(R) Congressman Blames Muslims for Breakup (of 50 yr Marriage)

[Khephra]

Congressman Blames Muslims for Breakup
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: October 4, 2003


Filed at 3:09 p.m. ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Cass Ballenger blames the breakup of his 50-year marriage partly on the stress of living near a leading American Muslim advocacy group that he and his wife worried was so close to the U.S. Capitol that ``they could blow the place up.''

The nine-term Republican lawmaker, in an interview with The Charlotte Observer published Saturday, called the Council on American-Islamic Relations -- whose headquarters are across the street from his Capitol Hill home -- a ``fund-raising arm'' for terrorist groups and said he reported CAIR to the FBI and CIA.

Ballenger, 76, did not return calls to his Hickory home Saturday. His wife, Donna, told The Associated Press the couple kept a close eye on CAIR since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and worried that the group's activities might jeopardize security on Capitol Hill.

``This gang across the street is questionable,'' she said Saturday.

more.................

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Congressman-Muslim-Group.html

[wryter2000]

1. Top 10 Conservative Idiots

Is it too late to make a nomination for the Monday Conservative Idiots?

[salin]

21. hahaha... what a bafoon

Afraid of the neighbors :eyes:

AND the stress from the "DoGoodyRepublicans" (his wife's words - but he says the same) who passed rules to limit gifts from lobbyists... Because I guess he can't take his wife out from time to time unless a lobbyist foots the bill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[_NorCal_D_]

32. Yes this kook

is definitely a perfect conservative idiot candidate.

[saigon68]

39. Naah he needs Enhancement, the stuff they try to sell in the SPAM E-mails

That would have kept the marriage going.

[legin]

2. that's Racism n/t

.

[Ediacara]

3. WTF

That's like saying that because spinach was green, they had to break up....

And WTF, not every Muslim charity is a terrorist front group...

[bluestateguy]

4. They're terrorists AND they break up marriages!

Last year he called Cynthia McKinney a "bitch".

[JohnKleeb]

5. lol

Maybe his wife was having an affair with a muslim. What a moran!

[E_Zapata]

6. Hmmm, a republican who doesn't feel safer under BUSH.

What about all that "we are safer now that we have Bush protecting us?"

Case closed. We ain't safer. A republican has told us so.

Word to the old curmudgeon: maybe your wife hates you for your bigotry and the final straw was that you forced her to surveil a muslim organization for 2 years, and she is divorcing you so she can say she "at least" had a few good days on this earth without your ugly self polluting her world.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

47. Doublethink in action, my friend.

You see, we are SAFER because of Saint Bush. It is also true that we are LESS SAFE because of those wily "DemonRats"! And the economy is BETTER! And it is WORSE! And terrorism is CONTAINED! And it is NOT! And a questionable sex life by a public official is INADMISSIBLE! And it is also NOT A BIG DEAL!

This is the EXACT definition of Doublethink from the book 1984: the ability to hold mutually exclusive beliefs and believe them both true.

[Dover]

7. The neocons seem to have real issues about looking at themselves

in the mirror and taking personal responsibility. They'd much prefer to project their demons on someone else. Which is why they took such issue when so many Americans wanted to look within for the problem after 9-11, as well as at "the enemy". Thus the GOP began the "hate America" campaign. They really don't get it at all.

I have seen the enemy and he is me.

[Resistance Is Futile]

8. Yet another good reason for term limits

No country can advance when it has 76 year old senile throwbacks in leadership positions. The world has changed a lot since 1927 and this joker clearly isn't capable of dealing with that fact.

[xJlM]

9. What a lame excuse!

I've heard better excuses out of drunks in bars. I think the facts of the matter are probably more like the guy's wife got tired of being married to a chump repug.

[drfemoe]

10. They also blame no free MEALS

"In addition to CAIR, he told the newspaper that another stress on the marriage was the 1995 decision by ``holier-than-thou Republicans'' in the House to ban gifts from lobbyists. The meals and theater tickets from lobbyists once meant ``a social life for (congressional) wives,'' Ballenger said.

