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Governor Blagojevich can’t seem to get this mess off the front page, and he only seems to be making matters worse. From the Sun-Times (with the great headline: “No love on gov’s hate panel”)
Gov. Blagojevich’s anti-discrimination panel seethed with acrimony Thursday as two leading Jewish members resigned in protest, refusing to serve alongside a Nation of Islam official unwilling to condemn what critics call anti-Semitic and anti-gay statements by Minister Louis Farrakhan.
Lonnie Nasatir, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, and Richard Hirschhaut, director of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, stepped down from the governor’s Discrimination and Hate Crimes Commission after Blagojevich refused to oust his embattled appointee, Claudette Marie Johnson.
Appointing Rep. Lou Lang to the commission didn’t work, either.
“The notion that people would resign from the commission over the views of one member … it seems to me is an error,” Lang said. “The commission has an opportunity to do some valuable work.”The conflict has also prompted several lawmakers to take sides.
State Sen. Ira Silverstein (D-Chicago) said Thursday that he has been disappointed so far in Blagojevich’s response.
“There are three groups here–the African-American community, the Jewish community and the gay and lesbian community–who are normally united,” Silverstein said. “We are being torn apart because of this.”
And then there’s this.
Rep. Larry McKeon, D-Chicago, a member of the commission, said the governor has “found himself in a very difficult situation.” […]
“On a personal level, I’m disappointed and discouraged,” said McKeon, an openly gay lawmaker who wrote the proposal to form such a panel eight years ago.
There’s been a lot of back and forth in comments about this issue, but I’m wondering if anyone has any suggestions for how to heal the rifts? Is it too late to do anything now? Should more commission members resign, or should another way be found?
UPDATE: I missed the Tribune’s editorial.
Blagojevich deplored Farrakhan’s comments but also said he didn’t believe in guilt by association. He said Muhammad had affirmed her commitment to tolerance and acceptance and therefore should remain.
That’s disingenuous of the governor. Muhammad isn’t just a rank-and-file member of Farrakhan’s Nation. She is one of his top aides and holds a high-ranking position in the group. She has not disavowed his ugly comments. The Nation of Islam does not broadly represent the African-American community and does not deserve representation on a panel whose mission is to combat discrimination and hate. Its leader still preaches hate.
UPDATE 2: From an ABC-7 story:
“Don’t be afraid to love and don’t be afraid to hate,” Minister Louis Farrakhan said Sunday.
UPDATE 3:Press release from Dan Rutherford:
“We have statewide elected officials who are sitting on the sidelines of this fundamental moral issue doing nothing,†said Rutherford. “I call on Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Secretary of State Jesse White and the other statewide officials to stand up and speak out unequivocally. As statewide elected leaders each of them has a high moral position from which to speak and a responsibility to do so without further delay.â€
UPDATE 4: Ron Gidwitz has been way in front of this as far as statewide candidates go. Here’s his statement:
“The Governor’s logic is as lame as his appointment,” said Gidwitz. “This is not a question of guilt by association. Ms. Muhammad is in a leadership position of an organization headed by an individual whose comments about Jews and others even the Governor has described as ‘hateful’ and ‘divisive’.”Gidwitz added, “It’s not enough for Ms. Muhammad to say she is committed to the goals of the commission. She should also be asked to renounce the very hateful comments of Mr. Farrakhan to which the Governor referred.”
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 8:32 am
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Claudette Marie Johnson either needs to resign from her position as Nation of Islam spokesman or resign from the commission. Simple as that.If someone on the hate commission can’t take a stand against hate speech, who can?
Comment by Backyard Conservative Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 8:47 am
The most ridiculous quote from the Sun Times article has to be Donne Trotter:
“Given the mission of the commission to look at discrimination and hatred, I think these two (Nasatir and Hirschhaut) are demonstrating their hatred … of others is too big to effectively do their jobs. It may be the best for the commission,” Trotter said.
Absurd. Absolutely absurd.
Comment by grand old partisan Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 8:48 am
Why can’t we all just get along?
Comment by Deadhead102 Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 9:04 am
My apologies Rich, I didn’t see the update on yesterday’s post.
Comment by grand old partisan Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 9:40 am
No prob, GOP. I didn’t post the update until after you had commented.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 9:42 am
Sounds like McKeon is taking the lead on this issue in the gay community, finally, now that Garcia has completely fallen on the Blago sword. Hear there’s lots of complaints in the gay community about the way Garcia is playing this.
Comment by Northshore Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 9:47 am
GRod’s statement of not believing in guilt by association sure says a lot on how his administration is being run.
