Several presidential candidates and other prominent politicians appeared at this weekend’s Arab American Institute conference, and they appear to have indulged in a good deal of sobbing and handwringing over the alleged human rights abuses that Arab Americans currently suffer, while saying nary a word (at least from the looks of this story) about our shared responsibility to resist the jihad threat. But of course, candidates like Richardson, Paul and Kucinich would say, “What jihad threat?” It has all been cooked up by the State Department to provide a foundation for their imperialist project, doncha know.
And those boys over at CIA and State are good: look at all the violent material they’ve managed to finagle into the Qur’an and Sunnah.
“Arab Americans host hopefuls: Richardson, Paul, Kucinich attend conference, speak,” by Niraj Warikoo in the Detroit Free Press:
After three days of networking and political speeches, Arab Americans who attended a national conference in Detroit say they went home committed to continuing their fight for constitutional rights and restoring the United States’ image in the world.
[…]
The conference reflects the growing clout of the Arab-American community, which not too long ago was avoided by presidential candidates: In 1988, Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis rejected the endorsement of a major Arab-American group. This year, Democratic party leaders gave the candidates permission to address the conference despite a campaign boycott of Michigan because legislators moved up the date of the state’s primary.
A mix-up over the boycott might explain why none of the leading candidates appeared at the conference, institute head James Zogby said.
“We ran into this cross fire with the early states versus Michigan,” he said.
But he noted that the campaign teams sent high-level surrogates, including Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s adviser, Tony Lake, and former Sen. John Edwards’ campaign manager, former Michigan congressman David Bonior.
The candidates who did appear were warmly received.
“I will follow the Constitution of the United States,” New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democratic presidential candidate, said Sunday to loud applause. “The erosion of our civil liberties is not just something that is felt by minorities — it affects all Americans.”
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, was the first candidate to speak Sunday. He spoke about meeting with victims of war in Lebanon and criticized current U.S. foreign policy.
Republican candidates were also invited, but only Ron Paul addressed the conference.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean slammed those who divide the nation by scapegoating those with Middle Eastern ancestry.
“You have been singled out unfairly and unjustly … by politicians who hope to have a cheap electoral trick,” Dean said.
He cited successful Arab Americans such as former Sen. Majority Leader George Mitchell and Apple chief executive Steve Jobs.
“It is important for us to stand and recognize these leaders at a time when this community is under siege by those who would divide America in order to win elections,” Dean said.