Ballenger's wife also said the move by ``do-goody Republicans'' to restrict the money spent on members of Congress and their spouses had helped turn Washington into a less desirable place to live. ``Just a dinner now and then'' would do no harm, she said. "

Good grief. These are the people who participated in putting our economy in the loo, and they want Theater Tickets!!! gmafb

:wtf:

[E_Zapata]

14. Why don't they try a soup kitchen?

Free lunch and dinner every day of the week. Passes the USDA criteria.

[joycep]

15. As far as I am concerned

Both these people need to run to a mental institution. They don't have any time to lose.

[Maine-i-acs]

26. 150K a year - free health care - and he wants dinner and a show too.

He should try living on the median income in his district. Chump.

[blondeatlast]

42. If only the Court of Public Opinion were allowed to pass sentence!

[lovedems]

11. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry

That has got to be one of the most stupid things I have ever heard in my life! Asscroft is really going to be pissed off now.

[MaineDem]

12. This guy is truly an idiot!

Good grief!

[jiacinto]

13. This is sick

Here is his district by the way.





According to NCEC Bush got 65% of the vote to Gore's 33%. The district is only 15% minority.

There is no way to get rid of him next year unfortunately. The 10th seems like a hopelessly Republican district. Most likely, because it is in the Mountains, this seat has probably been Republican since the Civil War.

[rocketdem]

27. I doubt it

The Republican Party at the time of the Civil War was the abolisionist party. If I were living in the 1860's, I'd be a Republican. There are some (very few) folks living in Dixie who still think of the Republican Party as the party of Lincoln. Most, however, have abandoned that notion and think of the Democrats as the party of the Civil Rights Act.

If this is a backwoods district then it's Republican now for the same reason that it was Democratic 120 years ago.

[jiacinto]

29. Actually that is not necessarily 100% correct

From the end of the Civil War through the 1950s the South was solidly Democratic. That is correct.

However, in the high mountains of the Applachians, in far Eastern KY, TN, and in far Western NC and VA, there were pockets of Republianism. In fact some areas like Knoxville haven't sent a Democrat to Congress since the Civil War. Also Winston County in AL has always been Republican. Even when the Democrats were in charge there were also places in N. Georgia and N. South Carolina where Republicans ran somewhat competetively.

So while the South was "Solid" for the Democrats, up in the very high mountains of the Applachians, there were pockets of Republican strength and domination.

The reason why those areas were Republican was because race and slavery were not the big issues that they were in the rest of the south. Those areas were also the few locations of pro-Union/anti-Confederate sentiment in the South.

[Ediacara]

30. how do you access those congressional district maps Carlos?

I fiddled around the nationalatlas site and couldn't find the way to get to those specific maps.

[jiacinto]

40. Ok

Clikc Printed Maps, then Printable Maps and it should get you there.

[Ediacara]

50. dig it!

Thanks Carlos! Very cool resource.

[carpetbagger]

37. Billy Graham Country.

I guess since Pope Billy took the Jews, that leaves the Muslims for Cass.

[Democat]

16. This guy is a racist pig - he has a history

Representative Cass Ballenger (R-NC), a senior Republican, told the Charlotte Observer that he had “segregationist feelings” toward a former colleague in Congress, Rep. Cynthia McKinney, an African-American. In explaining why McKinney “provoked” these strong feelings in him, he said, “I mean, she was such a bitch,” according to the Observer.

http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=7378

He probably hates "Indians" and "Mexicans" too. Maybe he should run for governor of California.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

48. Holy Mother of God

Even his HAIRCUT looks racist! Jeezaz!

[dbt]

17. Does the old boy actually KNOW any Muslims?

All of them that I have ever met are more peaceful, caring, charitable, humble, hard-working, dedicated, loving and giving than most of the "Christians" I have ever met.

:hurts:
dbt

[PsychoDad]

52. Maybe...

Those are the faults he and his wife took issue with :silly:

Seriously, this is just sad and depressing, not so much that they blame muslime, there's a lot of that going around, but that there are people like these two. Folks that are truely suckling at the public teat for the tune of 150k plus perks like free medical care... and it's just not enough.

As Rush would say, maybe he oughta get off his lazy ass and get a job. It's lifelong welfare families, like this one, that are screwing up our country!

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. In related news, the publishers of The Onion have quit

because it's impossible to satirize real life any more.

[legin]

19. LOL n/t

.