I can’t wait to see how this issue “spins” out.
Comment by Walking Wounded Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 10:13 am
These two men’s response was appropriate given the Governor’s refusal to admit his mistake and remove Claudette Marie Johnson from the commission. Her refusal to repudiate the hate filled remarks of Farrakhan shows she is in full agreement with his teachings as she has been for years even prior to her appointment.
The Governor’s constant excuses for keeping her onboard are nothing more then a thin veiled attempt to ease criticism. Blago making the statement that he wasn’t aware of her being appointed onto the board is ridiculous and if that is in fact true then it shows he has no knowledge of what those around him are doing. Then he follows that up by stating he doesn’t believe in ‘guilt by association’. My question is why can’t we have guilt by association in this instance given the fact she is a high ranking official in the NOI not just a rank and file member where ‘guilt by association’ might not apply. Then the Governor’s spokesperson used the excuse that they want a broad cross-section of people on the board. If we are to use this logic then is it not appropriate to appoint a member of the Aryan Nation to get their viewpoint also?
Of course my last question is ridiculous, as it was meant to be, but why is it ok to include a representative of one hate group and exclude others? The point being that no group espousing hate should be on a commission whose sole responsibility is to eradicate hate.
It is a sad time in the once great State of Illinois that we are led by such inept people.
Comment by Sound Reasoning Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 10:28 am
Personally, I think she has to resign given her high ranking and paid position with NOI AND her failure to disavow the mean-spirited, historic and continuing attacks by Farrakhan on others. This story also is picking up national coverage, so our Governor-by-polling-with-national- ambitions isn’t going to be able to leave this one sit. Her days are numbered is my guess. Yes, I wish we could all get along, but it sounds like we have a person on the Commission who really doesn’t believe that.
While a bit of an aside, it was interesting that the Tribune reported that the Commission had not filed a report since 2002. That again suggested a question of the day about our never on time Governor. It seems there are a whole lot of reports, requirements and deadlines that this “administration” (I use the term loosely in this context) simply blows off. Let’s have a roundup of all the missed deadlines and requirements like failure to get his cabinet confirmed, failure to appoint members to boards and commissions, untimely compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements, etc. Might be interesting.
Comment by Been There Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 10:33 am
That “Guilt by association” comment was the most absurd of all. It’s not as if this woman was just picked off the street to serve on this panel. She was picked BECAUSE of her association, not in spite of it. Now they have to pay the price because as usual they were trying to be too cute by half.
Between the “I didn’t know I had appointed her” and “I didn’t know the Daily Show was a comedy” defenses, Rod’s looking almost as clueless as George “Nobody could have anticipated the breach of the levees” Bush.
Comment by ChicagoCynic Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 10:33 am
We are seeing a fatal flaw in contemporary American thought. As Mr. Trotter demonstrates, some of us have become infatuated by the notion of tolerance to the point where they no longer understand what it is. We are seeing many people who believe that nothing and no one should ever be judged for any reason, except for the crime of being intolerant. They are so uncomfortable at the possiblity of being called intolerant, they find merit in even the most heinous organizations and people. It reminds me of the “hypocrite” game, where as teens we accused everyone of being a hypocrite as though it was the worst crime imaginable.
During my lifetime, I have been seeing PC mentality enable intelligent people to become lazy. They treat everything like a smorgasbord with equal value, as though they weren’t educated at all. Why bother learning if you don’t use it to make judgements? Instead they question themselves endlessly, even after the facts are staring them in the face. Then they question the facts endlessly. We are seeing juries that fail to convict, politicians that fail to take action, a press that fails to defend their freedom, all in the fear of making a decision, and afraid that their peers would call them intolerant, just as Mr. Trotter does regarding Mr. Nasatir and Hirschhaut.
This governor needed to demand that this NOI spokesperson step down immediately and make it clear to Illinois’ citizens that this kind of organization has no merit in our civic life. He needed to show courage, instead of fear.
If we cannot have a governor who stands up against the NOI, what would he stand up against? There is no compromise, and Blagojevich deserves the corner he has painted himself into. I applaud those commissioners who called Blagojevich’s bluff and demanded action against this shameful appointment.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 11:00 am
Oh baby, Blago is stuck and stuck good on this one!
As long as she refuses to resign, it will go on, and on, and on, and grow in media attention to the national level. Farrakhan always draws MSM attention. I’ll bet a few Fox News boys are already prowling around.
On the other hand, dismissing her is just going cause outrage on the South Side, and give Meeks some traction.
