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Election Watch 2006 Page II
November 2006 election a referendum on Iraq
Oct. 23: With just two weeks left, an ABC News/Washington Post poll concludes "the 2006 midterm elections look like a referendum on Iraq, a war in which President Bush and his party have lost not just the political center but significant chunks of their base." "An improving economy notwithstanding, opposition to the war remains the prime issue driving congressional voter preference. And the war's critics include not just eight in 10 Democrats but 64 percent of independents, 40 percent of conservatives, 35 percent of evangelical white Protestants and a quarter of Republicans." In the generic congressional ballot, Democrats hold a 54% to 41% lead, the highest level of Democratic support in this poll since 1984. "The Democratic lead comes mainly from the center, which simply is not holding for the Republicans: Independents, the quintessential swing voters, favor Democrats for the House by 28 points, 59% to 31%." (ABC News)
American Muslims support Democratic Party
Oct. 24: Majority of American Muslims are poised to support the Democratic Party in November 7 midterm election in which several polls suggest that President Bush’s Republican Party is likely to lose control of the congress. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations survey of Muslim voters, release today, 42 percent consider themselves members of the Democratic Party while only 17 per cent are Republican. Another 28 percent do not belong to any party. American Muslims are taking very active part in the mid-term election with voter registration campaigns and holding election forums to motivate and educate the community. American Muslims has the highest turnout of voters in elections. The CAIR survey said that 49 said that they voted regularly.On the Muslim voters views on the issues, the CAIR survey finds out that 55 percent believe that the Bush Administration’s current war on terror has become a war on Islam. Sixty-nine percent believe a just resolution to the Palestinian cause would improve America's standing in the Muslim world. Sixty-six percent support working toward normalization of relations with Iran. Only 12 percent believe the war in Iraq was a worthwhile effort, and just 10 percent support the use of the military to spread democracy in other countries. (AMP Report)
Muslim and Arab Americans Ditch Republicans
Oct. 25: Increasingly disillusioned with more than five years of the "global war on terror", Arab- and Muslim-American voters are poised to vote heavily Democratic in the Nov. 7 mid-term elections, according to two polls released this week. Strong majorities of Arab-American voters in four key states -- Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida -- intend to vote for the Democratic candidates for senator, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Arab American Institute (AAI). The same poll, conducted by Zogby International (ZI), found that a whopping 76 percent of Arab Americans disapprove of the performance of President George W. Bush, who received a 46 percent plurality of the Arab-American vote when he was first elected to office six years ago. Asked which party they would prefer to control Congress, 57 percent of Arab Americans chose Democrats, while only 26 percent said they favored Republican control. That was a considerably larger gap than the general voting public which, according to a CNN poll, favors a Democratic Congress by a 57-40 percent margin. Another survey of Muslim-American voters released here by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Tuesday also found widespread disillusionment with Bush, for whom a majority of Muslim Americans voted in 2000, particularly regarding the war on terror and foreign policy. That poll, conducted by Genesis Research Associates in August, found that only 17 percent of Muslim-American voters consider themselves Republican now, while a plurality of 42 percent said they were Democrats and 28 percent said they did not belong to either party. (Inter Press Service)
Muslim voters could sway close contests
Oct. 25: Muslim voters strongly oppose the war in Iraq and tilt toward Democrats in next month's congressional elections, a poll released Tuesday by a leading Islamic civil-rights organization has found. The poll, sponsored by the Council on Islamic-American Relations, suggested a potential voting bloc that could affect close races in the midterm elections Nov. 7. It pointed to deep disaffection with the Bush administration, with 55 percent of the American Muslim respondents saying they feared that "the war on terror has become a war on Islam." Only 12 percent said the war in Iraq has been worth the effort. The survey indicates a strong Democratic affiliation among Muslims. Forty-two percent identified themselves as Democrats, 17 percent said they are Republicans and 28 percent said they belong to no party. The poll findings signal "a political comeback" for American Muslims, who have been on the defensive in the five years since 9-11, said council Executive Director Nihad Awad. He said the study shows that most American Muslims are "centrists" who "care for America." Eighty-nine percent of respondents said they vote regularly, 86 percent said they celebrate the Fourth of July and 64 percent said they fly the U.S. flag. Eighty-two percent of respondents said the 9-11 attacks had harmed U.S. Muslims. (Cox News Service)