[qanda]

23. I was thinking that between the

stories about Rush, Chambliss, Pat Robertson, David Kay's report on WMD's, Bush's poem, Arnold and the whole California Recall, Kit Bond's aide and this one, I don't remember what it feels like to exist in reality.

[MGKrebs]

24. Don't forget Orrin Hatch

urging us to forget a person's past indicretions.

[blondeatlast]

43. If only . . .

it weren't.

[Oilwellian]

20. I think these people have watched...

Ali Babb & The 40 Thieves cartoon one too many times. Salami...Salami...Baloney. :eyes:

[koopie57]

22. I hate to think what would have happened

if these two had to deal with real stress like having no place to live, or living in a run-down apartment building with crack deals going on around them, or no health insurance, no job, no food. I wish that was all I had to stress over, the remote possibility someone will blow up a building across the street.

[snippy]

25. The way Reich wing minds work is frightening. And disgusting.

[Cheswick2.0]

28. how embarrasing for NC

These people are nuts.


Roses are red
Dead flowers are brown
if you don't like Arabs
get the hell out of town!

[Mari333]

31. What a whack job , but he's not hurting financially by a long shot

http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.asp?cid=N00002377
His PAC profile:

Agribusiness
$42,750

Communic/Electronics
$17,383

Construction
$27,500

Defense
$10,500

Energy/Nat Resource
$31,000

Finance/Insur/RealEst
$50,500

Health
$14,500

Lawyers & Lobbyists
$5,000

Transportation
$22,000

Misc Business
$46,500

Labor
$3,000

Ideology/Single-Issue
$54,480

Other
$1,500

Unknown
$1,750


Misses his perks does he? tough shit.

[karlschneider]

33. "...they were wearing hoods..." I have to know: does insanity propel

people towards republicanism, or is it the other way 'round? There HAS to be a synergy there, I just can't deduce which is cause and which is effect.

:eyes:

[tabasco]

34. Hmm, if true, this guy is a real problem solver.

The kind of leader we need in DC. Did it ever occur to this poor man to MOVE????? Of course, it's just a bunch of lies, but even if true, the guy is a complete idiot, not to mention a hatemonger.

[karlschneider]

35. Sent him a little note:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/bio/userletter/?id=450&letter_id=49921831

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

36. Ah, maturity at its finest.

I know it's no worse than Ballenger deserves, but do you honestly think anyone is going to take that piece of vitriol seriously? The guy's a congressman; he probably gets two or three letters like that a week, and they go straight into the "pissed-off nut" file, aka his secretary's recycle bin.

And btw, I don't normally correct other people's grammar, but the header should have read "Blaming your screwed-up marriage on Muslims?" The way you have it, it sounds like Ballenger and his wife, with their rampant infidelity, are responsible for a tremendous upswing in the Muslim population. And that's just creepy.

[karlschneider]

49. I have no idea what you are babbling about...what you suggest SHOULD

have been the header is verbatim what I DID write. Did you have a brainfart and see "for" instead of "on" which is what I said?

And no, I don't expect him or probably anyone else to take it seriously. But I reserve the right to call an anal sphincter an asshole. And it really doesn't matter to me whether you approve. Eh?

[muriel_volestrangler]

51. The title on the web page is...

... "Blaming Muslims on your screwed-up marriage". So I would have thought that "for" is what you wanted there.

Saying he has "many inbred morons as constituents" is hardly likely to get them to change their vote, if any of them read it.

[blondeatlast]

44. ROFLMAO! I won't be able to be online most of tomorrow;

can someone make sure he gets his nomination to the Top 10 as well?!

[BattyDem]

38. Hmmm

I clicked the reply button because I wanted to comment on this idiot's claims ... but I just realized I have nothing to say. I'm speechless. I have no idea how to respond to such ... lunacy. :crazy: :silly: :wtf:

[AP]

41. Is there any Republican who's willing to take responsibility for his

actions?

Is there one???

[peterh]

45. Just as I suspected…

He’s a member of the International Relations committee and a member of the international terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights Sub-committee.

For a guy that has admitted to "segregationist feelings", I guess it just follows that he’d be in a position to further erode American goodwill.

[Dr Fate]

46. The party of "Personal Responsibility" gets more silly by the day

Those "moose-lems" made my sweet Loretta hate me!!! It had nothing to to do with the fact that I cant get it up- it was them dirty Moose-lems!!!