Regarding the large number of senators and representatives who seem to have ended up on J Street’s host committee without their knowledge (a not insignificant portion of the dozen or so who have now pulled their names off the list), the group’s spokesmen have offered a fairly consistent defense. We saw it again today in Glenn Thrush’s report that John Kerry had bailed on what J Street was billing as a keynote address:
Have they really made every effort? Ben Smith reports that J Street today resent an invitation for their Tuesday night “Gala Dinner” to members of Congress because “the wrong paper was used for the initial printing making it very difficult to read.” As Smith notes, “the list, needless to say, includes Gillibrand, Castle, and all the other dropouts.” Is it just another self-inflicted wound for J Street, or is it more devious? Probably the former — the simplest explanation is usually correct.
