Ackerman doesn’t seem to understand what the phrase “Israel Lobby” means:

But Israel understood that there was a wide and politically powerful base of support that was just waiting to be cultivated: conservative evangelical Christians.

This is why conspiratorial talk about the Israel Lobby seriously misses the point.

It isn’t conspiratorial talk, but Ackerman’s bigger mistake here is to think that the people making arguments about “the Israel Lobby” are unaware of the influence of Christian Zionists on Republican politics. Ackerman mentions Hagee in his post. Hagee’s organization, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), is a significant part of what can be termed “the Israel Lobby” since it is an advocacy organization specifically dedicated to supporting what it defines as “pro-Israel” policies. Walt and Mearsheimer make numerous references to Hagee and his activism in The Israel Lobby. It’s almost as if they were making much the same argument then that Ackerman is making right now.

Ackerman’s larger point about “pro-Israel” conservative Christians is correct:

It [the U.S.-Israel relationship] thrives because one of the most powerful constituencies in American politics, conservative Christians, identifies with Israel — and not with politicians who question it. You can see that, barometrically, in the GOP presidential debates, in which the candidates line up to outdo each other in vowing support for Israel and bashing Obama for his insufficient affection for Israel.

That was certainly on display earlier this week at the RJC, where all of the invited candidates, Huntsman included, fell over themselves to express their enthusiastic devotion.