Would you vote for a Muslim?

I have no use for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

If I lived in Michigan, I would not be voting for Abdul El-Sayed.

Both are Muslim. 

And that has nothing to do with why I don’t like them. I oppose their political ideas, not how they practice their faith. They happen to be Democrats, as am I, but that also has nothing to do with it. I pride myself in being a disloyal Democrat, who will not support ideas or candidates that I don’t agree with. Example: Woke, which even AOC — now — has ridiculed for its insane view of the world. I knew it was some misbegotten serpent that had escaped the sociology department when it first slithered on the scene, wearing the sheep’s clothing of the legitimate Old Original Woke.

On the other hand, I do support, and have contributed to, the campaign of Republican candidate for congress in Arizona, Zuhdi Jasser, who is a Muslim.

But he is a Muslim (and a physician) who loudly opposes radical Islamists, as opposed to Islam. Jasser has served this country as a Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy. His patriotism is unquestioned. He knows Iran, not Israel, is a threat to the U.S., something El-Sayed does not know.

Jasser is a conservative commentator and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. His public commentary includes criticism of political corruption and concerns about election integrity, but he is not an election denier. 

“I support a Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States Constitution,” Jasser’s website reads. “In Congress, I’ll fight to get our spending under control. For too long, both parties have spent without regard for whether we can afford it.”

His is a long-shot candidacy in a heavily Democratic district.

A week from tomorrow, if he loses, if I were Woke, I would be complaining that his loss was due to Islamophobia. Because that’s their warped view of the world.

Since I am not Woke, I recognize that the 4th congressional district includes parts of Phoenix, which like most big cities, votes Democratic.

And so I admire the patriotic, pro-America Muslim physician for accepting the challenge of an uphill race in a year in which the Republican brand is tarnished.