Comment by Bubs Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 11:06 am
FYI Rich
To: State Desk
Contact: Illinois Family Institute, 630-790-8370, Web: http://www.illinoisfamily.org
GLEN ELLYN, Ill., March 3 /U.S. Newswire/ — Illinois Family Institute Executive Director Peter LaBarbera today called on Gov. Rod Blagojevich to remove homosexual activist Rick Garcia from the state’s Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes — citing Garcia’s disturbing record of smearing religious-based groups and leaders who follow traditional teachings on sex and marriage.
With all the media attention on Louis Farrakhan adviser Sister Claudette Marie Muhammad’s appointment to the anti-bias Commission — following a Farrakhan speech that was widely regarded as anti-Semitic — LaBarbera said it is equally valid to focus attention on Garcia, who routinely castigates advocates of traditional Christianity and marriage as haters and “bigots.”
Garcia, political director of the homosexual group Equality Illinois, has sat on the Commission for several years. His name-calling and disrespect toward opposing viewpoints would seem to be at odds with the stated purposes of the Commission, created by Gov. George Ryan in 1999: “to educate and foster acceptance and tolerance.”
Many traditionalists have felt the sting of Garcia’s Barbs — including fellow Catholics who, unlike him, adhere to historic Church teachings on sexual morality, including that homosexual behavior is “intrinsically disordered,” sinful behavior. Last year, Garcia said Cardinal Francis George was “worse than Fred Phelps (of “God Hates Fags” notoriety), who is at least honest about his bigotry.”
“Equating time-honored Judeo-Christian teachings with hate and bigotry is itself an act of bigotry,” LaBarbera said. “Defending morality is not prejudice, and there is nothing hateful about protecting traditional marriage.”
Garcia meanly described organizers of the Protect Marriage Illinois (PMI) campaign — which seeks to place a referendum on the ballot calling on the General Assembly to constitutionally define marriage as between a man and a woman — as “rank bigots.”
“Garcia’s attack is ironic because Protect Marriage Illinois has received its strongest support in the African American community — people who know what real bigotry is,” LaBarbera said. On March 18, PMI is holding a rally at the largely African-American Broadview Missionary Baptist Church.
“We have a disagreement with Rick Garcia, but we don’t hate him,” LaBarbera said. “If he cannot tell the difference, perhaps he needs some tolerance training to be sensitive toward people of faith — who now regularly experience discrimination merely for living out their beliefs.”
Comment by anon Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 11:17 am
The quote in Update #2 really says it all. If Sister Muhammad cannot unequivocally rebuke that statement, then she has no business being on this commission. I don’t think there is a much room for middle ground here.
As for the Guv’s handling of this, I think it is very revealing. He can’t say he’s standing by his convictions by keeping her on the commission, because he already went on record as saying he had no idea he appointed her in the first place. He can’t jump her without ticking off the black caucus, a group already ticked at him about taxes. He can’t keep her without looking like a stubborn fool and ticking off the races and faiths against which Farrakhan’s hate is directed. And if there was a fair and rational compromise to be made (which I’m not sure there is anyway), I don’t think he has the credibility as a leader to pull it off without it looking like a lame attempt to ‘please all of the people all of the time.’
In many ways, this really highlights his biggest shortcoming: he is not a capable executive leader. He’s a legislator by trade, so to speak, and a perhaps a brilliant campaigner. But he’s not up to the task of actually governing the state. He can’t take the heat when things go wrong – instead he just throws people under the bus or eschew accountability. He can’t balance the complex constituencies of an entire state – he’s used to only having to please a very homogeneous district that agrees with him on 99% of the issues. He either ends up going way out on a limb and pleasing only the most extreme within his base, or he ham-handedly tries to appease everyone.
Comment by grand old partisan Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 11:19 am
I believe another way should be found!
I believe that Ms. Muhhammad’s contribution to the Commission is that she can take back to Farrakan other nationality views on hate and discrimination and as his minister of protocal, help him understand the protocals of being a non-discriminatory, non-violent leader.
Many may reply that he is would not be open to such dialogue. However, I think everyone can be touched “by an angel” and their view points can be altered. For example, in the past the NOI has not valued the opinions of women and did not view women equal to men. Now the NOI has a female, not male, minister of protocal. Obviously the views of the NOI regarding women have changed to some extent. Women are now leaders too.
With that being said, I think to improve relations amoung the memebers of the Commission, the Commission should be open for a representative from every religion, nationality or walk of life, whose interest is to discontinue discrimination and hate in the State of Illinois.
