Former University of South Florida professor Dr. Sami al-Arian speaking during a news conference in January 2002 in Tampa, Fla
Posted on 03/10/2010 12:47:41 PM PST by SmithL
WASHINGTON — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tom Campbell is facing a potentially crippling controversy over his past defense of a fired Florida professor with ties to terrorists and his inconsistent statements regarding what he knew and when about the man's actions.
Dogged for weeks by criticism over his defense of Sami Al-Arian, who later pleaded guilty to aiding terrorists, Campbell has denied knowing about the man's incendiary past, which included nods to Islamic jihad and calls for "death to Israel." He also said that his dealings with Al-Arian occurred before the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
But Campbell, who was then a Stanford law professor, wrote a letter on Al-Arian's behalf months after the Sept. 11 attacks that casts doubt on his claims of ignorance about Al-Arian's radicalism.
"His inconsistent statements are particularly damaging because it creates a credibility problem," said John Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College.
Al-Arian was fired by the University of South Florida following an interview with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly two weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, during which he acknowledged proclaiming in a 1988 speech, "Jihad is our path. Victory to Islam. Death to Israel."
Campbell, responding to a request from a fellow law professor rallying scholars to the cause of academic freedom, wrote to the president of the university in January 2002, asking her to reconsider the engineering Advertisement professor's dismissal.
"I respectfully wish to convey my sincere alarm that Professor Al-Arian may be treated harshly because of the substance of his views," Campbell wrote.
Campbell has deflected campaign attacks by saying he did not know about the O'Reilly interview at the time and that he wrote the letter before the Sept. 11 attacks. But it turns out neither is true.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Campbell was on Ronn Owens this morning saying he really, really wished that he hadn’t sent that letter.
Campbell’s a liberal. That in itself disqualifies him from serious consideration as a Republican candidate.
Tom Campbell is worthless.
If he was a Democrat, this would have been brushed over. Plenty of Democrats have done worse.
But he clearly must go. Are there any good candidates who might run against him, or is it too late?
This is the kind of thing that will have conservative supporters of Israel actually considering voting Democratic or, at the very least, staying home on election day.
The conservative Jewish folks I know are not that petty and stupid. You have them confused with Liberal Jews.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tom Campbell... has denied knowing about the man's incendiary past, which included nods to Islamic jihad and calls for "death to Israel." He also said that his dealings with Al-Arian occurred before the Sept. 11 terror attacks. But Campbell, who was then a Stanford law professor, wrote a letter on Al-Arian's behalf months after the Sept. 11 attacks that casts doubt on his claims of ignorance about Al-Arian's radicalism... Al-Arian was fired by the University of South Florida following an interview with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly two weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, during which he acknowledged proclaiming in a 1988 speech, "Jihad is our path. Victory to Islam. Death to Israel." Campbell, responding to a request from a fellow law professor... wrote to the president of the university in January 2002... "I respectfully wish to convey my sincere alarm that Professor Al-Arian may be treated harshly because of the substance of his views," Campbell wrote.Get the rope! Thanks SmithL.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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He didn't know, he thought he was a good guy.
Then he is incompetent!
Thanks.
That does it for me. Campbell is finished.
Taking the time to check things out would be an important quality. This is an area where we can’t afford to get things wrong.
You consider it petty and stupid to support and defend a man who shouts “death to Israel!” and supports Hamas terrorists. No Jew worthy of the name would vote for such a man. To do so would be petty and stupid, not the opposite as you suggest. Most conservatives will certainly be voting against Mr. Campbell in the Republican primary. I suspect many, especially conservative Christians, would never vote for him under any circumstances.
I think perhaps it is you who are confused.
Reading comprehension is not your strong suit.
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