Councilmember Kristin Mink (Democrat – District 5) issued a fairly milquetoast but balanced (for her) statement on the ongoing turmoil and hot war in the Middle East last week (via X.com):
The statement reads okay, but was likely heavily scrutinized/edited by CM Mink and staff prior to public issuance. Remember, this is the same firebrand politician / activist that has labeled people, including Muslim parents, “white supremacists” simply for disagreeing with her on school curriculum and opt-out policy. And, as the old adage goes: “actions speak louder then words”. In the not-so-distant past, we can see, pretty clearly, what actions and people Kristin Mink is drawn to, as her direct actions include donations to fringe Anti-Israel activists and even those dabbling in old tropes, at every opportunity. Here is a quick run-down of Kristin (and husband Ryan) Mink’s direct political donations these past few years, courtesy of opensecrets.org:
Two hundred dollars to Maryland State Senate candidate (and eventual Democrat primary loser) Max Socol. Per an anti-defamation league blog post on the 2022 primaries, highlighting radical anti-Israel candidates:
Campaign donations to former Maryland state delegate (Democrat, District 15 – Montgomery County) Saqib Ali, who was very vocal about “BDS” (boycott/divest from Israel and only Israel) movement ideas and once sued the Hogan administration in Maryland about the topic and related state law. The former state delegate did not win his attempted comeback attempt. Per CanaryMission.org, Ali once posted Facebook (2017): “Over the long run (Allah-willing) the international non-violent campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions will continue to slowly and gradually gain moment [sic] and help expose the Israeli apartheid, constant land-thefting and war-crimes.”
And then finally, a $100 donation to Mink’s old chum Ana Maria Archila (AMA). Here she is posing with “AOC” (Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez) courtesy of AMA’s campaign site. Unfortunately, AMA did not win the NY lieutenant governor primary, despite the Mink cash and AOC endorsement.
The donation to Ana Maria Archila is interesting and noteworthy because although I see no direct quotes from Ms. Archila promoting “anti-Zionism” or anti-semitism or “BDS”, it is clear that Ana M Archila likely had frequent interactions with professional peers holding anti-semitic views while she was at the Center for Popular Democracy (which also employed Kristin Mink from 2020-22 prior to her running for Montgomery County Council). Ana M Archila was the group’s co-executive director when a ‘national field organizer’ was hired with some pretty vile past posts. What was being said daily over Mink’s old employer?
Per that December 2019 Freebeacon.com article about Center for Popular Democracy staff, it is also pretty evident there is another reason why CM Mink donated to Ana M Archila:
Angry, confrontation with public officials. Headline grabbing stunts. Performative politics with little substance but lots of buzzwords. It fits the Mink brand well.
