The First Muslim in Congress...

erik_kosberg · #1 09-13-2006, 10:22 AM

phoenixx · #2 09-13-2006, 10:58 AM

cool.

realtraveller · #3 09-13-2006, 12:42 PM

He was a member of the very anti-Semitic Nation of Islam.

Has he renounced them and their anti-Semitism and apologized for his association with them?

**drmomentum**[$] · #4 09-13-2006, 12:46 PM

Damn war on Christians.

erik_kosberg · #5 09-13-2006, 12:51 PM

The American Jewish World newspaper here endorsed him so I don't think that anti-Semitism would stick as an issue.

erik_kosberg · #6 09-13-2006, 01:18 PM

BTW I fully expect that Republicans will go into full-speed smear mode. A lot of good it will do them. In this district, a Republican stands about as much chance of winning in the general election as a gay atheist would have in rural Utah.

**drmomentum**[$] · #7 09-13-2006, 02:09 PM

Quote:

erik_kosberg said

BTW I fully expect that Republicans will go into full-speed smear mode.

Wow, you're crawling way out on that particular limb, Erik.

erik_kosberg · #8 09-19-2006, 05:15 PM

Let the smearing begin!

**hadassahchana**[$] · #9 09-19-2006, 05:48 PM

Looks like a political campaign to me. Why should the GOP not campaign against him? And why would you expect different tactics from the GOP than from the Dems?

wivabef · #10 09-19-2006, 06:00 PM

Quote:

erik_kosberg said

Let the smearing begin!

Okay, you expect the Republicans...but Erik... I was just reading up on Mr. Wonderful, here....

is this really something they consider electable anyhow?

Hey, I'm all for diversity, but if the world were backwards and it was whites who were the minority, would you want the equivalent of televangelist Jim Baker to be the first white christian elected to congress?

I'm not talking about Louis Farrakhan and the like... I'm talking about a man who seems to think he's above the law:

I am talking about the part about how this lawyer racked up 40 unpaid parking tickets and nine moving violations since 2000.

But, that was probably racial profiling.

Just like the $25,000 in unpaid taxes...

And the campaign violations!

Now, I'm sure Katherine Kersten is some crazed, loonie right wing Ann Coulter type...but, really...

is this the first black or Muslim anyone would want?

I know there are many better out there.

I mean... can't SOMEBODY in politics find their moral compasse?

Anybody?

Bueller?

erik_kosberg · #11 09-19-2006, 06:16 PM

Do. Not. Even. Get. Me. Started. On. Katherine. Kersten.

wivabef · #12 09-19-2006, 06:38 PM

Well, then, obviously she IS some crazed, loonie rightwing Ann Coulter type. I was just guessing because...shocker... she was opposed to a democrat.

So, you can drop every liberal blog in the world in a link and use it as a point of fact, but if a columnist from a legitimate paper gets dropped, it's not about the issues?

Are the facts incorrect?

Did Ellison not owe taxes, ignore mounting piles of parking tickets, get his license suspended, have campaign violations?

erik_kosberg · #13 09-19-2006, 06:59 PM

Hell, I own back taxes.

Guess I can't even vote for myself...

wivabef · #14 09-19-2006, 09:25 PM

I guess I'd have to know the circumstances behind why you owe back taxes Erik, but, if it were 25,000 AND a flagrant disregard for parking violations AND campaign violations then, yes... you shouldn't vote for yourself.

We already have enough people in Congress on every side of the aisle and lobby and closet and bathroom that can't balance a checkbook. A large percentage of legislating is appropriating.

**hadassahchana**[$] · #15 09-20-2006, 01:04 AM

Oy. After reading about those things in the first article you posted, I thought that he sounded exactly like a Detroit politician - like, the mayor, for example. The just now, I saw the mention that he grew up in Detroit and nearly choked on my tea. That's really sad. What Elyzabeth said - send in someone who can tell the difference between right and wrong and who leaves the whole entitlement thing at the door.

**amykhar** · #16 09-20-2006, 08:56 AM

I know of a circumstance where somebody owes a significant amount of back taxes and yet is elected over and over again to office. (An unpaid position) And, here's the shocker. She does a good job. She's just broke.

I am NOT defending Erik's candidate because I don't personally think he's the right guy for the job. But, back taxes or unpaid fines (way fewer than 40) would not be enough of a criteria for me to keep somebody out of office.

erik_kosberg · #17 09-20-2006, 10:27 AM

Nothing that Fine or Kersten or other Republicans have said about Ellison since the primary is new. All of it was heavily covered by the local media. Voters in the primary could have easily shown Ellison the door. One of his oppenents was a veteran politician who spent more than he did. Another was a former state party chairman and the current MoC's chief of staff. Voters chose Ellison. They did so in large part because his religion, back taxes, and parking tickets ranked mighty low on the list of things that voters were concerned about. A-Number-1 on that list was Iraq. Voters here are sick and tired of Bush's fiasco. Ellison wants the troops home. Now. Immediate pullout. That strongly resonated with voters. Republicans here have no way to win on the issue that most concerns voters. Without issues, all they have left to use is personal attacks. But even that can't win the race for them.

realtraveller · #18 09-20-2006, 12:20 PM

I wonder how closely the views of the Nation of Islam were covered in local media.

--That they think white people are only potential humans who haven't evolved yet.
--that they call whites "blue-eyed devils".
--that Jews are called bloodsuckers who control the economy.

Nation of Islam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I haven't read anything in which Ellison denounced unequivocally his past associations with the Nation of Islam. There is no way I would ever vote for anyone who had ever been a member of such a racist organization, unless he did a complete about face, a real mea culpa, and showed by his actions that he meant what he said. Even then I'd be skeptical.

erik_kosberg · #19 09-20-2006, 12:35 PM

Quote:

There is no way I would ever vote for anyone who had ever been a member of such a racist organization...

Given that Ellison was never a member of the Nation of Islam, that shouldn't be much of a problem.

erik_kosberg · #20 09-20-2006, 12:41 PM

BTW, if anyone is interested in Ellison's backround in general and this race in particular, read this article.

realtraveller · #21 09-20-2006, 12:41 PM

Citation please.

And whether he paid his dues or not he closely associated with them. He marched with them. He gave himself a Nation of Islam name.

It's like wearing the white robes and burning crosses but never actually signing up with the KKK.

erik_kosberg · #22 09-20-2006, 12:45 PM

Quote:

realtraveller said

Citation please.

Googling too much of a bother?

erik_kosberg · #23 09-20-2006, 12:58 PM

Personally, I couldn't vote for someone like George W. Bush since bin Laden's investments with the Carlyle Group, Arbusto Energy, etc. have close association implications. But hey, that's just me.

realtraveller · #24 09-20-2006, 02:18 PM

Star-Tribune calls Ellison a "supporter of the Nation of Islam" when he ran in 1998.

The excuses keep on coming for Ellison's behavior

He also wrote an article supporting separatist black states and article which he has never disavowed.

This man's views are to put it charitably "questionable", something most of the media seem willing to ignore.