CHICAGO,
October 22 (IslamOnline) - For the first time in the U.S. Senate
election competing candidates from the Democratic Party and the
Republican Party have strong ties to the Arab ethnicity, one by blood
and the other by marriage.
Rep.
John E. Sununu, the Republican nominee, is part Palestinian and part
Lebanese and Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, the Democratic nominee, is the wife
of one Lebanese-American attorney and political activist, William
Shaheen. They are tied in a race for the New Hampshire’s seat.
Surprisingly
the first time for two candidates with Arab-American families to
square off in a Senate race is taking place in the state of New
Hampshire and not Michigan, or California, where major Arab American
communities reside.
The
official state homepage does not include any data on the size of the
Arab American community, but according to some estimates there might
be 5,000 Arab-Americans in the whole state.
So
how did New Hampshire end up with a Sununu dynasty and a governor
married to a Shaheen? According to the community’s leaders in New
Hampshire, Arab-Americans here got where they are by not presenting
themselves as Arab-Americans.
Both
the Shaheens and the Sununus come from the established Arab-American
community of New Hampshire which is mostly Catholic not Muslim. Many
considered this a facilitating access to American public politics -
all six members of Congress of Arab descent are Christians.
Bill
Shaheen the governor’s husband acknowledges that three of his
grandparents immigrated from Lebanon.
Some
Lebanese, he says, came here because others had already settled around
Dover and could help the newcomers adjust to a new country and
language, reported the online Slate magazine. Many still congregate in
their own Maronite Churches.
But
mostly, he says, the Lebanese who settled there wanted to blend in.
They wanted American success and American values.
But
for their names, the Shaheens and Sununus have embraced the American
values and culture. They don’t advertise their ethnicity.
John
E. Sununu comes from a family of strong political involvement. His
father John H. Sununu, was elected governor to the state for three
terms between 1983 and 1989, he then served as the former President
George H. Bush’s Chief of Staff.
His
official Internet homepage does not refer to his Arab descent, but
rather refer to his birth place as Havana, Cuba. Sununu, the son was
first elected to the House of Representatives in November in 1996, he
has been re-elected for two more consecutive terms since then.
Analysts
observe that none of the candidates publicized their strong
affiliation with the Arab ethnicity which helped their political
careers and that's the way they want to keep it.
Both
are eager to keep their ethnic lineage out of the race and firmly
asserting that they have not and will not vote differently from other
politicians on Middle Eastern issues by virtue of their background.
Despite
her Democratic affiliation, Shaheen tends to lean heavily on her
bipartisan record always presenting herself as the “independent
voice.” Only about a quarter of New Hampshire's registered voters
are Democrats.
The
rest are evenly split between Republicans and independents.
In
a forum held last Sunday, Shaheen highlighted her bipartisan
legislative work during her three terms as governor, saying it was by
working with Democrats and Republicans that the Legislature passed the
Clean Power Act and created the Land and Community Heritage Investment
Program, or LCHIP, which awards money to communities to preserve open
space and historic buildings.
Given
the anxiety of the public on issues of national security and foreign
policy, Shaheen is showing enough support to “President Bush”
while criticizing “the administration” on domestic issues.
She
is supporting the president’s efforts against terrorism and Iraq as
much as Sununu does but disagrees on environmental issues, taxes and
the economy.
On
issue of oil sources, where Sununu is encouraging usage of the
resources provided in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, calling for
a limited balanced drilling, an option opposed by his opponent,
Shaheen is favoring research into alternate fuels and energy-efficient
technologies.
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Gov.
Jeanne Shaheen: the Democratic nominee
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Crime
and gun control is yet one of the few issues that they agree upon,
both declared that they were interested in ballistic fingerprinting, a
technology that can trace a bullet to the gun it was fired from and
that has been talked about since the sniper attacks around Washington,
D.C., began.
Answering
to the questions raised at the Sunday’s forum held at Concord's
Temple Beth Jacob about the candidates' support of American foreign
policy on Israel and how they would ensure the safety of the Israeli
people if war breaks out in Iraq.
“It
is not just in Israel’s interest, it is in the national interest of
the United States to ensure Israel’s security,” Shaheen said,
reported the Concord Online Monitor.
Sununu
said he had voted for providing economic and military aid to Israel
and supports the development ballistic missile defense systems to
protect Israel and other American allies, reported the Monitor.
One
of the few topics of agreement between Sununu and Shaheen was their
support for using military force against Iraq. But their views on the
latest development of North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear arms did not
reflect such a strong position. They agreed that diplomacy was the
proper response, according to the Monitor.
Unlike
with Saddam Hussein, Shaheen said, the United States “have been able
to negotiate successfully” with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Il.
While Sununu used developments in North Korea to advocate for “a
strong missile defense program.”
The
contest between Sununu and Shaheen is one of the most closely watched
Senate races in the country. Their respective parties consider the
race essential in their quest to secure control of the Senate, where
the Democrats enjoy a slim majority. With the two candidates nearly
even in the polls, reports show that the national parties have been
spending millions of dollars in advertising over the past few weeks,
hoping to sway the votes of the large independent voters one way or
the other
