In Rep. King's red scare, the Washington Post's Dana Milbank takes note of freshman Minnesota congressman Chip Cravaack's affection for another divisive Wisconsin politician.
This one's dead. Really dead, not merely facing recall countdowns and massive popular protest. nope, Cravaack's romancing conservative zombie Wisconsin:
The New York Republican {Peter King] was eager to avoid the Red Scare taint, and he allowed the 84-year-old dean of the House, Democrat John Dingell of Michigan, to open the session with wisdom learned during his time as a chairman. "I kept a picture of Joe McCarthy hanging on the wall so that I would know what it was I did not want to look like," Dingell said, cautioning the committee not to "blot the good name or the loyalty" of Arabs or Muslims.
But the ghost of Tail-Gunner Joe would not be denied. It found a host in the body of freshman Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-Minn.), who asked Los Angeles Sheriff Leroy Baca, a witness, about his work with a large Muslim group called CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
"You are aware that this is a Hamas and . . . Muslim Brotherhood entity?" the lawmaker asked, pronouncing Muslim as "moo-slim."
"No, I'm not aware of that," the sheriff replied.
Cravaack informed Baca that CAIR was founded by two people identified by the FBI as "Hamas members." "Basically you're dealing with a terrorist organization," he said.
"If the FBI has something to charge CAIR with, bring those charges forward," Baca replied, coolly.
Cravaack was indignant. "Are you saying that the FBI was wrong in identifying that CAIR is part of Hamas, an entity of Hamas?"
This is the very definition of McCarthyism: false allegations of subversion. King didn't even bother inviting the group to defend itself.
Read the rest at the Washington Post. Milbank notes that CIAR isn't considered a terrorist organization:
I'm no fan of CAIR, which was one of 250 unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation terrorist finance case of 2007. But the FBI doesn't call CAIR a terrorist group. Nor does it allege that CAIR was founded or financed by Hamas. In America, if somebody, even somebody unpopular, has committed a crime, we bring charges. We don't float Internet rumors at a congressional hearing.
No, floating internet rumors is reserved for Public Safety committee meetings in the Minnesota House.
Cravaack is pretty proud of this exchange and posted it on his Youtube page. It begins at 2:18:
Sigh. Hope the Cons who own and run the Duluth News-Tribune are happy with this twit, because nobody else is. Oh, wait, he's even managed to tick them off with his opposition to the "pork" of the Duluth International Airport's refurbishing: http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/12/chip_cravaack_k.php
Posted by: Phoenix Woman | Mar 14, 2011 at 09:25 AM