Thursday, January 11, 2007

A Clash between the Old and New America

Monday, December 25, 2006

A clash between the old America and the new occurred this week when Congressman Virgil Goode, an undistinguished back-bencher from Virginia, made it clear that he doesn't much like Minneapolis, Minnesota's newly elected Congressman, Keith Ellison. Why? Because Congressman Ellison, a Minneapolis defense attorney, is a convert to Islam. Last month, Mr. Ellison became America's first Congressman of Islamic faith.

In a letter to a Virginian, Virgil of Virginia mentions the new congressman and warns that current immigration policy will lead to an outbreak of more elected Muslims in this country and unfettered use of the Koran.Virginia blogger Stephen Retherford describes Virgil in his post, Congressman Goode's "macaca moment" (Sisyphus, Dec. 19, 2006) as follows:

"Virgil Goode served almost a quarter of a century in the Virginia Senate and asa member of the majority party was considered one of the least effective Senators of either party. Goode was then elected to the United States Congressin 1996 as a Democrat and switched to the Republican Party in 2002. His decadelong career in the U.S. House of Representatives was notable only when in 2005 with his association with the defense contractor MZM that was linked to the bribery scandal of Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham. Congressman Goode’s otherwise unremarkable career has now reached a new low. His office mistakenly sent a letter to the wrong constituent who promptly turned it over to a Charlottesville newspaper."

Congressman Ellison represents Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District in eastern Minnesota. It covers eastern Hennepin County, including the entire city of Minneapolis, along with parts of Anoka and Ramsey counties. A diverse district by Minnesota standards, it's overwhelmingly white and nonMuslim. Hennepin County, home to Minneapolis, is 80% white. Needless to say, Ellison performed well with all demographic groups, including Jewish voters.

First George Allen and now Virgil Goode: Two Republican politicians defining themselves as bigots.

No wonder Virginia's Republican Party is in trouble.

Posted by USTaino at 11:27 PM

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