I have been a supporter of the Democratic Party for as long as I can remember.
In 2000, I was the Team Gore to my father’s Team Bush. I was one of 5 students in my elementary school to vote for John Kerry in the school-wide mock election. And, at 14, I was out registering voters before I could even register provisionally in my state. I owe so much to the Democratic Party and the opportunities it has afforded me, such as being able to be involved in the College Democrats of America.
The College Democrats of America (CDA) is the official youth auxiliary of the Democratic National Committee. My involvement with CDA has been a large part of my college career, allowing to meet people and open doors within the progressive community for me. Whether tabling on my campus to register voters or traveling to meet other College Democrats across the country at national convention, I truly believed that I was supporting the Democratic Party and standing up for the party’s ideals. But I was wrong.
(And, yes, that is the real website for the College Democrats of America. It just has not been updated. The organization is very active on Facebook and Twitter.)
At #CDA15, our annual national convention, I saw something incredibly puzzling.
#CDA15 had an amazing line-up of engaging speakers. It was so exciting to hear from Senator Elizabeth Warren, Julian Castro, and Tom Perez among others.
On Friday afternoon, DNC staffers and other convention officials quickly ended our break and ushered us into the auditorium. It was obvious they were trying to pack the auditorium for someone important.
Was it a high-profile DNC member, or member of Congress?
To my surprise, it was a representative from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Jonathan Kessler, who serves as AIPAC’s Leadership Development Director, stood before us and told us how excited he was to be at our convention and how the Democratic Party’s relationship with Israel was a cornerstone of AIPAC’s mission.
Kessler highlighted that AIPAC had free spots for College Democrats at the organization’s annual Policy Conference, and that if any students had “never experienced Israel” that they could contact AIPAC and AIPAC would make that happen.
“If not for President Obama, Israel would be in a very different and difficult place.” Kessler said, pandering to our audience of young progressives.
Screenshot of a tweet from the College Democrats of New York quoting Kessler that was interacted with by the official CDA Twitter account.
Many CDA members had traveled on AIPAC-sponsored trips to Israel, and I found myself interested in these opportunities as a student interested in Middle Eastern foreign policy and the complex relationship between the US and Israel.
Imagine my surprise when I opened AIPAC’s Twitter during the end of the speech as Kessler spoke highly of President Carter and President Clinton to see that their first tweet was condemning President Obama’s Iran Deal. It was direct contrast to the speaker’s message.
“No Deal is a Good Deal,” the refrain went. I couldn’t believe it. After some research, I learned that AIPAC is currently engaged in a massive lobbying effort against the Iran Deal.
Screenshots from AIPAC's official Twitter.
Why would the Democratic Party’s youth auxiliary invite a representative of an organization that is spearheading lobbying against the cornerstone foreign policy achievement of the Democratic President to not only speak, but receive an award at, our convention?
Jonathan Kessler, Leadership Development Director for AIPAC, pictured with CDA National President Natasha McKenzie and board member on Friday, July 24th at #CDA15. Kessler is holding the award he received.
Don’t get me wrong — there is nothing wrong with students voicing their own personal opinions on foreign policy, and this isn’t about whether or not Democrats are allowed to agree or disagree with the Deal or Israel. Progressive voices are welcome on either side of the argument. That's not what this is about.
This is about the official youth auxiliary of the Democratic Party showing support to--and awarding--an organization actively lobbying against the President.
AIPAC has spent more than $1.7 million lobbying Congress to review the Iran Deal, and it has also channeled more than $20 million through its 501(c)4 group--Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran--to support advertising campaigns across the nation. And the College Democrats of America presented them with an award, commending AIPAC’s relationship with the Democratic Party.
I find it incredibly inappropriate (and confusing) that CDA would bring an organization that is spending millions to defeat President Obama’s foreign policy, and then give that organization an award.
How can we expect to mobilize young voters to put Democrats back in the House and Senate when it seems we don’t even know what we’re fighting for?
CDA National President tweets about award she received from AIPAC in February 2015.
IMAGE READS: @TashaKenzie: "Thank you so much @AIPAC for this amazing honor."
AWARD READS:
"AIPAC Advocate of the Year presented to
Natasha McKenzie -- National President, College Democrats of America
With Deep Appreciation for Your Accomplishments on Behalf of the U.S.-Israel Relationship
While I feel that CDA members should not be afraid to become involved in AIPAC on their own time, I also believe our national leadership's relationship with the organization is a conflict of interest which is corroborated by our
national constitution.
Section II. Purpose: CDA, as the student arm of the Democratic National Committee, pledges to support the philosophy and purpose of the Democratic Party.
Furthermore, CDA declares its intention to support efforts to increase the participation of college students in Democratic Party affairs. To these ends, CDA shall educate and train its members so that they may be better able to:
A. Educate students about the philosophy of the Democratic Party;
B. Work with Democrats across the country to achieve the goals of CDA and the Democratic Party; and
C. Work to bring more young people into the political process.
It feels to me that CDA’s priorities are warped based on favors and perks given to us by an outside organization, and I’m just not sure what that means for 2016.