After winning nearly 80 percent of the Muslim vote in 2000, George Bush bled much of it away in the post 9/11 era. The war in Iraq, the PATRIOT Act, detainment and other policies drove at least half of that support to John Kerry and third party candidates in 2004. But all the while, several influential Muslim Republicans, both inside the administration and out, were working hard to staunch the bleeding and build a donor base among wealthy members of the Muslim community.
Today, several of them say that their efforts are being undermined, if not completely destroyed, by Republicans stoking anti-Muslim sentiment by opposing the construction of the Cordoba House -- now known infamously and inaccurately as the "Ground Zero Mosque".
"We've been working hard, some Muslim Americans, some non-Muslims, to keep the Muslim American community and other minorities on the party side, to keep relationships going," says David Ramadan, a Vice Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. "All of that is threatened to be thrown down the drain."
"Most of (that work) is at risk, if not all," Ramadan told TPM. "How can I, an operative of the Republican party of Virginia that goes out and holds events for candidates, how can I go out to the Muslims of Loudoun County... how can I go out today in good faith and say I'd like to invite you to a Republican event, or to a candidate event on a Republican event who shares your values? Who's going to give me a dollar today? Who's going to give me a dollar when Republicans are comparing Muslims in general to Nazis?... Excuse me! My mother is not a Nazi!"
moreThink Progress:
Rove Equates Building Of A Mosque Near Ground Zero With A Neo-Nazi Meeting At A Jewish Hotel Keep talking Rove, you POS.
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