Are the organizations that are cozying up to the Dems run by Wahhabis? Some sure are. CNN.COM
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Arab Americans losing faith in Bush look to Democrats
Democratic presidential candidates trying to fill the void
WASHINGTON (AP) --The support of Arab Americans, who favored President Bush over Al Gore in 2000, is up for grabs this election, reflecting Arab disillusionment with the Bush administration's foreign and legal record since the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Arab Americans have expressed frustration with stalled peace talks in the Middle East, voiced anger over Bush's handling of the war in Iraq and fear government steps to restrict their civil rights under powers to pursue terrorists in the USA Patriot Act.
Rima Nashashibi, vice chair of the Orange County Democratic Party in California, said she has helped many Arab-American Republicans register as Democrats.
"Most people came from other countries, and the reason they came to the United States was the civil liberties' aspect and the protections of the Constitution," she said. "They see the Patriot Act as a flashback to the countries they came from."
Bush's support has dropped to one-third among Arab Americans, according to a poll conducted by Zogby International in July. That's down from the 45.5 percent of Arab Americans who voted for Bush in 2000, compared to 38 percent for Democrat Al Gore and 13 percent for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader, a Lebanese-American.
As Bush loses support among Arab Americans, the Democratic presidential candidates are trying to fill the void. Eight of Bush's challengers plan to address the Arab American Institute's leadership conference Friday and Saturday in Dearborn, Michigan.
It's a milestone for a group that less than 20 years ago was shunned as a political pariah. In the 1980s, Walter Mondale returned contributions from Arab American businessmen and Michael Dukakis rejected the endorsement of the Arab American Democratic Federation.
The snub even came from local candidates running for office in cities with a significant Arab-American population.
Dearborn Mayor Mike Guido, who governs one of the largest Arab populations outside the Middle East, has built strong ties with the community in his city. But it didn't start that way -- during his first run for office in 1985, he mailed a pamphlet to every home addressing "the Arab problem" of the immigrants moving to the city threatening "our neighborhoods, the value of our property and our darned good way of life."
During the last 20 years, leading Arab Americans have organized voter registration drives and pushed for members of their community to become politically active. One of the leaders in that effort has been Jim Zogby, brother of pollster John Zogby and president of the Arab American Institute.
Geographical clout
Zogby notes that part of their clout is geographical -- Arab Americans have significant populations in important political states such as Michigan, California, Florida, Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
Zogby, a Democrat, said Bush recognized that Arab Americans could boost his candidacy and won them over by speaking out against the use of racial profiling and "secret evidence" -- anonymous accusations used to detain immigrants. But Zogby said Bush has not lived up to his promise.
"This is the president who said he would get rid of profiling or secret evidence, and they have been used more than ever since he's been elected," Zogby said.
George Salem, who co-founded the Arab American Institute with Zogby and now is its chairman, is assisting Bush with outreach in the Arab-American community.
He says there are several reasons for them to vote for Bush -- he was the first president to call for an independent Palestinian state, he's regularly met with community leaders and he has appointed senior administration officials of Arab descent -- Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and former Management and Budget Director Mitch Daniels.
But Salem acknowledges relations are difficult since September 11, 2001.
"In terms of the civil liberties issues, when you have a nation under alert and attack, people's travel is restricted, all of us undergo regular profiling at the airport," he said. "We will have a harder time."
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