HAF Strongly Condemns Anti-Huntsman Political Ad
Washington,
D.C. (January 6, 2012) --
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) strongly condemned a new political
advertisement criticizing Republic presidential candidate, Governor Jon
Huntsman. The ad, which repeatedly questions Gov. Huntsman’s “American
values,” makes frequent reference to his ability to speak fluent Mandarin and
describes him as “China Jon” and the “Manchurian Candidate.”
The Foundation was especially appalled by the ad’s reference to Hunstman’s
adopted Indian daughter, Asha Bharati, who is being raised in her native Hindu
faith, insinuating that he does not share American values and is not a “man of
faith.” Gov. Huntsman, who is a practicing Mormon, is seen in the ad with his
daughter wearing a tika, or sacred mark associated with the divine and commonly
worn during Hindu ceremonies.
”This deplorable ad is blatantly racist and religiously intolerant, and crosses
all lines of acceptable political discourse,” said Suhag Shukla, Esq., HAF’s
Managing Director and Legal Counsel. “Instead of vilifying Governor
Hunstman, he should be applauded for being open minded enough to raise his
adopted daughter as a Hindu.”
The advertisement, which was posted on You Tube earlier this week, was
purportedly produced by NHLiberty4Paul, a group of supporters of Republican
presidential candidate Ron Paul. While it is unclear whether this group
has any connection to the Ron Paul campaign, his campaign spokesman Jesse
Benton came out on Friday to condemn the ad, describing it as “disgusting” and
requesting that it be removed “immediately.”
Jon Huntsman’s daughter Abby Hunstman Livingston also spoke out against the ad,
calling it “vile,” and expressing concern that her sisters were mentioned in
the ad. The Huntsmans have seven children, two of which have been adopted
from India and China.
“To attack a candidate’s family, particularly his young daughters, is
completely unacceptable and should be denounced by all Americans,” said Samir
Kalra, Esq., HAF Director and Senior Fellow for Human Rights.
SANTORUM’S CATHOLICISM ATTACKED
Rick Santorum is deserving of closer scrutiny now that he is a top contender
for the Republican nomination, but this does not justify either
misrepresenting, or attacking, his faith.
John Gehring of Faith in Public Life fails to distinguish between the official
teachings of the Catholic Church and the expressed opinions of some Church
leaders, thus allowing him to paint Santorum as out of step with his religion.
How interesting. Gehring works for an organization that receives approximately
a quarter of its money from George Soros. Need I say more? So discount this
guy.
Santorum has also been attacked by Steve Kornacki at Salon for his
“Catholic-infused opposition to abortion.” It may come as a shock to Kornacki
that the late Christopher Hitchens was also pro-life, and that Nat Hentoff is
proudly pro-life today. Their atheism hardly accounts for their understanding
of Biology 101.
The blogsite Huffpost Hill says, “Santorum thinks the Catholic Church isn’t
conservative enough, which is kind of like thinking Megadeth doesn’t thrash
hard enough.” Guess that means Santorum is a very Catholic kind of guy
(Megadeth is a heavy metal band—I had to look it up). Should Santorum therefore
be disqualified? Irin Carmon at Salon no doubt thinks so: “Rick Santorum is
coming for your contraception.” Probably around midnight.
Linda Hirshman, also at Salon, is having a stroke: “That an advocate of
legislating strict Roman Catholic sexual doctrine came within eight votes of
winning…warrants attention.” Yeah, if this Catholic makes it to the White
House, he’ll seek stimulus money for mandatory chastity belts.
Let’s face it, the left want a religious test for president—they want to exclude
all religious candidates. Which explains their love affair with Obama.