, just as Democrats were trying to stave off a government shutdown. Whether or not he meant to do it, it screwed up operations on the floor. The House censured him for it later.
(This is just the sort of tomfoolery that would enrage a member's leadership. Personally, we cats would never want Nancy Pelosi or Hakeem Jeffries mad at us. And yes, we know Hakeem contributed to Bowman's campaign. He has a habit of supporting his incumbents.)
Out in Bowman's district, though, his missteps were worse. He dug a deep hole for himself with his Jewish constituents after October 7, with remarks that we found unforgivable (even though he eventually apologized for them). But he could have climbed partway out of that hole by rededicating his efforts to voter outreach. Instead, he turned down Shabbat invitations and skipped meetings at Jewish community organizations. The extent of his personal interest in connecting? Asking a local Jewish leader if he had a photos of them together. "So I can show the world I'm friends with Jewish people." Ugh.
As for the money that flooded into yesterday's primary, AIPAC certainly pounced. But Bowman made himself unnecessarily vulnerable, and any well-founded screaming that's to be done about the money can't obscure that. Taking Hamas's side on anything is unacceptable, in our view. Bowman compounded it with overall foolishness: He never understood that as an elected member of Congress, he was automatically entered into the Democratic insider club. AOC has a keen understanding of how that club works, and she leverages it to her advantage by balancing it with her progressive views. Like we said, smart.
But that's Inside Baseball, isn't it? The bottom line is that if Bowman refused to meet his constituents even halfway — on the Israel-Hamas war, or anything else — that was truly not just a death knell for his Congressional career but a sadly missed opportunity. We cats HISS.
(P.S. The onus was doubly on Bowman to reach out since his district was redrawn to include less of the Bronx and more of Westchester. We cats always want to defend fellow Democrats, but we cannot condone stupidity. That's for the Trumpsters. We HISS again.)
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