Israel Matzav

Can CAIR's Candidate for Congress Conceal the Truth?

I have covered the congressional campaign of Keith Ellison, Democrat of Minnesota, twice previously on this blog. Ellison, who was a member of Louis Farrakhan's anti-Semitic Nation of Islam for nine years (during which, he professes now, that he did not know it was anti-Semitic), is backed by CAIR. Unfortunately, Ellison is also backed by most of the Jewish establishment in the Minneapolis - St. Paul area where he is running, despite the fact that his Republican opponent, Alan Fine, is Jewish.

Now Power Line blog, which originates out of the Minneapolis - St. Paul area, says that there are indications that Ellison may not be able to fool all of the people all of the time. There are less than two weeks to election day. Let's hope this is an indication that Ellison is in trouble:

Still, though, word of the seamier side of Ellison's character appears to have percolated into the awareness of quite a few voters, mainly through Scott's efforts. How else explain the fact that CAIR, a terrorist-linked organization, has bought time on local television for an ad that tries to distance the Muslim religion from mass murder:

Alarmed by the furor surrounding Muslim Fifth District congressional candidate Keith Ellison, a national Islamic group is targeting Minnesota with an "anti-terror TV ad" blitz disavowing ties between Islam and terrorism.

The campaign, "Not in the Name of Islam," will begin airing Wednesday on cable networks statewide and during Monday night's Vikings game.

The new Minnesota ad is meant to distance Islam from terrorism, but it has added fuel to the fire over Ellison's ties to some Muslim figures, including Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

CAIR's effort is fundamentally misguided, I think, and attacks a straw man. The relevant question is not whether Muslims in general support terrorism. The questions are 1) whether CAIR, Ellison's patron, supports terrorism, and 2) whether Ellison himself has a long history of advocacy in favor of gang members and other criminals who murder and attempt to murder policemen. CAIR's ad, needless to say, sheds no light on these issues.

Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:58 AM