Posted on 03/25/2006 5:08:52 PM PST by Sub-Driver
N.J. Dems Dump Arab-American Candidate
By WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press Writer 16 minutes ago
Democrats pulled an Arab-American candidate from their election ticket on Saturday amid a furor over comments he made four years ago that some interpreted as sympathetic to Palestinian suicide bombers.
At the urging of state party leaders, including Gov. Jon S. Corzine and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, Passaic County Democrats withdrew its endorsement of Sami Merhi for freeholder, a member of the county's legislative body. They chose a school board member to run in his place.
"I'm in shock, feeling betrayed," Merhi said. "They should be ashamed of themselves."
The Lebanese-born Merhi made the comments at a September 2002 Democratic fundraiser U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (news, bio, voting record), where he condemned the Sept. 11 terrorists "as cold-blooded murders" and "crazy fanatics."
When asked whether he would apply the same label to Palestinian suicide bombers who target Israelis, Merhi said, "I can't see the comparison."
In an interview with The Associated Press earlier this week, Merhi said, while all murder is wrong, the World Trade Center attack was mass murder on an unprecedented scale. It also was an attack in which his godson was killed.
Merhi, who narrowly lost out on the party's nod in 2004 because of the comments, was endorsed by the party last week. But top Democrats said they opposed his candidacy and asked county leaders decided to reconsider.
Merhi said he appealed to them during Saturday's meeting, saying that he opposes all forms of terrorism and that killing innocent people is always wrong. But, he said, party chairman John Currie told him, "We love you. We all like you. But this is about politics."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
DEMS shouls be forced to reap what theyve sown...expect more radical Muslims to openly profess alliegence with the DEM party
He must be another one of those 'mainstream muslims' I keep hearing about.
L
well, I guess they pulled him before he self destructed.
GOOD RIDDANCE
The N.J. Democratic Party Torricelli Maneuver again.
To paraphrase that guy on Airplane, you picked the wrong century to be muslim.
All hell (and suicide bombings and beheadings and riots and calls for jihad) is going to break loose in NJ 'Rat political circles.
If this guy was a Republican, every lefty blog in the world would be calling us racists because of this. Don't expect them to badmouth their Dem masters though.
Every comment on here is ass backwards.
This is one of the most insane things I've ever seen, Corzine caved to pressure from a very small ultra orthodox sect in NY State over a NJ county freeholder candidate.
Ultra orthodox Jewish religious and political leaders from NY State, the same people who actively pressure all their communities' sons and daughters to avoid military service in Israel, go and attack a Druze-American who lost his loved one on 9/11, and who has family who has served for several generations in the IDF, including currently.
He is Druze-Arab.
His family members were slaughtered by Muslim militiamen in Lebanon during the civil war, he has spent his entire life fighting against fundamnetalist Islam. The god damn Democrats KNOW they are attacking a victim of multigenerational genocide, and blaming the victim for the violence against his family.
EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO PUBLICLY DEMANDED HIS RESIGNATION KNOWS THIS. They should all be run out of office for appeasing terrorists.
Merhi equated Sharon with Hitler and doesn't condemn Palestinian terrorism. The fact that's he's Druze doesn't make him sympathetic to Jews. In the Lebanese War, Maronite Christians were armed and supported by Israel, but John Zogby, who is a Maronite, doesn't let that stop him from being a Jew-hater.
And this ddisturbs the Dems?
The Democrats reveal their bigotry. Obviously, they hate Arabs.
He sounds like a perfect candidate for the rat, wonder why rat dumped the bastard?
Here's another thread.
There was Menendez standing right along side him. Having only recently campaigned in the Arab neighborhoods to protest the Patriot Act renewal.
Thanks, this article sums up the reaction in the Arab community.
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