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Muslim groups, supporters denounce racist governor’s attacks

Published Sep 23, 2005 9:51 PM

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, speaking at the right-wing Heritage Foundation’s national office in Washington D.C. declared on Sept. 14, “How many individuals are coming to our state and going to those institutions who have come from terrorist-sponsored states?” He was referring to international students who attend the 120 colleges and universities in Massachusetts. “Do we know where they are? Are we tracking them?”

He added, “How about people who are in settings, mosques for instance, that may be teaching doctrines of hate and terror. Are we monitoring that? Are we wiretapping? Are we following what’s going on?” He also called for the “monitoring” and “tracking” of immigrants. (www.boston.com)

Romney called for even more wholesale repression than current provisions in the Patriot Act, which already allows for the monitoring of international students and the violation of scores of civil liberties.

Furious over Romney’s racist, chauvinist and terrorist attacks, the Muslim Amer ican Society immediately issued a press release denouncing Romney and called for a press conference at the governor’s office Sept. 16. The Boston chapter of the Mus lim American Society Freedom Founda tion sponsored the action with the Islamic Society of Boston, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Mas sachusetts Immigration Refugee Advo cacy Coalition, the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Friends Service Committee.(www.masnet.org)

A Romney spokesperson accepted a letter of protest from the delegation but told them the governor refuses to retract his comments. Romney himself repeated this throughout the Sept. 16 weekend at various press conferences and other events. He even appeared on Fox’s “The O’Reilly Factor” Sept. 16.

This most recent declaration of war by Romney follows on the heels of scores of attacks against progressive and revolutionary individuals and organizations during his term and before.

Romney supports the death penalty, mandatory and so-called “three strikes” sentencing, school vouchers, welfare ‘reform,’ and deregulation. He is anti-abortion and viciously anti-union.

Romney, in his zeal to abolish same-sex marriage in Massachusetts—the only state to legalize this legal and human right—works closely with organizations such as “Focus on the Family” and the “Family Research Council”.

He has worked closely with the Depart ment of Homeland Security and other repres sive agencies to build a “fusion center,” in Framingham, Mass. where a high percentage of Afro-Brazilians reside. This “center” is a clearinghouse where all forms of local, state and national repressive agencies work in tandem to terrorize the working class and oppressed through eaves dropping, wiretapping, video monitoring and the like. A similar command center was built before the 2004 Demo cratic National Conven tion in downtown Boston at the Massa chusetts Bay Trans portation Authority with the full complicity of the Democratic Party.

Countering racist reaction with a people’s movement!

It is no coincidence that Romney and other Heritage Foundation protégés like Edwin Meese III are now increasingly whipping up racist and chauvinist hysteria at a time of increasing unity between the working class and nationally oppres sed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the building of a movement against the U.S. wars abroad and at home.

Heritage is the most well-funded right-wing think tank receiving most of its capital from the pro-John Birch Society, Mil wau kee-based Bradley Foundation and is the most politically connected to the White House and Congress. The Foun dation’s blueprint for the “reconstruc tion” of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast area reads like a capitalist vulture’s wildest dreams. (www.mediatransparency.org) (www.heritage.org) They are the real terrorists.

In order for these parasites to profit off the misery, death and destruction of millions of working class and oppressed people in this country and internationally they must sell fear, sow division and fracture any unity and solidarity that exists for an independent multinational class-wide people’s movement to arise and consistently move forward.

Romney, as well as scores of Repub licans and Democrats alike, despite their various orientations, are fast scrambling to forestall this type of movement especially after the hurricane nakedly exposed before the whole world the utter failure of the capitalist system.