Muslims running for state offices

Space_Time · May 25, 2018

Here's more:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/watch-the-gop-freak-out-over-this-muslim-candidate?source=articles&via=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+thedailybeast/articles+(The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles)

RISING NORTH STAR
Watch the GOP Freak Out Over This Muslim Candidate
She’s in Minnesota. Her name is Zarina Baber, an ex-Wellstone volunteer and a whole lot more. No, Republicans, it’s not horrible. It’s the American way.
Dean Obeidallah
DEAN OBEIDALLAH
05.24.18 4:57 AM ET
It was just a few months ago that a GOP activist in Minnesota introduced a resolution calling on the Republican Party there to “minimize and eliminate the influence of Islam.”

The resolution contained the typical BS talking points idiots on the right spew, such as Muslims want to destroy America. (Tell that to the 5,000 plus American Muslims currently serving in the U.S. armed services and the families of those Muslims buried in Arlington National Cemetery.) The resolution even seeks to ban Muslim leaders, religious or otherwise, from ever delivering a speech or invocation at a Republican convention or event.
Now before you dismiss this as the rantings of a madman, think again. The Minnesota state GOP chair, Jennifer Carnahan, refused to denounce the resolution when asked about it by the local media because she “did not want to prematurely judge the situation.” And even her statement responding to the resolution seemed to be dog whistle politics saying that the Minnesota GOP welcomes anyone “who shares our values.” Add to that, two GOP Minnesota legislators claimed in January that Muslims were trying to “infiltrate” the Republican Party and one of the current GOP candidates for governor, Phillip Parrish, recently refused to even meet with Minnesota Muslim community leaders saying that “Islam is not a faith.”

I think you get the idea: the Minnesota GOP—just like the Republican party’s national leader Donald Trump—demonize Muslims in the hopes it attracts votes. That’s why it’s truly inspiring that one of the three leading Democratic candidate for Minnesota governor, Rebecca Otto, announced on Monday that her running mate as lieutenant governor would be Muslim American Zarina Baber. If the Otto/Baber ticket wins, Baber will make history as the first Muslim woman in U.S. history ever to hold statewide office.

Just the thought of the Minnesota GOP anti-Muslim bigots freaking out over a Muslim lieutenant governor brings me an inappropriate amount of joy. But Baber is not just a Muslim; she holds many of the traits that Trump has lashed out against. She’s also an immigrant (from India), a woman, and brown. Baber is a quadruple threat to Trump and many in his base.

“Estimates are that Muslims make up over 200,000 of Minnesota’s five million residents. And in the past few years the community has become far more politically engaged.”
Baber, though, was not chosen simply because of her faith. She has truly earned her place on the all-female ticket with Otto, the current Minnesota state auditor who first won statewide election to this position in 2007 and has since been reelected to that post twice. Baber began her political activism decades ago by volunteering on the campaign of the late progressive icon, Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone. For the past 25 years, Baber has worked as an information technology professional and a health care advocate. She established a free health clinic that has been operating for over 20 years, sits on the board of the nonprofit Advocates for Human Rights and is a founding member of the National Democratic Muslim caucus. When does she sleep?!
Click to expand...

flewism · May 25, 2018

Abdul El-Sayed has no chance to be elected the next governor of Michigan.

chris155au · May 25, 2018

Space_Time said: ↑

Will they be elected? Or is being a Muslim just too much for some people to vote for? How will they do if they are elected?

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/fe...-running-muslim-governor-170314044707977.html

Q&A: The man running to be US' first Muslim governor
Arab American doctor Abdul El-Sayed on why he believes he is best suited to cure Michigan's crises.
A federal emergency was declared over Flint's tainted water crisis in 2016, but the problem has yet to be solved [AP]
byRyan Rifai
Egyptian American doctor Abdul El-Sayed could become the first-ever Muslim governor in the United States in 2018.

El-Sayed, 32, was appointed as the chief of the health department of Michigan's city of Detroit in 2015, and - after making a serious turn to politics - is now running to be the next governor of the state.

He would inherit major water and economic crises in Detroit and Flint, which are the two poorest cities in the US.

Although Michigan has one of the largest supplies of fresh water in the country, tens of thousands of Detroit residents lost access to water in the homes after major hikes in prices left them unable to afford the basic need.

Furthermore, nearby Flint faced a lead-poisoning water crisis that affected most of its 100,000 residents and prompted a state of emergency.

WATCH: Trump moves to kill Obama-era Clean Water Rule (2:39)
Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder has received the bulk of the blame for the water crises for his part in privatising many key state institutions, including the water department, and for allegedly ignoring crises that have hit the underprivileged most.

El-Sayed is also running at a time when hate crimes have been at an all-time high in the country, seen by many as being inspired by Donald Trump's presidency.

