Mercury Rising

If the local Republicans thought that by relentlessly sliming Keith Ellison, they were going to scare the other DFL candidates away from him, Coleen Rowley has just disabused them of that notion:

Coleen Rowley, the DFL candidate for Congress in Minnesota's Second District, issued a sharp denunciation of recent GOP smears directed toward Keith Ellison, DFL candidate in Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District. "Alan Fine's recent, persistent attacks on Keith Ellison are unwarranted, they are despicable, and they reveal Mr. Fine to be unfit for public office," said Rowley. Alan Fine is the GOP candidate running against Ellison. Immediately after Ellison won the DFL primary for the seat, Fine said he was "personally offended" that Ellison had been nominated, compared Ellison to Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, and declared that Ellison's selection is "an embarrassment to our district, our state, our country and our world." "To vilify someone exclusively on the basis of their religious beliefs is morally and ethically wrong, yet that's what Mr. Fine and his Republican backers have done to Keith Ellison. Even though they cannot point to a single anti-Semitic word Keith Ellison has written or spoken, even though Ellison is endorsed by the American Jewish World, they call him an anti-Semite -- because Keith Ellison is a Muslim. Even though Keith Ellison is black, they compare him to a leader of the Ku Klux Klan. This smear is a new low, even for a group of Republicans. Where is their shame?" Rowley continued, "Republicans have had full control in Washington for nearly four years, and they have brought us record debt, 46 million Americans without adequate health care, a sinking middle class and a disaster in Iraq which weakens our national security and every day drains away $300 million and the sweat, blood, and lives of our troops. They have shredded our country's peace, prosperity, and hope for the future. With no record worth bragging about, Republicans candidates are left with fear and slander. Even the National Republican Congressional Committee has admitted that it plans to spend more than 90 percent of its budget on negative ads. They say, 'Give up your rights, so we can protect you. Fear gays and lesbians. Fear liberals. Fear Muslims.' The president says that 'it is unacceptable to think'. Republicans across the country hammer wedge issues and divide our country." What are they afraid of? "Keith Ellison is a uniter. He won his primary by bringing together people of all different ages, races, religions and backgrounds, and he will help to unite our country while in Congress. Like Keith Ellison, I agree that it's time to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Like Keith Ellison, I believe that every American deserves access to adequate medical care. The Fifth District is lucky to have him fighting for them, and when I get to Congress in January, I look forward to working with Keith Ellison to hold the Bush administration accountable for its failures and restore our country's greatness."

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# posted by Phoenix Woman @ 9/21/2006 06:26:00 AM