Here is a story of great political courage, yes, and
others will say great political folly as well. But I
disagree. Dean is risking his life certainly, but
politically the US electorate might be ready for
someone run not only against _resident, and "all the
-resident's men" but also against the "Religious
Right" and Sharon as well...
Howard Dean (D-Jeffords): "It does not belong to General Boykin, or John Ashcroft or Rush Limbaugh or Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson," the former Vermont governor said to cheers in the packed hotel conference room in the Detroit suburb which is home to one of the highest concentrations of Muslims and Arabs outside the Middle East. "This flag belongs to every single American, including every single American in this room, and is the hope and aspiration for many other folks who are not yet citizens," he said.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031018/pl_nm/politics_arab_dc
Dean Gets Standing Ovation from Arab-Americans
Sat Oct 18, 6:08 PM ET Add Politics to My Yahoo!
By Tom Brown
DEARBORN, Mich. (Reuters) - Democratic presidential
hopeful Howard Dean (news - web sites) received a
standing ovation from an Arab-American audience on
Saturday when he attacked leading conservatives and
figures from the religious right.
Dean, one of seven Democratic presidential candidates
to address the Arab American Institute's national
leadership conference in Dearborn, pointed to an
American flag and named some of the people he said it
did not belong to.
"It does not belong to General Boykin, or John
Ashcroft or Rush Limbaugh or Jerry Falwell or Pat
Robertson," the former Vermont governor said to cheers
in the packed hotel conference room in the Detroit
suburb which is home to one of the highest
concentrations of Muslims and Arabs outside the Middle
East. "This flag belongs to every single American,
including every single American in this room, and is
the hope and aspiration for many other folks who are
not yet citizens," he said.
The message was warmly received by the crowd of about
300 as Dean named Ashcroft, the U.S. Attorney General
and a prominent spokesmen for America's conservative
or religious right, along with Army Lt. Gen. William
Boykin, the senior Pentagon (news - web sites)
intelligence official who has told Christian
gatherings that Muslims worship an "idol."
His speech was repeatedly interrupted by applause as
he condemned violations of civil liberties, racial
profiling and abuse of authority under the USA Patriot
Act, the anti-terror legislation championed by
Ashcroft that passed after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Hundreds of Muslims and Arabs were detained in
roundups after the attacks and Dean said the
detentions and deportations of an untold number of
immigrants based on secret evidence were unlawful and
should be repealed.
"Today we see another shameful chapter in American
history. Because John Ashcroft touts the Patriot Act
around this country does not make John Ashcroft a
patriot," he said.
"The war on terror cannot become a war on civil rights
and freedoms. We should not have to chose between
securing our homeland and securing the blessings of
liberty. We can have both, otherwise the terrorists
have won and we will not permit that."
Dean also won applause by reiterating his recent
promises to send former President Bill Clinton (news -
web sites) to the Middle East as his peace broker if
he is elected next year.