Shawwal 1427 (October 31, 2006)

Assalaamu Alaikum
(Greetings of Peace):

  An article in the Sunday, October 29th edition of The Washington Post, reminded me of a decision that I made a few months back to weigh in on the Maryland race for the U.S. Senate in a manner that might surprise a good number of our readers. The article, which appeared in the Metro section of the paper (C4) was captioned, "For Zeese, Campaign Not a Matter of Odds."  

The article began by describing Zeese's reaction to his discovery that - despite his effectiveness in a long sought after three-way debate with Democrat Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin and Republican Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele - he was referenced in a manner that amounted to nothing more than a political footnote in the following day’s news coverage of the debate.  

Unfortunately, such treatment of "third party candidates"? has come to be expected from our "mainstream press." For true accuracy in media on the important issues of the day, one must get into the habit of accessing alternative sources of information. Case in point.  

An African American audience participant at the aforementioned debate, hosted by the Baltimore Urban League, had this to say about the two major parties and their respective candidates (Steele and Cardin), following the debate:  

The Republican Party is a monster that I would have great difficulty supporting on any level if it continues as it has nationally and locally. In Maryland, they are working hard to win the Senate seat with an African American candidate, but after seeing Steele in action on Tuesday night, I've concluded that he's more style than substance. His main message during the debate was that he would be a senator that would listen. He danced around the issue of the Invasion/Civil War in Iraq and didn't have many good ideas about anything. While his television commercials try to portray him as a moderate Republican and someone who would be independent on Capitol Hill; Steele has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the National Republican Party and its leaders. Bush raised $500,000 for him back in November 2005. Do you really think that they're going to help Steele get to the party and then let him dance with whomever he wants?  

Cardin doesn't get a pass either. Cardin is controlled by the Democratic Political Machine. He's been in elected office for 20 years! He's a mainstay to the party and would never question his comrades even if they were wrong. He's an expert at holding the party line. While he touts voting against the war in Iraq; he's pretty quiet on voting for every funding bill for the war. The U.S. has spent now more than $300 billion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And we don't have funding for education because? Check out who controls Cardin's tongue by controlling his wallet by visiting the Center for Responsive Politics. Finally, Cardin has been silent on challenging Israel on human rights abuses and united nations resolution violations. He was silent on the disproportionate carnage poured down on Lebanon in late July/early August. He wasn't alone in supporting Israel no matter what they did. The Jewish Lobby and AIPAC control much of Congress - Republican and Democrat alike - very few of them were free to speak the truth.  

Finally, I don't believe in the vote for the lesser of two evils philosophy. If I'm voting for the lesser of two evils, I'm still voting for evil.€?

I couldn't agree more. In the last presidential election I voted for the candidate who I believed to be the lesser of evils? (Kerry), and felt deeply contaminated even before I left the voting booth. I vowed never to do that again. If I don't feel strong about any candidates running for a particular office, my vote will be for none of the above!   

That said, despite a few areas of difference with Kevin Zeese, we feel strongly enough about his candidacy to do something that we've never done before.  We endorse his campaign for the U.S. Senate (representing the state of Maryland), and urge our members and supporters - especially Muslims in the state of Maryland - to do the same.  

What follows is a snapshot of Zeese's position on the issues. Please visit www.KevinZeese.com to learn more.  

Zeese on Education:  

No child left behind? was a great campaign slogan but has developed into very poor policy. It has pushed teachers into becoming testers who focus more on test preparation than teaching. Standardized tests are not the way to improve public education. Improving education requires local control not federal control. The most successful approaches in public education are found at the local level...  

To compete in the 21st Century economy, the United States should make available to all students post-high school education junior college, college, university, or trade school. Students and families should not be going into debt over education. We must make post-high school education free, doing so will cost less than $50 billion annually half the cost of keeping troops in Europe and Asia, 1/5th the cost of more than $300 billion in annual corporate welfare  

Zeese on Healthcare:  

The state of health care in the United States is a disgrace. For tens of millions of Americans, it is a struggle between life, health, and money. The Zeese campaign supports national health care with a single-payer plan that replaces the for-profit, private health-insurance industry  

Zeese on Immigration:  

Illegal immigration is, at its root cause, about the exploitation of labor both in the United States and south of the border. NAFTA and other trade agreements have made it too easy for multi-national corporations to take advantage of workers; already underpaid, workers find it difficult to survive in their home country. Combine that with the desire for cheap labor in the United States, as well as the non-enforcement of laws against hiring undocumented workers, and we have created an uncontrollable border situation. The economy will trump border enforcement every time  

Zeese on Taxes:  

Americans workers need to keep more of their income. U.S. families struggle to make ends meet. Personal debt is the highest it has been since World War II. The cost of living energy, housing, education, food is rising in every sector. The United States needs to tax workers less and investors more. I advocate that the first $100,000 of income be federal income tax free. That is a 22% raise for Americans earning less than $100,000, which is 90 percent of Americans.  

To replace the income lost to the U.S. Treasury, there should be a modified Tobin Tax, named after Charles Tobin, the Nobel Prize-winning Yale economist, on the purchase of Wall Street investment  

Zeese on the “Arab-Israeli conflictâ€?:  

My campaign encourages an open dialogue about the relationship between Israel and the United States. This dialogue should include bringing to the United States, Palestinian and Israeli advocates for peace. We should also discuss modifying our support for Israel so the United States is not participating in Israel's widespread human rights abuses or violations of UN resolutions  

Zeese on Iran:  

The U.S. has a long history of wrongheaded policy toward Iran. We overthrew their elected government in 1953 when they wanted to nationalize the oil industry and ensure oil profits went to Iranians. We installed the brutal Shah of Iran and supported him through the Iranian Revolution in 1979. We allied with Saddam Hussein when Iraq was at war with Iran by providing him with intelligence and with chemical weapons. It is time to correct our policy toward Iran, not continue on the path of confrontation and failure  

It part two of this commentary/endorsement, I will examine why a principled vote for a more independent candidate like Kevin Zeese makes good strategic sense for Muslims, progressives, and America.  

Yours in the struggle for peace thru justice,  

El-Hajj Mauri Saalakhan
Director of Operations
The Peace And Justice Foundation

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