I have known Eric Andersen for seven years. We co-founded the Republican Liberty Caucus of San Diego in 2012. We worked on the Ron Paul for President campaign. Together, we’ve supported Campaign For Liberty, The Foundation for Economic Education, Senator Rand Paul, and served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of San Diego. We don’t always agree on issues, candidates, and political strategy but we’re friends. Eric is a gentleman and his soft-spokeness is amplified by his reputation for being a deeply principled and religious man. I, on the other hand, am loud and mildly profane.
Eric is being attacked by some fringe characters for supporting Omar Qudrat for Congress (a man whom I whole-heartedly endorse too). They are attacking Eric for being ignorant to the (false) notion that Mr. Qudrat subscribes to the princples of Sharia Law. Eric, in his gentlemanly way, encourages them to speak to Mr. Qudrat and put him through the rigorous, three hour interview that he did (I did this as well). In those interviews, Mr. Qudrat openly renounces Sharia Law.
The fringe characters’ response then is that Mr. Qudrat is practicing a tactic called Taquiya. In short, the fringe characters believe that an American Muslim can’t renounce Islamofascism because he is duty-bound to lie. Not only is this an incorrect interpretation of Taquiya, it is wildly inconsistent with the way Mr. Qudrat and his family have lived their lives.
Mr. Qudrat serves America as an Army Reserve officer. He made a career of prosecuting Islamist terrorists for the Department of Defense, here and in his parents’ homeland. Think about that. Mr. Qudrat traveled to “the old country” to prosecute the bad Afghanis who want to do harm in his country; America. That’s courage.
I feel duty bound to say, in direct and mildly profane language, what Mr. Qudrat, and my gentlemanly friend Eric Andersen would never say — you trolls need to go to hell. You are bigoted. You are racist. There is no room in the conservative movement for you.
The irony is that if you ask some of the “self-professed Christians” about a conflict between the Bible and the Constitution, they will say they will support a candidate who legislates by rules in the Bible rather than the Constitution.
Which is exactly what Islamofascists promote (substitute Quran for Bible).
You are not “patriots,” you are not “Defenders of the Faith,” you are not “Christian Soldiers,” you are certainly not Republicans, and I am embarassed that you are Americans. Go to hell. We don’t want nor need your help.
Comments 11
Well spoken Brian.
Great post.
Omar was rather clear on his stance. He feels that Sharia law has no place in the United States, and has prosecuted detainees at Guantanamo bay. He’s well spoken, educated, and puts a new face on an old institution.
I will say this…Eric is a long time friend of mine and is a person who I like to talk to about God and how we live our lives and who I respect very much.
Brian, on the other hand, is someone who I enjoy political conversations and we are from the same mold. He is brash, like me and someone who I also respect as a dear friend.
Now to Omar…I met the man when he first came to our GOP meetings and wanted to serve.I have a lot of respect for him and for his desire to serve. He is a patriot who represents the best of what American values are.
I am truly no friend of Sharia and their bullshit views on how they treat a woman. Sharia is a law of low-life POS.
But come to my face and tell me what you’re saying about Omar and I we will have some serious words. I am brash as brian, and as a former NYer will not allow so-called bullshit conservatives to talk down about Omar. I live in the 52nd and I do support Omar. Try me, I dare you!!
Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! I just read this post to a few people and they are all clapping and cheering. Brian is absolutely correct about the alt-right bigots trying to wrest control of the GOP and hijack the conservative movement. Go to hell!
I applaud the message, and agree with the closing that this isn’t a Republican position, it’s an American one.
But,
why protect the identity of bigots?
Real courage puts daylight into the dark corners.
“Go to hell” are never well spoken words.
Hi All. First to say – I have never had an opinion one way or the other about Omar Qudrat. He is not in my district and so I would let the voters decide.
But I just received an article tonight about Omar. I copied one sentence from the article – see below. If this is a factual statement, that worries me.
“… The fact that Omar Kamal Qudrat, who is running for Congress in the 52nd Congressional District, said he would not take the oath of office and be sworn as a US Congressman on the US Constitution, but instead would insist on taking the oath on the Quran, is a further indication that he has a conflict on whether Sharia Law is superior to the US Constitution; he has continued to talk around his views on that issue….”
Joseph R. John, USNA ‘62, Capt USNR(Ret)/Former FBI,
Chairman, Combat Veterans For Congress PAC
2307 Fenton Parkway, Suite 107-184, San Diego, CA 92108
Cell: (310) 989-8778 http://www.CombatVeteransForCongress.org
Lee,
Although elected officials swear to defend The Constitution, they are not sworn in by putting their hand on The Constitution. Although not required, most put their hand on a Christian Bible when taking the oath. As long as Qudrat promises to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic, I have no problem with his hand being on a Quran while he is doing so. With all due respect, if you have a problem with that, you do not understand The Constitution or what truly makes our country exceptional.
Thanks for your clarification ‘Hypocrisy’. I feel so much better now.
Lee,
Let me ask you directly: do you have an issue with an elected official placing his hand on the Quran (and not a Bible) and swearing to defend the Constitution of the United States of America?