The Texas repugican cabal's annual convention ended a week ago, but it’s still managing to make headlines.
The repugican cabal gathering first attracted national attention
by fast-tracking a new platform that includes endorsing “reparative
therapy” for gays. Some of the repugicans in attendance
had hoped to address the matter, but the anti-gay topic was never
allowed to come up for debate.
Now, a reporter who was covering the convention says she was targeted and taunted because of her Muslim headdress.
Heba Said, a senior at the University of Texas at Arlington, is the opinion editor of the school paper, The Shorthorn.
The 22-year-old said she applied for media credentials and attended the
convention hoping to share with her readers what it was like to sit in
on panel discussions with delegates.
Instead, Said writes, “I discovered a cult-like hatred that is simply disgusting.” From her report:
As I walked through the halls, people stopped in their tracks and frowned and shook their heads at me. Panelists threw the word “islamist” around as if it were perfectly OK, and one man even asked if I felt alone at a meeting. I was referred to as “you people” and “y’all muslims” more times than I can count. The worst part was the way delegates looked at me, as if I were something to fear when I approached them.
“I did not observe any of this,"
said Steve Munisteri, Texas repugican cabal chairwimp. “I never heard a single
anti-muslim statement, and I never saw any anti-muslim activity.”
Munisteri said to Yahoo News in
an interview that this year's meeting drew 10,000 participants, and that
everyone was expected to "treat their fellow delegates and guests with
respect and civility.”
“Is it possible that some
knucklehead said something that was mean-spirited to somebody? Sure,” he
said. “Would the state cabal ever condone that? Absolutely not.”
The tea party star Ted Cruz
made an appearance and snapped pictures with supporters. Said wanted to
capture a few photos of the U.S. senator from Texas as well, but
instead she had to worry about being profiled by police.
I found five police officers behind me, hands on holsters watching me intently. Armed with a press badge and an iPhone, I turned to them held up my media credentials and asked if I could help them with something, as my heart tried to escape my chest. They did not respond but broke up into groups of two and continued watching me. If I was the biggest threat at that convention, then I must be seriously underestimating myself.
Said will graduate next year
with a degree in political science and a minor in Arabic. She intends on
going to either law school or graduate school, and has aspirations to
become a political correspondent.
“Because this happened, it means that there’s not enough diversity out there,” Said said. “It’s encouraged me.”
During a session on ways the repugican cabal can bolster efforts to reach religious minority groups, Said finally
spoke up and asked about their interest in muslim voters.
After discussing with one candidate whether there were muslim outreach plans, I almost didn’t feel like I was allowed to be American, as if what he said stripped me from my American identity. He asked me where I was from. When I responded, “Texas,” he asked me where I was really from, as if there were no way it could possibly be from Texas.
“On my mom’s side I’m thirteenth generation American,” she said.
The theme for this year’s
convention was “Fight to Keep Texas Red.” Based on their reported
actions, you have to wonder if a few of the repugicans are now
red-faced to boot.
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