Massachusetts Muslims back Democratic gubernatorial candidate
Oct. 25: Local Muslims are rallying around Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick and are working to defeat Question 1, the ballot initiative that would allow for an expansion of wine sales in grocery stores, leaders in the Islamic community said. Tahir Ali, a spokesman for the Worcester Islamic Center, said area Muslims believe Mr. Patrick can do a better job looking out for the interests of working-class Massachusetts families. He said there's also strong concern about the attitude of Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, the Republican candidate, toward the Muslim community. Mr. Ali said there's fear, rightly or wrongly, among many that Ms. Healey may hold beliefs that are similar to those of her boss, Gov. Mitt Romney. The governor, for example, drew the ire of the Muslim community when, in a speech on homeland security last fall before the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, he suggested that some mosques be bugged to monitor students from nations accused of sponsoring terrorism. (Telegram & Gazette)
Republican gubernatorial candidate meets Arab Americans
Sept. 11: In an effort to clear the air with the local Arab community, Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos initiated a last-minute meeting with Arab American Public Affairs Council (AAPAC) President Osama Siblani, according to DeVos' campaign officials.DeVos was on the political hot seat last week after bowing out of a scheduled dinner sponsored by AAPAC. Truscott said DeVos canceled because he had a family conflict, but also had concerns about pro-Hezbollah comments made by Siblani. Siblani, who publishes the Arab American News, said the meeting went well and that it's time to move on. "He explained that the campaign made mistakes," Siblani said. (Detroit News)
Muslim candidate advances to general election in Maryland
Sept. 13: In Maryland District 39, political newcomer Saqib Ali, a 30-year-old North Potomac resident, beat incumbent Del. Joan F. Stern by about 6 percent with 4,205 votes in the Democratic House primary. Ali was behind incumbent delegates Charles E. Barkley of Germantown and Nancy J. King of Montgomery Village (Maryland). The top three vote-getters will advance to the general election in the House of Delegates race to face off against Republicans David Nichols, Gary Scott and Bill Witham, all of Gaithersburg. (Gazette) [Saqib Ali was elected to the Maryland State House in November 7 elections.]
In Minneapolis race, fresh attack on Muslim candidate's past
Sept. 13: One day after a Muslim state representative, Keith Ellison, captured the Democratic nomination for Congress, his Republican opponent today unleashed a bitter attack on Ellison's past ties with Louis Farrakhan. Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, has a history of harshly criticizing Jews. Business professor Alan Fine, who's running an uphill race in Minnesota's bluest district, compared Ellison with former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, emphasizing the black Democrat's Muslim background with a series of pen names formerly used by Ellison. "I'm extremely concerned about Keith Ellison. Keith Hakim. Keith X Ellison. Keith Ellison Muhammad," Fine, who is Jewish, said at a Capitol news conference. "I'm personally offended that this person is a candidate for U.S. Congress. He is unfit to represent the voters of the 5th District." (Associated Press)
Michigan: Political activities denounced
Sept. 13: Republicans on campus and in Washington distanced themselves today from controversial political activities discussed by an intern for the College Republican National Committee. The intern, Morgan Wilkins, a sophomore at the University of Louisville, who is being paid to organize College Republicans throughout the state told The Michigan Daily that she was considering organizing an event at campuses around the state that would have had participants shoot paintball or BB gun at cardboard cutouts of prominent Democrats like senators Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. She also said she might hold "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day," where students would try and find a volunteer hidden on campus wearing a shirt that said "illegal immigrant" on it. Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean sent a letter to his counterpart at the RNC, Ken Mehlman, demanding that he denounce the activities and put a stop to them. (Michigan Daily)
The politics of fear in US elections
