Scott Fundraising Letter Hits Carson Hard On Race-Baiting And Islamic Ties

GOP 7th District candidate Marvin Scott leaves no stone unturned in a hard-hitting direct mail fundraising letter that arrived in my mailbox today, which also contained a personal appeal from Alan Keyes, who is described as Honorary Chairperson for Scott's campaign. The letter slams Carson for race-baiting, calls him one of the "most radical, liberal, socialist members of the House", a "champion of Islam and Sharia law in America" and a "close friend of Louis Farrakhan."

"[H]e's the key person leveling fraudulent charge at conservative Americans like you, claiming he heard the "N" word 15 times while walking through a Tea Party event in Washington, D.C.," Scott charges. "He shamefully painted Tea Party activists not only as racists--but as a terrorist threat . . . before numerous videotapes proved beyond a shadow of a doubt there's absolutely no truth to his accusations." While that is all true, the charges Scott leveled against Carson related to his Muslim religion, many of which have been documented on this blog, will no doubt cause WISH-TV's Jim Shella to take to the airwaves to accuse Scott once again of being an anti-Muslim bigot.

Scott's letter asserts Carson is "one of only two Muslim members of Congress championing Islam and Sharia law in America" who has a perfect score of support from the Arab American Institute. The letter hits Carson for accepting contributions from "disgraced U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel and from CAIR, the Council on American Relations, a notorious Saudi-funded front organization for the terrorist group Hamas." Carson has unabashedly championed Islam as a Member of Congress, although I'm unaware of him saying he supports Sharia law, Islamic religious law that has increasingly been interposed in other western countries as trumping the civil law, particularly in Western Europe, in family law and probate matters to the detriment of Muslim women and their daughters. "It's a fact: Freedom of religion doesn't exist in any country under Islam's control," Scott correctly observes.  He goes on to add that CAIR's founder, Omar M. Ahmad, has said, "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant." Ahmad stepped down from his founding role in CAIR several years ago and denies he ever made that statement, but the newspaper reporter who quoted him as saying it has stood by her original report.

Scott accuses Carson of having "a habit of associating closely with Muslims suspected of terrorist ties, especially when there's campaign cash to be had." Scott correctly notes Carson was compelled to return a $1,000 contribution when he first ran for Congress in 2008 "from a fellow Muslim investigated on terrorism charges." He further connects Carson to a fundraiser hosted for him by Jorhari Abdul Malik, who belongs to the Dar Al Hijrah mosque that was linked to the 9/11 hijackers and Nidal Hasan, the Army doctor who shot and killed 13 soldiers and injuried 30 others at Fort Hood, Texas last year. Scott adds, "Carson was even honored at a conference for Muslims that featured an all-star lineup of federal unindicted Islamist co-conspirators, radical imams and anti-American organizations that preach the necessity of jihad ("holy war") and insist that the U.S. honor Sharia law", an apparent reference to Carson's attendance and participation the past two years at the Islamic Society of North America ("ISNA") conference. Scott quotes Zaid Shakir, one of the speakers at ISNA as saying, "Every Muslim who is honest would say, 'I would like to see America become a Muslim country.'"

Scott hits on Carson's regular presence at the Nur-Allah Islamic Center in Indianapolis. "[C]ontrary to his claimed moderation," Scott says of Carson, "He is indeed a committed Islamist." He adds, "In fact, Carson rushed the stage following a recent White House Iftar-Ramadan dinner-to warmly embrace Barack Obama with congratulations after Obama declared his strong support for the Hamas-endorsed Ground Zero mosque." "But we know that, consistent with historical Muslim practice, the Ground Zero mosque represents a bold monument to conquest, celebrating radical Islam's violent victory over America on 9/11," Scott continued. "Enough is enough. You can take a big step today toward not only halting but reversing the islamization of America--and restoring conservative values--by supporting my campaign." Scott warns in the letter," It's clear that Muslims everywhere are going to make sure their loyal Andre doesn't give up his seat without a tremendous fight." "Money will be no obstacle for Carson." "But it is for me," Scott says before requesting contributions from "patriot Americans."

A short letter enclosed with Scott's fundraising appeal from Alan Keyes hits Carson for "shamefully l[ying] to smear Tea Party activists not only as racists, but as a terrorist threat to the nation" who voted for Obamacare, earned a zero from the American Conservative Union, has a perfect voting record with Planned Parenthood and NARAL and signed a letter condemning Israel. Keyes urges support for Scott, who he describes as "a man of integrity who holds deep conservative convictions." Keyes hits Carson as a politician "funded by socialist, sinister benefactors and special-interest Muslim associates with proven ties to Islamist terrorist groups."

Scott has apparently concluded he has already been deemed an anti-Muslim bigot by the local news media so he may as well let it all hang out on just exactly how he feels about Carson's religion and Islamic ties. Scott has run unsuccessfully on several previous occasions for this congressional seat and the Senate seat held by Sen. Evan Bayh. Marion County Republicans slated Carlos May over him in this year's primary election but May's youthful tenacity was no match for the name recognition Scott had built up over his previous campaigns. Scott's campaign came under fire earlier over statements his campaign manager, controversial former radio talk show host Stan Solomon, published on the Internet. Although Scott said Solomon stepped down from his campaign, others suggested he was still running Scott's campaign. Scott also recently raised a bit of a stir when he appeared to falsely claim an endorsement from Sarah Palin. Claiming endorsements and support he never received is a tact for which Scott has been called out in previous campaigns as well.

Scott's campaign has raised virtually no money, and he is getting no support from the Republican Party. I suspect the purpose of the letter is less about raising money and more about stirring up conservative white voters he suspects are more likely to come out and vote in the November election than liberals and African-Americans, who came out in droves to vote in the November, 2008 general election for Barack Obama. The 7th District is decidedly Democratic; however, Republicans often ran competitive races against Carson's late grandmother, Julia Carson. Scott nearly toppled Andy Jacobs, Jr. in the Republican tidal wave election in 1994. Some are predicting this year's election could rival that Republican wave but few believe it will be enough to elect Scott this year. Most Republicans are just hoping for a Republican-controlled legislature next year that can redraw the boundaries to split Marion County down the middle, creating two districts with enough Republican suburban voters to end Carson's congressional career.