El-Sayed talked to Al Jazeera about what inspired him to run and why he believes he is the right candidate for the job.

He also talks about how being an Arab and Muslim plays into the election, especially in a state that voted for Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

Al Jazeera: What inspired you to run for governor?

Abdul El-Sayed: I was appointed health director for the city of Detroit in 2015 and my job was to rebuild the health department after the 185-year old department had been privatised during the municipal bankruptcy, when the state came in and appointed an emergency manager.

We were facing one of the greatest public health crises in the country. So we got to work on everything from providing every child a pair of glasses in Detroit who needed one, building programmes to fight asthma, and standing up to corporations that had spent decades polluting the city's air. Our goal was to really focus on the health and well-being of the most vulnerable people in our community.

Meanwhile, I watched as Governor Snyder and his team of accountants were cutting costs and cutting corners. Their inattention to communities ultimately poisoned thousands of children - and those children were the very ones that I was serving at the helm of the health department.

READ MORE: Michigan state sued over toxic water disaster

I realised that the poisoning of 9,000 kids in Flint was really a result of running government "like a business" like Governor Snyder had - more focused on cutting costs than on ensuring that essential and basic services make their way to real people who rely on them to survive.

And that's something I didn't believe in. I believe in government as something we do in this country for the people and by the people. I believe in a government that focuses on people, their opportunities, and their promise. As a doctor, educator, and public servant, I see my responsibility as refocusing on the dignity and prosperity of working people, whether they are black Americans in places like Detroit or Flint, or white Americans in places like Cheboygan or Ishpeming.

That is why I am motivated to run for governor. My abilities are uniquely well-suited to the type of challenges we face, whether its public health, education or building an economy and the kind of place where millennials and young people want to invest in and raise their children in.

Al Jazeera: How has your level of support been?

El-Sayed: People are really excited about this. Letters, phone calls, and shows of support have come from all over the state. It's overwhelming and humbling.

Michiganders showed in the 2016 election that they are done with government as usual. They are fed up with establishment candidates who are out of touch and dynasties that put forth candidates for coronation rather than election.

I want to provide Michiganders with an opportunity to support a candidate who both has real government experience and whose skill sets are really focused on bringing communities together. Someone who can bring exciting and innovative ideas to state government.

I have gotten really heartwarming messages from all over the state - even from some folks who have never voted for a Democrat. Some of my supporters have said they have never voted for a liberal, but would vote for me because they value authenticity and a focus on people and their well-being. That is what matters to them as Michiganders.

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/03/29/muslim-immigrant-to-run-for-california-lieutenant-governor/

Muslim immigrant to join California lieutenant governor race
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS |
PUBLISHED: March 29, 2017 at 4:05 pm | UPDATED: March 29, 2017 at 9:09 pm
CHRISTOPHER WEBER

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Pakistani-born doctor announced Wednesday that he is joining the 2018 race for lieutenant governor on a platform of saving the Affordable Care Act, providing free community college education and fighting what he termed “Donald Trump’s hate.”

“I am a proud Muslim and I love America,” Dr. Asif Mahmood said at a news conference in front of the downtown federal building that houses a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office.

“President Trump continues to attack people like me: immigrants, people of color and Muslims,” Mahmood said. “I say President Trump has it all wrong. It’s time to get tough on hate. California must be the leader of the Trump resistance, and I will fight him every step of the way.”

The pulmonologist said he came to the United States because he wanted his family to live in a place “that celebrates diversity and tolerance.”

Born in a small, rural village, Mahmood moved to Kentucky in the 1990s to complete medical school. He came to Southern California in 2000 and lives near Los Angeles with his wife and three teenage children.

As a first-time candidate, Mahmood’s challenge is to build a statewide coalition, potentially anchored to civil rights. He starts as a virtual unknown and Muslims make up a tiny percentage of people living in California.

To be competitive and grow beyond a niche candidacy, he must craft a message that resonates with the large, diverse pool of voters in a state that is home to 1 of every 8 Americans.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the incumbent, is barred by term limits from seeking a third term and is running for governor.
Click to expand...

Don't US public officials have to swear an oath on The Bible?

BillRM · May 25, 2018

Josephwalker said: ↑

Not strange at all and well known to students of history. This war between Christianity and Islam has been going on a very long time and in Jefferson's day Islamic pirates were raising havoc with American shipping.
Click to expand...

Treaty of Tripoli 1797

As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,-as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen,-and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

Log in or Sign up

Muslims running for state offices

Space_Time Well-Known Member

flewism Well-Known Member

chris155au Well-Known Member

BillRM Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Muslims running for state offices

Space_Time Well-Known Member

flewism Well-Known Member

chris155au Well-Known Member

BillRM Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Useful Searches