Sept. 13: Six days before the 9/11 commemoration, President George Bush opened the fall election campaign season with a hard hitting speech on national security amid flagging public support for the war in Iraq. In a sharp rhetoric, President Bush said that Al Qaeda and its allies were intent on global domination and creating a "radical Islamic empire" that stretches from Spain to Iraq. While comparing Bin Laden with Hitler, he said: "Bin Laden and his terrorist allies have made their intentions as clear as Lenin and Hitler before them." To send the message home, Bush mentioned Bin Laden 17 times in the 44-minute speech. Ironically, any mention of Osama bin Laden was absent from the White House report, titled “National Strategy for Combating Terrorism” released the same day. President Bush’s comments came just eight weeks before the midterm elections with the GOP control of the House and Senate hanging in the balance. Bush's approval ratings have been sagging and he has come under fire from conservative critics who have argued that his “war on terror” was too squishy, and losing impact with mainstream America.According to Harris Interactive Poll, President Bush's approval rating is just 34%. President Bush's approval rating is 38% in a Newsweek poll. Harris Poll also indicated that if elections for Congress were held today, 45% of Americans say they would vote for the Democratic candidate and 30% would vote for the Republican. Hence, in an effort to bolster sinking public opinion about the unpopular war in Iraq and other national issues, President Bush and Republican leaders see “national security” or “fear factor” as their biggest advantage over Democrats. (The politics of fear in US elections by Abdus Sattar Ghazali)
Effort aims to push Muslims to the polls
Sept. 28: National Muslim civic leaders announced a new push today to get the country's estimated 2.2 million registered Muslim voters to the polls, unveiling a Web site that spells out key races of "Muslim interest" and ATM-like voter registration machines that will be put in mosques and Islamic student centers. The campaign by the Washington-based Muslim American Society is a continuation of an effort that has been underway since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to increase American Muslims' involvement in the political process. A 2005 survey by the Muslim American Political Action Committee said 84 percent of registered Muslims voted in the November 2004 election, compared with 41 percent in 2000. The efforts are getting more tailored, Muslim leaders said in announcing the creation of the society's Center for Electoral Empowerment. The center's main feature is a Web site that offers details on issues that the political action committee says are the most important to Muslim voters: concerns about "the erosion of civil liberties," "fair" immigration reform and foreign policy, said Mukit Hossain, president of MAPAC.
The focus on Muslim voting -- both by Muslim American leaders and political candidates -- rose again after the 2004 election, when the Muslim vote moved significantly away from the Republican Party. (Washington Post)
IL Muslims condemn candidate's remarks on profiling
Aug. 13: The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today condemned comments made by Andrea Zinga, a congressional candidate for the 17th district of Illinois. GOP house candidate said profiling on planes doesn't bother her. (CAIR Bulletin)
Profiling of Muslims: Latest Republican campaign issue
August 22: Mark Flanagan, a congressional candidate in Florida has become the fourth Republican office-seeker to call for profiling of Muslim airline passengers since the alleged airline bombing plot in Britain announced earlier this month. "It is a fact that over the past 34 years, starting with the Munich Olympics, the majority of terrorist attacks have been carried out by Muslims," said Mark Flanagan, a candidate in the 13th District of Florida, in a statement on August 21. There were at least three other Republican politicians who called for profiling of Muslims last week. Declaring that airport screeners shouldn't be hampered by "political correctness," House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King also endorsed requiring people of "Middle Eastern and South Asian" descent to undergo additional security checks because of their ethnicity and religion. Joining the fray, Paul Nelson, a Republican running in the third district of Wisconsin, also endorsed the idea on a local radio show. Asked on the show how screeners would spot a Muslim male, Nelson said, "If he comes in wearing a turban and his name is Muhammad, that's a good start." The GOP gubernatorial candidate in New York, John Faso also joined the chorus of profiling. In light of alleged UK plot, Faso said law enforcement officials should be able to question a Muslim man without fear of being slapped by an ACLU lawsuit. “Looking for Muslims for participation in Muslim jihad is not playing the odds. It is following an ironclad tautology." (Profiling of Muslims: Latest Republican campaign issue By Abdus Sattar Ghazali)
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