CAIR-FL: Democrats Should Seize Opportunity

In this official statement, CAIR has announced its 2007 legislative wish list:

Democrats should seize this opportunity and show leadership by fixing our country's situation here and abroad by (among other things):
1. Bringing our troops back home;
2. Becoming an even-handed broker in the Middle East conflict;
3. Reviewing the parts of the Patriot Act that are damaging to our liberty and way of life;
4. Reviewing policies and holding hearings on policies that unfairly target the Muslim community, such as NSA wiretapping, and denial of visas to Muslim leaders who advocate peace and justice, such as Yusuf Islam (known as Cat Stevens).

This isn't the first time that CAIR has worked against the Patriot Act. I first learned of their disapproval of it here:

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Congressman John Dingell (D-MI), Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY), and other Congressional Democrats were joined yesterday by national leaders of the Muslim American community in a roundtable discussion on issues of mutual concern to Democrats and Muslim Americans. The discussion centered on working together to defend civil rights and to restore civil liberties.
"This discussion is only the first in an ongoing dialogue between Congressional Democrats and Muslim Americans," Pelosi said. "We share a fundamental principle, the belief that diversity is the backbone of our communities. Generations of Muslims have made positive contributions in every aspect of American life. We must now work even more closely to navigate through the challenges we face as a nation."
"Since September 11th, many Muslim Americans have been subjected to searches at airports and other locations based upon their religion and national origin, without any credible information linking individuals to criminal conduct," Pelosi continued. "Racial and religious profiling is fundamentally un-American and we must make it illegal."
"When the Patriot Act was enacted, it was intended to be accompanied by strong Congressional oversight to prevent abuses of our civil liberties. That oversight has not occurred, particularly with the mass detention campaign ordered by Attorney General Ashcroft, which to date has led to more than 5,000 foreign nationals being detained since September 11th. Moreover, individuals' assets have been frozen on the basis of secret evidence that they have no opportunity to confront or rebut, and such processes are a fundamental denial of due process. We must correct the Patriot Act to prevent abuses of our civil liberties."

Think of how foolish it sounds when Speaker-in-waiting Pelosi says that "Religious profiling is fundamentally un-American and we must make it illegal." Considering that 19 Islamic radicals had hijacked planes and flown them into the World Trade Center towers and into the Pentagon, I'd be upset with the government if it didn't pay extra attention to Muslims.

That being said, it bothers me that CAIR only talks in theoretical terms about civil rights violations but can't produce any proof. Many were the times when Democrats and CAIR talked about civil rights concerns during the contentious debate on reauthorizing the Patriot Act. When they were asked to present proof that civil rights violations had occured, however, they couldn't offer proof that any violations had been committed.

Another bothersome aspect to this statement is how Ms. Pelosi agreed with CAIR that a "mass detention campaign ordered by Attorney General Ashcroft, which to date has led to more than 5,000 foreign nationals being detained since September 11th." There were 5,000+ people that were interviewed by various law enforcement and intelligence agencies but it's insulting to hear CAIR and Ms. Pelosi suggest that 5,000 foreign nationals were detained. Had that happened, you can bet that the ACLU and other civil rights attorneys would've filed a record amount of lawsuits.

When Ms. Pelosi's states that "We must correct the Patriot Act to prevent abuses of our civil liberties", the implication is that somebody's civil liberties were abused, something that I won't believe without proof. It isn't a stretch to think that CAIR would allege this type of activity if you look at their history.

All you need to know about CAIR's meeting with Pelosi's team is found here:

Working with Conyers, the Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Democrats have introduced legislation to end racial profiling, limit the reach of the Patriot Act, and make immigration safe and accessible.

I'll give CAIR this much: They're persistent in their desire to see the Patriot Act gutted. Fortunately for national security-minded people, there isn't any chance that type of legislation would get out of the Senate, much less past President Bush's veto pen.

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog