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| Letter on Muslim radical roils GOP Senate race in CA |
| 2010-03-09 |
| Terrorism and the Middle East are continuing to roil the Republican Senate contest after a letter written by former congressman Tom Campbell emerged that appeared to contradict statements Campbell and his aides had made about his dealings with a radical Muslim professor. The professor, Sami Al-Arian, contributed to Campbell's unsuccessful campaign in 2000 for the U.S. Senate. On Sept. 26, 2001, when he was teaching at the University of South Florida, Al-Arian gave an interview to Fox TV host Bill O'Reilly in which he conceded that he had said, "Jihad is our path. Victory to Islam. Death to Israel. Revolution. Revolution until victory. Rolling to Jerusalem." Those statements quickly generated a furor and the university moved to discipline Al-Arian. Campbell, by then a law professor at Stanford University, wrote a letter to Judy Genshaft, the president of the University of South Florida, protesting any punishment. Campbell had previously conceded that he wrote a letter on Al-Arian's behalf, but had said during a candidates' debate Friday that he did so before Al-Arian's interview with O'Reilly. His campaign's website also said the letter was written before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The text of the letter showed otherwise. Dated Jan. 21, 2002, it said, " . . . I respectfully wish to convey my sincere alarm that Professor Al-Arian may be treated harshly because of the substance of his views." Campbell went on to write that "I have formed this fear because of the paucity of evidence supporting the purported reasons for this discipline against him. I read a transcript of the 'O'Reilly Factor' interview last autumn, and I did not see anything whereby Professor Al-Arian attempted to claim he was representing the views of the University of South Florida." Carly Fiorina, one of Campbell's opponents in the primary race, called on him to release the letter last week. The text of the letter was first disclosed by the website of the Investigative Project on Terrorism. Campbell's aides, who had said the candidate no longer had a copy of the original letter, then posted a link to it on the campaign website. On Monday, Campbell said in an interview that despite the language of his letter, he had never read the full transcript of the O'Reilly interview, specifically the "Death to Israel" language. If he had seen it, he said, he never would have written the letter. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #12 This is why Caliphornia is in the shape it is and why it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. DeVore is clearly the guy you want and just as clearly doesn't have a chance. So you've got Carly, Professor Tom or Babs. Helluva choice. The only real difference is who they vote for for Senate Majority leader. And it's not like it's a lot better elsewhere. Spector is leading Toomey in PA right now. And I'll really rile things up by saying that Bambi will easily be a two termer if health care is defeated. So things aren't really going to change until the war starts and looks to be as lost as in January 1942. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2010-03-09 18:33 |
| #11 ". But I just can't vote for Carly. I can't. Sorry." So you will vote for DeVore and get Boxer re-elected? That makes a lot of sense ... for a Democrat! So are you saying that Boxer is better than Carly? Because that is actually what you are saying. You can't vote for Carly which means you will in effect be voting for Boxer. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-03-09 16:48 |
| #10 Yeah, I don't have a vote in it, being happy up here in Pennsyltucky, but from this vantage DeVore looks like the only respectable option. Campbell has some bizarre skeletons in his closet, and Fiorina left a trail of wreckage behind her in private life and seems to be a two-faced clown in political life. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2010-03-09 16:39 |
| #9 The last time Campbell ran against a liberal, Jewish, female Senator: Democratic Dianne Feinstein (incumbent) 5,932,522 - 55.9% Republican Tom Campbell 3,886,853 - 36.6% |
| Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2010-03-09 12:18 |
| #8 Voting the lesser of two evils will just get you the same old politico. You have nothing to lose by voting your conscience. |
| Posted by: Xenophon 2010-03-09 12:17 |
| #7 Chuck DeVore Yeah, I know. He's too conservative and he doesn't stand a chance in blue Kaliphornia. But I just can't vote for Carly. I can't. Sorry. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2010-03-09 12:15 |
| #6 So you'd rather have Carly on the ballot and return Boxer? Yeah, it was a dumb letter to send and shows poor judgment. And the guy has RINO tendencies. He's still better than Carly. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2010-03-09 10:46 |
| #5 Former Rep Campbell has a PhD in economics and a law degree too so he is not stupid. So ruling out stupid leaves dishonesty or sloth as his 'excuses'. |
| Posted by: lord garth 2010-03-09 10:37 |
| #4 Nothing like being on the wrong side of things. Burnt toast! Al-Arian was sentenced to 57 months in prison, given credit for time served, and ordered deported following his prison term. He was to serve the balance of 19 months. In March 2008, the United States Department of Justice subpoenaed Al-Arian to testify before a grand jury. He refused to testify, and prosecutors charged him with criminal contempt in June 2008. On September 2, 2008, Al-Arian was released from detention on bond. He remains under house arrest, as he awaits a trial on contempt charges |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-03-09 10:11 |
| #3 |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-03-09 09:41 |
| #2 If he had seen it, he said, he never would have written the letter. So he has no foresight, and doesn't have the sense to read a person's views through before supporting them? This is the same kind of logic of those that had Mein Kampf on the coffee table and claimed they never really knew what Hitler was up to. Sure. Right. |
| Posted by: mom 2010-03-09 09:33 |
#1  |
| Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2010-03-09 07:28 |