Adam Schiff
Adam Bennett Schiff (born June 22, 1960) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as a U.S. representative from California since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, Schiff was a member of the California State Senate from 1996 to 2000. Schiff represents California's 30th congressional district, which is centered in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles and includes Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, West Hollywood, and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Hollywood, Sunland-Tujunga, Edendale, Park La Brea, Hancock Park, and Echo Park.
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Adam Schiff Blames Entire Democratic Party For Election Defeat California Senator-elect Adam Schiff recently shared his insights on the reasons behind Vice President Kamala Harris' election defeat, attributing the loss to a combination of factors within the Democratic Party. Schiff acknowledged that the party as a whole bears responsibility for the outcome, emphasizing the need for a new approach to connect with American voters. During a recent interview, Schiff highlighted President-elect Donald Trump's victory as a result of an 'anti-incumbent wave' that swept across the nation, affecting both progressive and conservative candidates. He pointed out that the Democratic Party had become associated with the status quo, making it challenging to resonate with voters seeking change. One of the key issues identified by Schiff was the state of the economy, noting that many Americans struggle to make a living despite working full-time. He emphasized the importance of addressing economic challenges to regain the trust of the electorate. (MSN 11/23/24) READ MORE>>>>>
Schiff ‘flabbergasted’ at Johnson appearance outside Trump courthouse Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said he was flabbergasted that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) made an appearance at former President Trump’s hush money trial in New York this week, slamming House Republicans who showed up as greedy for power. Schiff was asked by MSNBC’s Alex Wagner on Thursday evening about his thoughts on the gaggle of Republican lawmakers who traveled to Manhattan to support the former president as he sits in court. “I have so many thoughts and let me start with the Speaker because, I have to say, I was flabbergasted that he would go and make that pilgrimage, stand outside that courthouse and lie about what was going on inside the building,” Schiff said. “It’s bad enough that he lacks the self-respect that he feels he needs to go and kiss the ring in such a public and debasing way, but also for him to denigrate the justice system, for him to make the knowingly false claim that this trial was designed to keep Trump off the campaign trial, he knows better than that,” Schiff continued. (The Hill 5/17/24) READ MORE>>>>> DEMOCRATS MAY BLOCK MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE FROM OUSTING MIKE JOHNSON Transcript via: MSNBC/Inside with Jen Psaki: PSAKI: Even before then, I mean, there are members of the Republican Party who are threatening — Marjorie Taylor Greene, of course — threatening to oust Speaker Johnson. And the real possibility is that an alternative could be worse. I mean, this is a crazy time we’re living in. Would you support him, vote for him as speaker if that were up to you? Or would — do you think other Democrats would? SCHIFF: I think what would likely happen if they go forward with this motion to try to unseat him because he brought Ukraine funding to the floor, you would have a significant enough group of Democrats who simply walk away and don’t vote, which, frankly, would probably be the right result. I don’t think it does the speaker any good to have Democrats responsible for saving him. But Republicans would essentially be voting for the speaker. It’s just that the vote threshold would be lowered, so that the votes of the crazies, the Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Gosar, et cetera, are not preventing the House from governing in any way. (PoliticusUSA 4/29/24) READ MORE>>>>> Schiff says he hopes Intelligence Community ‘will dumb down’ briefings for Trump Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said that the Intelligence Community should “dumb down” briefings for former President Trump as the presumptive GOP nominee receives classified information once he becomes the nominee, over concerns about whether Trump could share the information. (The Hill 3/10/24) READ MORE>>>>>  Adam Schiff
U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and four other members of Congress wrote to the U.S. Department of Education Sept. 5 seeking clarification on the recent waiver granted Baylor University allowing discrimination against LGBTQ students on campus.
The renewed exemption granted Baylor “is not only unprecedented but is a blatant attempt to interfere and pressure the department to stop an ongoing sex-based harassment investigation,” the legislators charged. “That is unacceptable.” Joining Schiff in the letter were Reps. Mark Takano, D-Calif.; Joaquin Castro, D-Texas; Veronica Escobar, D-Texas; and Greg Casar, D-Texas. -Baptist News Global; Five U.S. Congressmen ask DOE to clarify Baylor’s ‘religious’ exemption 9.6.23
One Jewish Democrat wants to replace a fellow Jewish Democrat as California senator. Rep. Adam Schiff, who rose to prominence during Donald Trump’s presidency as one of the top critics of the former president, announced a Senate run on Thursday. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who is 89 and was first elected to the seat in 1992, has yet to announce she is retiring, but insiders say it is increasingly difficult for her to handle the job. Schiff, a solid pro-Israel Democrat who gets consistent backing from mainstream pro-Israel political action committees, led the first set of impeachment proceedings against Trump. As the focus of Trump’s ire, the former president bestowed on Schiff a number of insulting nicknames, some unprintable. One of them, “Shifty Schiff,” drew accusations that Trump was peddling an antisemitic trope.............Schiff is well known in his Los Angeles district for championing the cause of Armenians and their quest to have the 1915 massacres in Turkey labeled a genocide. His district has a substantial Armenian-American population, but he once explained another motive, having to do with his support for Israel. “I know what it’s like to be part of a people with affinity for a distant country,” he once told an Armenian-American newspaper.............After serving as mayor of San Francisco, Feinstein became the country’s first Jewish woman in the Senate in 1992. Once a reliable centrist pro-Israel voice, she became a critic of some of Israel’s military tactics in the 2000s. -Jeruslaem Post; Adam Schiff declares Senate bid, paving way for continued Jewish representation from California 1.27.23 |
Special counsel John Durham released his report into the Trump-Russia probe earlier this month, finding that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) should have never launched its investigation, according to CNN. Schiff criticized the report in a tweet after its release, the Washington Examiner reported.
