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Sanchez On 'Muslim Intern Spy' Hunt: 'I Am Appalled'

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)

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We told you earlier about the strong statements from Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and André Carson (D-IN) denouncing the call by four Republicans for the sergeant at arms to probe whether a Muslim advocacy group planted "intern spies" on the Hill.

But it looks like Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) was first out of the gate on this one.

She released this statement yesterday:

Earlier today, Politico reported that some of my Republican colleagues have formally asked the House Sergeant at Arms to investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations for "planting" Muslim interns and staffers on the Hill. I am appalled by this request, and the insinuation that Muslim-Americans are somehow conspiring against this country through their work on Capitol Hill.

As a strong advocate for diversity and religious freedom, I find these claims to be outrageous and offensive. I urge the rest of my colleagues to join me in denouncing this witch hunt, which is clearly intended to create fear and distrust in our Capitol Hill community.

Still no statements from Dem -- or GOP -- leaders on the matter.

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13 comments

Recommend Recommend (3)

October 15, 2009 6:16 PM   

Let the witch hunts begin. Oh, they've been ongoing. Thanks.

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October 15, 2009 8:16 PM   

Well, the GOP has already lost the African American vote. By going all-in on the illegal immigrant "menace" and disparaging Justice Sotomayor, they probably lost whatever Latino support they may have had. Now they apparently want to finish the job of losing whatever support they had left amongst Muslims, one of the fastest-growing religious groups in the country.

I look forward to President Obama nominating Judge Harold Koh for the next Supreme Court opening. The bile and vitriol that are sure to be unleashed will destroy any prospects of the Republicans making inroads in the rapidly growing Asian community and solidify the GOP's position as the Grand Old White Man's Party.

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October 15, 2009 8:40 PM   

I really do find this incident ultra creepy, and reminiscent of early '320s Germany.

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October 15, 2009 9:17 PM   

"are you now or have you ever been a member of the muslim religion in these united states?"

mccarthy would be proud

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October 15, 2009 9:35 PM   

When do we start investigating Catholic interns? Or Southern Baptist, evangelical or born-again interns. We know those are being planted.

Or - God forbid - Atheist interns?

When do we start investigating just any intern? Sounds quite McCarthyist to me. They are all planted by someone. How the hell do you think someone becomes an intern in the first place?

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October 15, 2009 10:18 PM   

Pelosi needs to take the bull by the horns and put a stop to this and make it clear that this bigotry won't be tolerated in the House. These Congress-persons swore an oath to the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion. Those four idiots are about as un-American as they can get.

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October 15, 2009 11:35 PM   

This blue dog just decided to support the public option.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-jane-harman/why-were-breaking-with-th_b_318743.html
She may not be polling well, and may be up against a real progressive like Hartman, but I appreciate the thought about human values and all.

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October 16, 2009 1:02 AM   

I was returning home from Europe a few months before 9-11. Air Itallia from Milano. Our flight was packed with Muslim from the war in the Balics. I called my congressman, sentors and finaly radio station. They where to busy with the Sandra Levi murder.
And you congresswoman where busy at the playboy mansion raising money.
Congresswoman you are in need of a Vis-annal.
Vis-annal : The placement of a plastic window in you stomic which allows you to see where you are going with your head up your ass !

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October 16, 2009 2:25 AM    in reply to hawaiian

Lol wut?

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October 16, 2009 6:49 AM    in reply to hawaiian

Ah yes, the Balics. Estonia, Latvia, Montenegro and Macedonia. Lovely beaches and excellent ice cream with pickled herring. Did you have a nice vacation? I understand a dialectical variation is 'Bollocks'. Which is what this post is a load of.

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October 16, 2009 8:33 AM    in reply to hawaiian

Hawaiian: You do realize that the DOJ has already tracked you down at your IP address and is dispatching a mooslin beheading team to your house right now, don't you?

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October 16, 2009 5:23 AM   

Well, I am glad at least that Democrats are finally getting some "balls" and going after these loons.

Intern spies? You have got to be kidding me.

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October 16, 2009 7:50 PM   

Loretta Sanchez has absolutely no credibility on this issue...she has been in CAIR's back pocket for years and has been steadfast in her refusal to even acknowledge CAIR's status as an unindicted co-conspirator in the HLF terror-funding case!! The FBI has subsequently halted all it's cooperative relations with CAIR, and the group has lost major support among mainstream American Muslims, with its membership rolls plummeting from over 20,000 just 7 years ago, down to less than 2,000 today!! This doesn't concern CAIR, which receives most of its funding from radical Wahhabist sources in Saudi Arabia, including almost all the funding for the construction of the group's National Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

No doubt, these embarrassing facts will be dismissed by the MoveOn.org diehards lurking nearby, but there has to be many sincere progressives in this forum who cannot easily ignore such glaring national security issues as these involving CAIR and their tainted history...

Here is what a group of moderate, freedom-loving Muslims had to say about the decision of the FBI to sever official relations with CAIR earlier this year:

http://www.islamicpluralism.org/documents/982.pdf

The Center for Islamic Pluralism also supported the freedom movement during the bogus Iranian elections, where anti-Ahmedinejad demonstrators were beaten and even killed:

http://www.islamicpluralism.org/921/center-for-islamic-pluralism-in-solidarity-with

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