This would open up discussions, upon people of all nationalities, to confront the real issues of discrimination and hate whether it’s Farrakan against the Jews, blacks against whites, whites against blacks, or orange against purple.
The only way to truly address hate and discrimination is to open up dialogue amoungst all that are willing to peacefully discuss the issues. Ms. Muhammad has been willing to do that. What better way that to have a representative from possilbe any possible walk of life to join the commission and bring their views on what they and their communities have to endure, or have endured to overcome hate and discrimination.
After, all the mission of the Commission is to:
combat discrimination and hate
To combat discrimination and hate, dialogue must be open to all nationalities, religions or walks of life to come to a consences on the best way for all nationalities and walks of life to combat hate and discrimination.
In closing, if Ms. Muhammad resigned from the Commission, wouldn’t that not hurt the possibility of encouraging Farrakan to discontinue his anti-simetic remarks.
With Muhhamad on the commission, there is hope!
Eugene “Geno” Brown Jr., Founder
ONE MAN CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOUNDATION
Comment by ONEMANCANMAKEADIFFERENCE Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 1:55 pm
perhaps the most ironic thing to come out of this is how it effects lang’s election to niles township democratic committeeman. this was supposed to be a nothing race, even though his opponent (richard reeder) has been working really hard to connect with voters.
but suddenly, especially among the jewish community, you have people coming out of the woodwork. one comment i heard today was, “lou lang just got richard reeder elected.”
in a word, people in the community are mad — not just disappointed (as silverstein suggests). and my source may have a point. the only contested race lang faces this month is the democratic committeeman race. if voters want to send lou lang a message, that’s there only opportunity!
Comment by bored now Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 1:58 pm
I`m putting on my conspiratorial cap now and suggesting the way that Blago has mishandled this entire issue may tell us he that fears the candidacy of State Sen. James Meeks in November as a third party in the Governor`s race more than anyone could have ever guessed. Meeks has been applauding Blago`s actions in this matter and I`m wondering if Blago hopes to pre-empt his possible candidacy by demonstrating his dedication to African-American issues?
Comment by Jimmy P. Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 1:59 pm
Is it just me or does anyone else find the Illinois Family Institute press release hilarious?
Using LaBarbera’s logic, civil rights agitators in the 1960’s were themselves discriminatory because they referred to white Americans following the time-honored traditions of black oppression as bigots.
I shall have to remember that identifying and acknowledging bigotry in others is itself bigotry.
Preach it Brother LaBarbera! Everyone needs to practice tolerance of intolerance especially on a commission, at least somewhat, devoted to ending intolerance.
Comment by Gish Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 2:33 pm
Mr. Brown:
I don’t understand your post. If we are going to only include “for a representative from every religion, nationality or walk of life, whose interest is to discontinue discrimination and hate in the State of Illinois,†then wouldn’t that still exclude Ms. Muhammad, since the NOI preaches white are sub-human?
And I don’t see how you can say she is willing to “address hate and discrimination†when all we get are vague, lame statements from her in regards to the hateful and discriminatory rhetoric Farrakhan so regularly uses.
Comment by grand old partisan Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 3:34 pm
This one is not dying down, much to Blagojevich`s chagrin. A third member of the Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes has resigned this afternoon. He`s Howard Kaplan of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. Does the Gov. have the “testicular virility” to make a decision here?
Comment by Jimmy P. Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 4:28 pm
The story continues to intensify. ABC-7`s Andy Shaw reports that State Rep. Lou Lang has changed his mind and he has resigned his seat on the commission. Shaw also notes that there are rumors of another possible resignation later today and it could possibly be Rick Garcia. Stay tuned on this one.
Comment by Jimmy P. Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 5:14 pm
Jimmy, where have you been? Go here
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 5:18 pm
Also, Andy Shaw did NOT say that Garcia could be the next to resign. Garcia is not resigning. I’m talking to him as I’m writing this.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 5:33 pm
Just for the record … I may be wrong, but I think Brady and Gidwitz released a PR on the same day (Feb. 24) regarding this … not sure I’d say Ron’s way out in front on it, though he’s definitely been on it. But he’s not the only one.
Comment by YNM Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 6:31 pm
The gov’s office needs to grow some testicular verility and do whats right; remove Ms. Muhammed from the board! If the tables were turned and if there were a KKK and/or a Nazi board member the black community would have the gov’s head on a silver platter. How hypocritical by the blacks and the administration. How pitiful.
Comment by Silas - the assassin opus dei monk Friday, Mar 3, 06 @ 6:38 pm