March 5, 2008

The Only Muslim in Congress on the Obama-Muslim Smear

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Hillary Clinton is trying to take advantage of the emails that allege Barack Obama is a secret Muslim, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the only Muslim in Congress (and a man who, unlike Obama, actually was sworn in on a Koran), tells Huffington Post. Money quote:

People are going to throw some stuff on the wall and see what sticks and at this point the Clinton camp is trying to do whatever it can to be successful. And if that means benefiting from political bigotry, I don’t think they will try to put a stop to it.

Clinton told 60 Minutes straight out that she does not think Obama is a Muslim. But she also said that there was “nothing to base [the smear] on, as far as I know” (emphasis added). Ellison says the qualifier is an attempt to “seed voter doubts,” according to HuffPo.

The Clinton campaign denies Ellison’s allegations.

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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