Posted on 09/29/2005 4:05:00 PM PDT by SmithL
"Cardoza votes for naming U.S. post office after reputed communist,'' blared the headline of a release sent out late Wednesday afternoon by the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The attack was aimed at Rep. Dennis Cardoza of Atwater (Merced County), Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Garden Grove (Orange County) and 43 other Democrats in districts that could be in competition in the 2006 elections.
"I think when people know that Dennis Cardoza voted to name a post office after a communist who is also in favor of cop killers, they'll be shocked, even in San Francisco,'' said Carl Forti, a committee spokesman.
Cardoza and Sanchez were among 181 Democrats who voted for Rep. Barbara Lee's effort to name Berkeley's main post office after the 94-year-old Shirek, who spent 20 years on the Berkeley City Council and decades as a union organizer, anti-war protester and senior activist.
With the support of the entire California congressional delegation, Democrats and Republicans alike, Lee put the measure before the House on Tuesday for what she expected to be pro forma approval as is done for most requests to name post offices across the country.
But when Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, stood up and demanded a roll call vote, Lee's GOP support evaporated and the House voted 215-190 against Lee's measure. King accused Shirek of supporting the release of Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted of the 1981 murder of a Philadelphia police officer and, in an interview, of having "an affiliation with the Communist Party"
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
This gets better and better.
Great headline!
"in favor of cop killers, they'll be shocked, even in San Francisco"
I wouldn't go that far.
A disease should be named for her, not a Post Office..
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In San FRan,, I doubt it..
The more likely reaction..
Oh Wow Man, Pass me the bong,, pufff pufff ,,coughhh hacckk cough. Wow Man.. Grooovy!
FR's favorite US Rep from Iowa, Steve King, is getting a load of crap on this issue from the DesMoines-Star&Sickle...
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050929/NEWS09/509290403/1001/NEWS
Shirekosis?
I'm guessing that she had a comment that they chose not to report.
"The resolution of Sept. 15 passed the Senate by a vote of 98-0 and the House by 420-1."
"...only one member of Congress, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), voted no."
commondreams.org/ A leftist site.
rat droppings, pure and simple!
Now, the individual involved is Maudell Shirek. She was defended by Barbara Lee (D-CA) who refuses to stand for the national anthem among other stunts. I am pretty sure Lee has come out as an avowed Communist, but it really doesn't matter whether she has the courage of her convictions.
Watson said Shirek, the granddaughter of slaves, was born in Jefferson, Ark., before moving to the San Francisco Bay area some 60 years ago, where she was an activist on behalf of African-American residents and a community leader.
In the 1960s and '70s, Shirek was active in the anti-war movement and founded two senior centers, Watson said. She said Shirek has "spent a lifetime fighting against injustice, poverty and housing discrimination."
But King pointed to Shirek's efforts to free Mumia Abu-Jamal, who advocates say was wrongfully convicted in the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia police officer.
He later said Shirek had "an affiliation with the Communist Party" because of her support of the Neibyl-Proctor Marxist Library in Oakland. He said there is "a plethora of information on the record that sets (Shirek) apart from, I will say, the most consistent of American values."
"Granddaughter of slaves," sheesh. I lived in PA and if you don't know, Mumia Abu Jamal is a made-up-Arabic name that translates to "Guilty As Sin". Here is a blog I found from Google (errors original):
I happen to know a bit about Maudelle Shirek. In the early 70's I was living in a suburb of Oakland, and can remember vividly that when the CPUSA made appearances in the Bay Area, Shirek's name was always front and center.King was 110% right on this Marxist and called Barbara Lee on the carpet. The Register is trying to resurrect McCarthy's corpse, but it's just a deflection. The House members that voted for this naming should be ashamed of themselves. (Sorry for the super-long post.)
That she never pubicly admitted her CPUSA membership means nothing. It has long been Communist party doctrine to shield member's identities in order to infiltrate more mainstream organizations.
She didn't need to claim Communist membership, she lived her membership.
In 1977, she worked on the campaign of CP candidate for Berkely city council Mark Allen.
In 1999, she joined a delagation of left-wing legislators on a house call to Fidel Castro and is understood to have had a private dinner meeting with El Hefe himself.
In the early 80's Shirek made several "goodwill" tours of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and went to East Germany to celebrate the construction of the Berlin wall...while it was still standing.
Oh, and she was married to Brownlee Shirek, who was one who did not hide his CPUSA credentials.
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