Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Rep. Cohen the Subject of Two New York Times Analyses
Posted by Jackson Baker on Tue, Sep 15, 2009 at 12:46 AM
- Rep. Steve Cohen
Cohen figured prominently twice this week in the New York Times, the Good Gray Lady itself, and whether these two mentions accrue to positive or negative outcomes is something for time, and not the Times, to unravel.
The first mention was in Sunday’s edition of the New York Times Magazine, in James Straub’s article “The New Israel Lobby,” which deals with the emergence of J Street, a progressive Jewish lobby which, among other things, aims at a more even-handed approach to Middle Eastern questions, especially the Israeli-Palestinian standoff, than traditional organizations like AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee).
Cohen figures in the article as a representative Jewish congressman drawn to J Street’s positions. A paragraph reads as follows:
“Even J Street’s staunch friends on the Hill acknowledge the potential costs of their position. Steve Cohen, a Democratic congressman who represents Memphis, told me that in his mind Israel had squandered its heroic status through its wars in Lebanon and Gaza and had come to be seen as “the neighborhood bully.” But he recalled that “when J Street first surfaced, the talk among members was, ‘Do we get near them?’ ” The organization had endorsed Cohen and asked if he would record a video for its Web site. “Several veteran Jewish members cautioned me not to do it,” he said. “They were afraid I would be attacked by Aipac. Some people whispered about the possibility of having an opponent.” He went ahead and made the video. He also signed the J Street letter calling for deeper American engagement in the peace process. I asked if there had been any repercussions. “I’m thinking about it,” said Cohen, a significantly wryer-than-average legislator. “I did have some strong Aipac supporters who didn’t come to my last fund-raising party. And they’re normally the first people to come forward.”Though “the New Israel Lobby” is generally sympathetic to J Street, the section on Cohen, like the article as a whole, stresses the possible political dangers of breaking with AIPAC and other established pro-Israel lobbies.
Monday, a day later, would see the appearance of a Times article by reporter Robby Brown, who spent several days in Memphis recently, interviewing various people about next year’s pending Democratic primary showdown between incumbent congressman Cohen and former mayor Willie Herenton, who has indicated he will oppose Cohen.
Brown’s article makes the usual stops, alluding to Cohen’s easy go of it against African-American opponent Nikki Tinker in 2008, his efforts to attend to the interests of the disproportionately black constituency of the 9th, Herenton’s oft-quoted “Cohen is an assole” remark to the Flyer, and the ex-mayor’s essential challenge, summed up in Herenton’s analysis of the contest: “It’s going to be about race, representation and power.”
A representative quote comes from the Rev. Ralph White, pastor of Bloomfield Baptist Church who has been a vocal supporter of Cohen: “There are those who come up to me and say, ‘Even though I love Steve, this is a very important seat to the African-American community,’ It’s a very sticky, touchy situation.”
Comments (9)
Showing 1-9 of 9
“I vote like a black woman,” Congressman Cohen has said many times in addition to saying it again in his NY Times interview. What exactly does that mean and does he think all Black women vote alike? African-American men and women are as diverse in their thinking as they are in the shades of completion they come in.
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I wish they'd do a story on why he didn't sign the pledge for a public option in the healthcare bill.
He is more liberal than Paula Dean's use of butter. Still gotta take him over WW.
Lucy,
I interpret that comment to mean he's always supportive on issues that are important to women and on issues that are important to the African-American community.
I also wish he'd quit saying it that way.
Zippy, you say liberal like it's a bad thing :)
Lucy - he didn't say it again in the Times article. The Times writer didn't actually interview Cohen. He just pulled that quote from "an interview." I can find no record of the interview that it came from. It sounds like the kind of thing that just keeps getting picked up, but the original source is lost.
Just because you have read the quote numerous times, do not assume that it has actually been said numerous times.
Cohen actually used the vote-like-a-black woman line in a 2007 appearance on The Colbert Show, without referencing "45-year-old" or any other age. It was said in the context of a comedy show, and in no way intended as a slap in the face to anyone. His votes by and large have been those of a sentient being who analyzes the pros and cons of issues before voting on them. I enjoyed the NYT Magazine article author's description of SC as "a significantly wryer-than-average legislator." As my mother used to say, redundantly, "true fact."
It's a good thing Steve swung away from AIPAC. Israel is not the 51st state, and Israel has kept my country and its treasury embroiled in bad politics ever since I can remember. Steve has enough money now and should focus on the impact on his district of our middle east policy rather than the impact on the kind of activist (I think it's fair to say, Zionist, interventionist) Jewry embodied by AIPAC.
Actually, the vote-like-a-black-woman line was used, probably for the first time, at a 2006 candidate forum which I moderated at the University of Memphis. Coming in answer to a question about his support for abortion rights, it got an appreciative chuckle from the audience, which is all that Cohen intended. As the Times magazine writer (and the Waltzer) observed, the congressman is "a significantly wryer-than-average legislator."
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