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Robert Naiman

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To Protect Democracy, the House Should Act Against Bachmann's Anti-Muslim McCarthyism

Posted: 07/25/2012 3:46 pm

Representative Michele Bachmann is using her position on the House Intelligence Committee to promote a conspiracy theory that government officials, including State Department official Huma Abedin, are part of a Muslim Brotherhood plot to infiltrate the U.S. government. Bachmann also claims that Rep. Keith Ellison is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. Bachmann has refused to apologize or back down, even after prominent Republicans like Senator John McCain demanded that she stop.

As Rep. Ellison has noted, he and Abedin are in positions of relative power; even greater than our concern for them should be our concern that the political participation of Muslim-Americans will be chilled by anti-Muslim McCarthyism attacking the role of Muslim-Americans in our country's political life.

We need the voices of Muslim-Americans to help us reform U.S. foreign policy in the Muslim world. If Muslim-American voices are silenced, reforming U.S. policy is going to be much harder. Urge your Representative to help draw a line by speaking out for sanctions on Bachmann, including -- as People for the American Way has called for -- her removal from the Intelligence Committee, for her attacks on the political participation of Muslim-Americans.

It's indisputable that many Muslim-Americans have cultural ties to and heightened concern about countries where U.S. foreign policy is especially controversial.

We need these Muslim-American voices in the debate over U.S. foreign policy: in the debate over policy towards Iran, in the debate over the war in Afghanistan, in the debate over CIA drone strikes, in the debate over the U.S. response to the Arab Spring, in the debate over the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

And that's why Just Foreign Policy is asking Members of Congress to speak out against these attacks on the political participation of Muslim-Americans. Urge your Representative to speak out.

 

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02:25 AM on 07/28/2012
When I was 5 1/2 years old, I saved a little girl from drowning in her Momma's pool. It just so happened her Mother is who taught me how to swim! But was THAT "in-the-news?" Nah, wasn't "important enough." Government "elections" are such a bad-joke played out on the world stage. Lucky I'm old and won't have to watch this treachery and corrupt governments much longer.....
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WomenDeserveAVoice
07:50 PM on 07/26/2012
Bachmann should resign. This is shameful.
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janmB
loves life
08:46 AM on 07/26/2012
Thanks be to the voters in Bachmann's state, the country is stuck with her. Some of the gaffs she makes are laughable and then.....some like this are outright dangerous. She needs to be thrown out of office.
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RobertNaiman
Policy Director at Just Foreign Policy
01:46 AM on 07/27/2012
The voters in her district decide who their Representative in the House is. But the leadership of the House decides who serves on the Intelligence Committee. The leadership of the House could decide to remove her from the Intelligence Committee; the voters in her district have no veto on that.
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janmB
loves life
09:19 AM on 07/27/2012
Bachmann only got a tongue-lashing....if it was a democrat....Fox would still be talking about it.
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Nighthawlk
12:28 AM on 08/05/2012
All members of congress do the same. We need a complete new congress that believe in coexisting in peace, we need changes in our entire foreign, domestic and immigration policies. We need to recover from the depression caused by NAFTA and other free trade agreements which have allowed corporations and adequate wages to leave US for the free trade countries to avoid taxes and exploit cheap labor.

We need meaningful changes instead of impossible pledges and lies. We need to return our nation to the control of the citizens and not just at elections where they say anything to get elected.

We need peace. We need prosperity for the nation instead of the corporations of war and financial institutions that prey on the middle and low income families that are financially raped with the approval of our government.

Do we need better reasons to make things change? Do we need the 2 party systems that no longer function as they were intended to function? Do we need a party that is not the same as present independent parties that are the same as what we already have?

To have change we must change the politics and return to a real representative democracy.
04:37 AM on 07/26/2012
This is an enthusiasm and productive writing, but we shouldn't omit the vital question that is, it is not the Muslim-Americans rather it is the fair policy-friendship to all malice to none- as diplomacy is
the dirtiest word saying in the nicest ways-Robert!
04:51 AM on 07/26/2012
Hey Robert!

