strib: Warning: GOP smear campaign just ahead

[question everything]

Editorial: Warning: GOP smear campaign just ahead

Fine's attack on Ellison and his religion was reprehensible.
9/15/06

(snip)

Here are some of the words, delivered with ample emotion, that came from the mouth of Ellison's Republican opponent, words unlikely to have originated in Alan Fine's heart but more likely crafted by some young Beltway piranha typing away on behalf of Karl Rove's dark national machine:

"I'm extremely concerned about Keith Ellison, Keith Hakim, Keith X. Ellison, Keith Ellison Muhammad," Fine read. "He is unfit to represent the voters of the Fifth District. He is the follower of a known racist, Louis Farrakhan, who promoted division between the people of our nation, a person who believes that the white man is the antichrist, a person who called for the destruction of our nation, a person who believes that Jews are the scourge of the earth. I'm personally offended as a Jew that we have a candidate like this running for U.S. Congress. ... His selection is an embarrassment to our district, our state, our country and our world."

(snip)

Minnesota voters have grown weary of the low road traveled so often by Rove and his ilk. They've had their fill of Swift-boating and jingoistic flag-waving. Fine could choose from plenty of legitimate GOP bones to pick with Ellison: his opposition to the Iraq war, his advocacy for a single-payer health care system, even his careless record on personal finance.

But not his religion. And not this thin, hateful attempt to tie Ellison and his party to Islamic extremism. Republicans surely know that won't work in the Fifth District; more likely what they hope is that it will work in the rest of the state, painting the DFL and all its candidates as extremist-loving radicals, using Ellison to defeat other DFLers even though they probably can't defeat him.

(snip)

http://www.startribune.com/561/story/678102.html

[NMDemDist2]

1. unFREAKINGbelievable!

:banghead:

[Greeby]

2. Actually, very believeable

A muslim as the Democratic nominee? KKKarl must have got a stiffy when he heard about that

[Dinger]

3. OOOOOOOOoooo, I'm So Scared (not)

:sarcasm:

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

[MnFats]

4. tiny tiny real beefs against him, so they gotta pull this shit...

...late filings, parking tix, woo-woo!
...that's the best they can do.
...fortunately the Fifth will kick Fine's ass.
...trouble is, once Ellison gets to D.C. he'll be under a super microscope from day one.

[spag68]

5. 60 million buys a lot of smut,

[DFLforever]

6. Here is the key point:

Republicans surely know that won't work in the Fifth District; more likely what they hope is that it will work in the rest of the state, painting the DFL and all its candidates as extremist-loving radicals, using Ellison to defeat other DFLers even though they probably can't defeat him.


I'm glad the Strib stepped up to the plate on this.

The big story here should have been that a predominately white city chose a black candidate because they agreed with him on the issues such as anti-Iraq war, single-payer health insurance, etc. His religion was either unknown or made little difference to the voter.

I'm hoping this backfires on the GOPers and not just in the Fifth District. At one time it would have hurt them very badly but I'm not sure now.

[samsingh]

7. we need to be prepared for vicious attacks from the gop

[Boo Boo]

8. I wouldn't vote for a follower of Louis Farakhan any more than I would

vote for a follower of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, or Tim Lahaye. Which means (presuming the accusation is true) if I were living where this guy is running I'd be staying home on election day.

Nobody to vote for.

[DFLforever]

9. Neither is Ellison a follower of Farrakhan

Did you read the editorial? It makes it quite clear this man is being SMEARED.

Ellison's a mainstream Muslim. (In college he got caught up with the Nation of Islam but has since denounced it - and Farrakhan.)

So I guess you'd be just a typical Rove dupe who swallows the BS they put out for you.

I'm glad you don't live in his district and, I hope you don't live in Minnesota.

[Boo Boo]

10. Of course I read it. And I just read it again for good measure. Perhaps

you should read it again from the point of view of someone who (thank god) doesn't live in Minnesota and has no more information than what is in the article. Exactly what do you see in that article that refutes the basic assertion that this person is a follower of Farrakhan? I see nothing. All I see is an assertion, backed up by nothing, that the Republican is engaging in Rovian smear tactics, which on its own is not hard to believe. But it is not a smear if it is true, and the article does nothing to knock down the assertion.

Now, perhaps if I lived in Minnesota I would know enough about the man to know he had denounced the Nation of Islam. But, since I don't live in MN, well... it doesn't really matter does it? Nonetheless, I can in fact read, and do know the difference between an opinion and a fact. With only this article to go by I don't see how one can draw any other conclusion than the man is a follower of Farrakhan, and that the writer of the opinion thinks that attacking him for that should be off limits. I don't agree with that opinion.

Have a nice day.