Posted on 04/30/2004 5:20:39 AM PDT by truthandlife
A majority of Arab Americans in four battleground states would vote for democratic candidate John Kerry if presidential elections were held Thursday, April 29, a poll unveiled.
The poll, conducted by the Washington-based Arab American Institute, found that 49 percent of all Arab-American voters in Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania - all swing states in the November election - would vote for Kerry, while 30 percent would vote for incumbent Republican President George W. Bush.
However, with Ralph Nader - an American of Lebanese descent - in the mix, Kerry's support would slip to 45 percent, and Bush's to 28 percent, while the independent contender would get 14 percent of the vote.
The poll is based on interviews with 503 Arab-American voters in the four states and has a 4.5 percent margin of error.
The 3.5 Arab Americans have around 1.7 million votes, or around one percent of an electorate of about 110 million U.S. voters.
But what adds value to their votes is that they have a high turnout rate, said Arab American Institute President James Zogby.
"Anything that moves hundreds or thousands of votes can have a seismic impact on this election," he was quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) as saying.
Though there are only about 510,000 likely Arab-American voters in the states, the race could be close enough that even relatively small numbers could make a difference, Zogby said.
In 2000, Democrat Al Gore won Michigan and Pennsylvania by just over than 200,000 votes in each state, while Bush won Ohio by 165,000 and the two tied in Florida.
Major Shift
The poll results indicate a shift in the choice of Arab Americans in the four states who supported Bush in the 2000 presidential elections.
Pollster John Zogby - James Zogby's brother - recently returned from conducting focus group polling in Dearborn, Michigan, home to one of the largest Arab-American communities in the United States.
"The anger among Arab-Americans towards Bush is palpable," he stressed.
Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, which Washington blamed on Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, the administration introduced a number of repressive measures through antiterrorism laws deemed by human rights groups as a constitutional threat allowing arrests of "terror suspects".
The Patriot Act, passed by Congress a few weeks after the events, grants the FBI powers to secretly obtain a variety of information about ordinary Americans, as a crucial weapon in the war on terrorism.
Nearly 57 percent of American Muslims polled by an Islamic organization in 2002, say they have experienced bias or discrimination since the attacks and 87 percent know of a fellow Muslim who experienced discrimination.
Feeling ostracized and betrayed by these laws, Arab Americans are trying to show they can be a mighty political force and key player in this year's presidential election.
Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
James Zogby said that 72 percent of those polled considered the Arab-Israeli conflict "very important".
Arab American voters do not give high marks to any of the candidates in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
On the divisive issue of Israel and the Palestinians, 22 percent said they had more confidence in Kerry, 16 percent picked Bush and 48 percent said neither, Zogby said.
Bush had triggered worldwide wrath by saying, with Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon at his side in a press conference, that Palestinian refugees could not return to land lost in 1948 and that Israel could retain occupation of lands in the West Bank, in what is dubbed as a "Bushfour Promise".
The U.N. and the European Union immediately rebuked the American policy shift, which completely ignored dozens of U.N. resolutions in that regard.
"But there is also disappointment with Kerry," said the pollster Zogby.
Kerry supported Bush’s statements, much of an attempt to curry favor with the decisive votes of the influential Jewish Americans.
Well, that just makes sense. I mean, I'm of German descent, and if it were a question of, say, Ronald Reagan versus Adolf Hitler, I'd just have to go with Hitler.
LOL. No kidding? Geez...where do you start?
Everyone sees Kerry as a wimpish fool and pushover.
Shows you where lots of Arabs allegiance do lie.
Oh, boy, now there's a winner of a campaign slogan...
Whaaat, another flip, or is it a flop?
Kerry supported Bush’s statements, much of an attempt to curry favor with the decisive votes of the influential Jewish Americans.
What's wrong Zogby? Kerry is not completely kissing your brethrens' butt. Heehehee...
Yup, this is a real shocker...
Play those stickers in Fla.
Minor correction:
...while the Bolshevik contender would get 14 percent of the vote.
Why not? Saddam probably paid a lot of money for him.
It would also be no surprise as well to learn that the militant and extremist Islamics who practice Jihad against America feel the same way.
That's the difference between a man and the "mouse".
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