We should read much more about our human race or other important factors that lead us to
live on earth.Unfortunately, we just avoid the truth by our ignorance. Should not it be all religions the same banner where we don't even know this knowledge yet?

Think and ask your question here now:
www.globalpeacemethod.com
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Justin Gibson
04:29 AM on 07/26/2012
Michele Bachmann is a complete loon and embarrassment to her district and to America. I hope she is voted out this November by the voters in her district. She should be removed from the House Intel Committee, and likely should be censured and/or expelled as well (along with Louie Gohmert, Joe Walsh, Allen West, Paul Broun, Buck McKeon, Virginia Foxx, John Shimkus, and at least a few other really repulsive GOPers).
11:50 AM on 07/26/2012
sadly, she keeps getting voted in. her constituents appear to be equally wacked.
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vividrick
I came, I saw...I had a cup of tea!
08:26 PM on 07/25/2012
Well said Robert.
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Baghooli
Immortals!
05:52 PM on 07/25/2012
Ever since 9/11 Pro-Christian militancy and pro-Israel lobbies have been fanning flames against American Moslems and Moslems in general in order to win a selfish political battle here and there, unfortunately they're short sighted by not seeing how they're alienating quarter of world populous for generations to come and not to mention the long term damage to US constitution (work in progress) which strides to be free of racial and religious hostilities with so much left to be done for better, vote accordingly, peace!
04:40 PM on 07/26/2012
And you think the muslim world is place free of racial and religious hostilities?
I wonder why the muslims are coming to the Western world by the thousands>
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Baghooli
Immortals!
09:26 PM on 07/26/2012
"And you think the muslim world is place free of racial and religious hostilities?"
I haven't been through all the "muslim world", what I do know is that one can only help change laws and attitudes for better where one lives!
"I wonder why the muslims are coming ..."
A better economy and hence a better standard of living, but they can't get visa's by saying that so majority of them find political or religious or ... grievances to satisfy immigration officers, people throughout history have immigrated to greener pastures if you will, it's a elementary fact!
05:35 PM on 07/25/2012
I would suggest each reading this will take the time and read the July 13, 2012 letter she wrote to Rep. Ellison as it addresses everything in more detail and corrects errors made by Rep. Ellison and others. SHE DID NOT ATTACK ANYONE she did her job to ask the IG to check to make sure the individual(s) that performed the security background investigation took into account everything available about her families association with the Muslim Brotherhood. Here is a paragraph from her letter that seems to be missed in the reporting of the facts.

“…the Deputy Chief of Staff, Huma Abedin, has three family members – her late father, her mother, and her brother – connected to the Muslim Brotherhood operatives and/or organizations. Her position provides her withy routine access to the Secretary and the policy-making.”
She goes on to list the numerous Middle Eastern news sources that report the facts. However, it appears nobody is doing the simple research on this.

Go to the Defense Human Resources Activity (DHRA) website and read the material on Foreign Influence. http://dhra.mil/perserec/adr/index.htm

Having worked for the upper levels of DOD fire protection for 30-years, Rep. Bachmann did exactly what any rational citizen would do when there is even the remote possibility someone’s security clearance has been compromised. You take it to the Inspector General for clarification.
08:57 PM on 07/25/2012
Don't worry, I'm writing a letter to the House Sergeant-at-Arms to request an investigation of Bachmann. After all, it's what rational citizen would do when there is even the remote possibility that a member of the House Intelligence Committee may be compromised and influenced by agents of the Swiss Confederation.
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luvcats13
I Think I'm Turning Democrat?
01:58 AM on 07/26/2012
Why would she need to make the public splash. Wasn't she investigated fully before being given her security clearance? So she would know just how rigorous a background check both Rep Ellison and Sec of State aide Huma A. have already gone through. SHE's the one who needs to be investigated. We don't need a looney tune conspiracy theory spouting politician given top secret security clearance and privy to what is addressed by the House Intelligence Committee. It's a free country and she can spout crazy theories all she wants to. And if the folks in her Minnesota district want to reelect her in Novembef, so be it. But Speaker Boehner needs to GET HER OFF the House Intelligence Committee, because a loose canon on that committee has national security implications.