Statement on the remarks of Rep. Steve Israel (NY-3), chairman of the DCCC
One of the reasons I’m running for Congress is to stop the pattern of divisive, partisan politics that too many Washington politicians follow.
An example of that pattern is the offensive claim that offering criticism to Democrats is “racist.” Rep. Steve Israel (NY-3), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, peddled this falsehood over the weekend. When asked by CNN whether his Republican colleagues are racist for opposing the Democrats’ immigration bill, Rep. Israel merely responded, “Not all of them,” and added that, “to a significant extent, the Republican base does have elements that are animated by racism.”
Criticism of political parties and their ideas is a fundamental right and tradition of democracy. Congress cannot call itself a legislature of the people if it seeks to incriminate popular dissent. Yet that is exactly what Rep. Israel and his colleagues are trying to do. Couching Republicans as “racist” and all Latinos and other minorities as Democratic pushovers is derogatory and cheap. I know first-hand that Latinos , regardless of party affiliation, do not want their intelligence and integrity insulted. They are tired of being used as pawns by race-baiting politicians looking for election-day votes.
Democratic union leaders were once the primary opponents of undocumented migrants, seeing them as a threat to labor. Would Rep. Israel have tolerated the accusation that those union leaders were racists? Rep. Israel was once a member of the J Street Gala hosting committee. Would he have tolerated the accusation that all congressmen affiliated with J Street are anti-Semitic? My guess is he would be offended by any claim that having a different opinion makes one a simple bigot.
In 2008, President Obama posed a challenge. He said, “We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle,” or, we can “talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag.”
I am saddened to see Steve Israel use Latinos and other minorities as tools for his political ambitions. I am running for Congress to treat Latinos, Blacks, Asians, Jews and all other minorities as equal constituents, not as tokens on election day.
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Pablo's 2014 Campaign Trail
After a long on-air interview with John Phillips of KABC radio.
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News from The Hill: A.B. Stoddard: GOP must diversify to win
Republicans anticipate a big election in November: the GOP is expected to hold its majority in the House of Representatives and possibly win control of the US Senate. Then, a divided party, struggling with critical demographic liabilities, will prepare to choose a nominee — and a direction — that can win the presidency for Republicans once more.
It’s not clear that the GOP will change in time to win in 2016, but the change required is all too clear: unless the party appeals to more minority voters, female voters and young voters, it won’t attract enough voters to take the White House.
That’s why candidates like Pablo Kleinman — a young, Jewish and Latino Republican entrepreneur running against Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman in Los Angeles — are so important.
Read more: http://thehill.com/opinion/ab-stoddard/201322-gop-must-diversify-to-win#ixzz2wXgaKeuO
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook
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From Washington Post: Is there a pulse in the California GOP?
The California Republican Party is in a sorry state. A Democrat who has served in Congress since 1997 in a D+20 district is running for reelection. A slam dunk? Maybe not.
If anyone can press Rep. Brad Sherman(D-Calif.) to the limit it may be Pablo Kleinman, an Argentinian Jewish immigrant who came to the United States at aged 13 and is now a high-tech entrepreneur and frequent presence on Univision. Sitting in a coffee shop near Dupont Circle, he rattles off the statistics for his district — 40 percent foreign born, 30 percent Hispanic. Asked to describe his political leanings he says, “I’m socially moderate and fiscally conservative.” He is soft-spoken and direct; with a close clipped beard and dark suit, he looks and sounds more like an international businessman than a Republican politician. And that may be the key to his success.
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From Newsmax: Democrats' Infighting Buoys Calif. GOP Newcomer Pablo Kleinman
Less than two years after Rep. Brad Sherman defeated a fellow Democratic in a bitter, $10 million House race, the lingering rancor is promising to give a major lift to the candidacy of Los Angeles-area entrepreneur and Republican immigrant Pablo Kleinman.
Given California's unique election system, the state's 30th Congressional District, which covers northwest Los Angeles County and most of the San Fernando Valley, could reject arch-liberal Sherman in favor of the moderate conservative Kleinman, 42.
Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/Pablo-Kleinman-California-Republican-Brad-Sherman/2014/02/25/id/554647#ixzz2uMyxo6Hw
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