Advertisement Close

AAI Calls on the RNC and NRCC to Condemn Rep. Duncan Hunter’s Bigotry

posted on: Oct 23, 2018

Rep. Duncan Hunter (left) and Ammar Campa-Najjar

The Arab American Institute (AAI), a non-partisan organization advocating on behalf of the Arab American community, is calling on the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) to condemn Duncan Hunter’s bigoted campaign against Arab American challenger Ammar Campa-Najjar.

In a letter to RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and NRCC Chairman Steve Stivers, AAI noted Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter’s rhetoric and campaign ads, depicting Campa-Najjar (an American of mixed Arab and Mexican descent) as belonging to a plot by  “radical Muslims… trying to infiltrate the U.S. government” are deplorable.

Long-time Republican leader and AAI Chairman George Salem said: “We have a long and honored tradition in the Republican Party, the party of Lincoln, of standing strong in support of inclusive American values. Especially during this time in our country, it is crucial that the RNC leadership reaffirm that commitment by condemning Duncan Hunter’s ugly rhetoric in this campaign.”

AAI President James Zogby, who also sits on the DNC’s Resolutions Committee, said: “In the past, Republican leaders of conscience, from the late John McCain to Colin Powell, spoke with moral clarity against bigotry. Today’s Republican leaders must do the same, loudly, clearly and immediately.”

The letter also notes that the Washington Post’s fact-checkers gave Hunter’s ad attacking Campa-Najjar four Pinocchios, the worst possible rating, for its total dishonesty. The Post also accused the ad of using “naked anti-Muslim bias in an effort to scare Californians into voting for an indicted Republican incumbent.”

 

Compiled by Arab America