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U.S. Arab voting clout grows
Posted by Tiglath (Guest) - Friday, October 17 2003, 2:48:06 (EDT)
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U.S. Arab voting clout grows

Democrats addressing Dearborn conference may find group has no unified voice, some say

By Joel Kurth / The Detroit News


DEARBORN -- The numbers tantalize political operatives.

Some 2.3 million Arab-Americans are clustered in Michigan and six other states considered up for grabs in the 2004 presidential election. As a group, they mark ballots with greater regularity than the general population. Voting together, they could decide a close election.

If only it were that easy.

Eight Democratic presidential candidates scheduled to address the Arab American Institute's national leadership conference starting today in Dearborn may learn there's no such thing as a single Arab voice, unified concern or sure vote.

"Everyone's all over the map politically," said Youssef Fawaz, 20, of Canton Township, whose grandparents immigrated from Lebanon. "Don't think that all we care about is Lebanon this or Palestine that. Don't baby us. We may be a swing vote, but we care about other issues."

The expected appearances from Democrats may mark the acme of a decades-long struggle for political recognition by the Arab-American establishment. But they come as long-brewing disagreements within the hardly homogenous community increase over tensions about the Iraq war.

"You can take the people out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the people," said Tarik Daoud of Bloomfield Hills, who is of Chaldean descent and owns two car dealerships. "They bring their old animosities, old conflicts and old grudges here to America."

Charting the Arab-American political map is a frustrating exercise. And no wonder: The estimated 4 million U.S. citizens of Arab descent come from a region larger than Europe that extends over five time zones.

A 2002 Zogby International poll showed that Arab-American political affiliations mirror those of the nation: 39 percent are Democrats, 31 percent are Republicans and 30 are independent or undecided.

Among Michigan's estimated 400,000 Arab-Americans, older immigrant groups such as Chaldeans, Christian Iraqis, tend to be Republican. Newer immigrants such as Lebanese and Syrians lean Democratic, said Nabeel Abraham, co-editor of "Arab Detroit: From Margin to Mainstream."

The one issue that binds all Arab-Americans has traditionally been a nonstarter in U.S. politics: Nationhood for Palestine, said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute. Zogby is the brother of New York pollster John Zogby, president of Zogby International.

"A lot of people feel shut out of the system," said Abraham, an anthropology instructor at Henry Ford Community College. "They feel the system disowns them because even mentioning Israel or Palestine shuts down the conversation."


Bush support wanes


The conference comes as support for President Bush among Arab-Americans is waning.

The community favored Bush over Democrat Al Gore, 44-38 percent, in the 2000 election. But many Arab-Americans are upset over the war in Iraq and USA Patriot Act that gives the government greater powers to deport immigrants and spy on suspected terrorists.

A Zogby International poll released in July showed just 34 percent of Arab-Americans support Bush. Muslims, who comprise about 20 percent of the community, favored Democrats 52 percent to 10 percent over Bush.

It's those numbers that are expected to bring Democrats Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, John Edwards, Richard Gephardt, John Kerry, Joe Lieberman and Carol Moseley Braun to Dearborn. Candidate Dennis Kucinich will address the gathering by video conference from Washington, D.C.

Also confirmed for the conference that lasts through Sunday are former Montana Gov. Mark Racicot, chairman of the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign; Terry McAulliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee; and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

<B>Michigan is considered a battleground state, as are community strongholds California, which has 650,000 Arab-Americans; New York, 410,000; Florida, 270,000; New Jersey, 250,000; Illinois; 180,000; and Ohio, 160,000.

"Those tens of thousands of votes can make a difference," Zogby said.</B>


Voices not all unified


But Bush's declining popularity doesn't necessarily mean Arab-Americans are a lock for Democrats.

If anything, the war in Iraq has split the community. Many Iraqis such as Daoud strongly support Bush's terrorism policy, while opposition to it has galvanized those of Palestinian or Lebanese descent.

The split also can be roughly traced along the border between Wayne and Oakland counties: Newer immigrants congregated near Dearborn oppose Bush's policies; while established suburbanites near Southfield and the Bloomfield Hills area tend to favor the war.

Arab-Americans come together on other issues such as civil liberties and the government's use of secret evidence that neither defendants nor their attorneys can view, said Zayd Allebban, 25, of Dearborn, a Wayne State University law student and Iraqi Muslim.

"We're suffering from the same setbacks that befell many other minority populations when they became active," Allebban said. "There's a lack of unity. We have (too) many self-declared mouthpieces for the Arab-American community."

Any growing pains are better than the alternative, Zogby argued.

A 20-year activist who serves on the Democratic National Committee, Zogby remembered when "Arab" was a dirty word not too long ago. Politicians wouldn't meet with community leaders. Political contributions were returned.

Now, presidential candidates are wooing a group that, while not still yet a coherent voting bloc, is considered politically vital, Zogby said.

"We've had a breakthrough that's the culmination of two decades of developing relationships, hard work and dealing with exclusion. We didn't just demand our rights. We earned our rights," he said.



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