די קאנסערוואטיווע וויליאמסבוג קען נישט העלפן פאר עד טאונס

Q: Regarding House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi's anger towards Rep. Ed Towns (D-NY) and suggestions of retribution, has Pelosi ever thought that her actions could lead to Towns switching parties? I think he would have a reasonable chance of winning the district running as a Republican. -- Ronald May, Jerusalem, Israel

A: You or I would have as good a shot at winning Brooklyn's 10th Congressional District as Towns would as a Republican. The 10th District is dominated by the poor and high-crime areas of Bedford-Stuyvesant and East New York. While there are pockets of conservative support -- notably in the Orthodox Jewish area of Williamsburg -- this is plain and simple an overwhelmingly, overwhelmingly black Democratic district. In 2004 the GOP candidate received 7.5 percent of the vote; in 2000 it was 5 percent. There was no Republican nominee in 2002. Nobody -- not Ed Towns, not Bill Clinton, not Rosa Parks -- could win here as a Republican.

The root of this animosity is Towns' vote last July in favor of CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Strongly opposed by organized labor, it passed the House by the razor-thin margin of 217-215. Fifteen Democrats, including Towns, voted for it. For his apostasy, Towns, an African-American lawmaker in his 12th term, has been threatened with the loss of his seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Needless to say, members of the Congressional Black Caucus are livid over Pelosi singling out Towns, noting that freshman Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL), who is white, also voted for CAFTA but has not been subjected to any threats from the leadership. Towns also missed a key vote on a crucial budget bill that Republicans also pushed through by a two-vote margin. He may now face a serious challenge in the Sept. 12 primary.