This piece, by James Zogby, has been making the rounds of the Arab media over the past week or so. Funny, but although it focuses on the upcoming American presidential elections, it doesn't seem to have been widely disseminated here in the good old U.S. of A. I wonder why?
Arab Americans gear up for 2004 polls
Arab Americans enter the 2004 election cycle prepared, as never before, to make a difference. The community is now engaged at almost every level of the political process and is ready to reap the benefits of more than 20 years of political growth.
The early focus will, of course, be on the Democratic primaries, which are due to begin in less than two weeks. The first contest will be in Iowa, where Arab Americans have been mobilising for the past six months.
The Arab American Institute, AAI, organiser in Iowa has conducted training sessions and what have been called "Yalla Vote" voter registration events in locations across the state. Arab Americans have also been visible in the last several months at candidate campaign events carrying signs calling for "Justice in Palestine" and "Civil Rights for Arab Americans" and asking tough questions of all the presidential aspirants.
You can find the whole thing at Gulf News, Arab News, Jordan Times, The Palestine Chronicle, and now The Jerusalem Times, too. And of course on Zogby's own website, where this campaign has its base.
Now just to be clear, I'm all for the enfranchisement of each and every American, and civic participation by all religious, ethnic and national groups is certainly to be encouraged in the national interest . Is that what this is? Is that what it sounds like? Is that why I can't find this article in a single general distribution American newspaper?
The important fact is that Arab Americans will be involved in both parties' presidential campaigns and will be engaged in fulfilling the dual task of both supporting their party's nominee while challenging them to be responsive to Arab American community concerns.
Because the 2004 election will, in all probability, be as close as that of 2000, every vote will count and both parties will be seeking the support of organized political constituencies. That means that, by the time we get to the Fall, Arab American voters can expect to be courted by both Republicans and Democrats, especially in key battleground states like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.
But that's not all. Arab Americans are already raising money and becoming organized in several communities on behalf of congressional and Senate candidates, especially those who have been responsive to the community's concerns. And in addition to the sitting Arab American members of Congress who are running for re-election, it appears that two qualified Arab Americans will be running for a U.S. Senate seat in the state of Louisiana.
I guess we'll find out.
