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Denver Post – Sept. 27, 2006
Rep. Salazar says he stands by Muslim staffer
By Nancy Lofholm
U.S. Rep. John Salazar on Tuesday said he stands behind his Muslim staffer who has been lambasted by his Republican opponent for using a personal e-mail to criticize comments about Islam made by Rep. Tom Tancredo.
Nayyera Haq, Salazar's communications director for the past two years and currently a staffer on his re-election campaign, wrote in an e-mail in response to a question from a reporter at The Rocky Mountain News last week that Tancredo "has always been articulate in expressing his hatred of Islam and immigrants."
The question, and Haq's answer, were related to Tancredo's recent letter to Pope Benedict XVI urging him not to apologize for remarks the pope made about Muslims.
Tancredo wrote to Salazar's office, saying the congressman should clarify whether he agreed with Haq. Scott Tipton, who is running against Salazar and has been endorsed by Tancredo, issued a statement calling on Salazar to "rein in" his spokeswoman.
Salazar, a Catholic, said his staffer was free to express her personal opinions about her religion.
"Nayyera was speaking on her own behalf. She was stressing the importance of building bridges, rather than knocking them down," Salazar said Tuesday. "These attacks are desperate measures from a desperate campaign. When a candidate cannot run on the issues, he reverts to attacks against 24-year-old staffers."
Haq was contacted for comments about Tancredo's letter to the pope as a member of the Muslim Staffers Association, a Capitol Hill social and networking group with 25 members.
Haq voluntarily took several days off after the tempest over her remarks was picked up by right-wing Internet groups and questions were raised about the Muslim Staffers Association.
The group is sanctioned by Congress, as are other staff associations……
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4401286
Rocky Mountain News – Sept. 27, 2006
Salazar says press secretary used as scapegoat
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer
WASHINGTON - Rep. John Salazar defended his Muslim press secretary Tuesday, saying she is a "true-blue American" who is being used as a scapegoat by desperate Republican opponents.
Salazar, D-Manassa, broke his silence Tuesday about a case that has added a new wrinkle to his re-election campaign in southwest Colorado's 3rd Congressional District.
The first-term congressman has been under pressure from re-election opponent Scott Tipton, a Republican businessman, to say whether he agrees with the personal statements of his communications director. Nayyera Haq lashed out at Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo after Tancredo's latest missive questioning the tenets of Islam.
"That was her statement. She made it on her own. She didn't do it with my permission," Salazar said Tuesday at his Capitol Hill office. "She probably should have been more careful. What's done is done, and she certainly has paid the price."
Salazar said Haq has not deserved the intense scrutiny she's gotten since the controversy erupted, including an anonymous video circulating on the Internet that delves into her personal social-networking page and questions her membership in the Congressional Muslim- American Staff Association.
Salazar said that the group, which is officially sanctioned by Congress, tries to promote cross-cultural understanding, like with a recent forum titled "Muslim Americans as Partners in the Fight Against Terrorism."
Conservative activists "are trying to use a staffer who is a true-blue American and who cares deeply about America to get at me," Salazar said…
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_5023536,00.html
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