The Facebook video claims that Schiff was served with a $16 million fine. The video’s caption reads, “Adam Schiff Just Got Served – $16 Million Fine For Russia Collusion Investigation." This claim, however, is false as Schiff has not been served with a $16 million fine. If he had been served with such a fine, media outlets would have covered it, yet none have. Schiff has not released a statement indicating that he had been hit by a $16 million fine. --Elias Atienza; Check Your Facts June 6, 2023 December 4, 2022: Politico reported: Sen. Dianne Feinstein hasn’t said if she intends to seek another term in 2024 — but the competition to succeed the oldest member of Congress is escalating. Reps. Ro Khanna and Katie Porter are fielding entreaties to jump into the race, and Rep. Adam Schiff has publicly declared he is exploring a run. Rep. Barbara Lee is spending the holidays mulling her next move. Three hopefuls have contacted former Sen. Barbara Boxer to seek her advice, marking the incipient stages of a fierce fight between California Democrats for a seat that has not been open for a generation. June 10, 2021: Politico reported: Rep. Adam Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, called for an inspector general investigation of the Trump Justice Department after a report said that his phone records, along with those of aides and another member of the committee, had been seized — what he condemned as a “terrible abuse of power.”
Sept 23, 2021: Congressman Adam Schiff confirms that the January 6 Committee is investigating Trump’s insurrection as an “attempted coup” against the United States government, a major escalation of its investigation. October 10, 2021: NPR reported: Nine months after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., says the Capitol is a "different place. I think the relationships that we had with our [GOP] colleagues before that day, which were already fraying, reached a real breaking point," Schiff, who made the case for President Donald Trump's impeachment at the first trial in 2020, told NPR's Michel Martin.
December 8, 2021: Raskin, along with Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Zoe Lofgren, both of California, and the panel’s vice chair GOP Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, comprise the subcommittee. Schiff told CNN there is a “consensus among the members” regarding referrals and that members are taking a unified approach on that front. |
Terry GROSS: It looks like the Christian nationalism movement is growing. You know, Doug Mastriano, who's the Republican candidate for governor in Pennsylvania, is a Christian nationalist. There are other candidates and people in office who are - and I'm - oh, Viktor Orban, who, you know, is anti-Semitic, was invited to speak at CPAC, the conservative conference over the summer. And an earlier CPAC conference was held in Hungary. And I'm wondering - I mean, you're Jewish. You don't have to be Jewish to think that Christian nationalism that says that we are a Christian country - you don't have to be Jewish to think that that is a very narrow interpretation of who we are as a country. We're supposed to be a diverse country. We are a diverse country. But - so I'm wondering what you think about the growing Christian nationalist movement and if that's affecting you as somebody who is targeted by extremists. I imagine you're also targeted for being Jewish.
Adam Schiff
SCHIFF: You know, there is a lot of anti-Semitic hate, particularly online, that I'm subjected to, but there's many others, as well. And yes, you know, the rise of the Viktor Orbans, the demonization of people like George Soros - you know, we've seen the kind of veneer torn off and, you know, an ugly vein of bigotry that's always been there. Robert Caro saying that power reveals - it's also revealed a lot about our country and bigotry that is right below the surface, that can be tapped and can be mined and can be used for political purposes.
And, you know, those appeals to bigotry now are quite overt. The dog whistles are no longer whistles that only dogs can hear. They can be heard by everyone. And, you know, I think of all of the images of January 6. The ones that were the most disturbing were the Confederate flags, the Auschwitz T-shirts because that said to me that the road to recovery is going to be far longer than I would have thought if this were just a kind of Trumpist insurrection, that it was also a white nationalist insurrection. And, you know, we have to have our eyes wide open about this. And it so illustrative of the importance of having people of character in the Oval Office because when you have someone who is willing to appeal to the basest instincts and people and legitimize them, this is what happens. --NPR: Rep. Adam Schiff weighs in on the raid at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home 8.16.22
And, you know, those appeals to bigotry now are quite overt. The dog whistles are no longer whistles that only dogs can hear. They can be heard by everyone. And, you know, I think of all of the images of January 6. The ones that were the most disturbing were the Confederate flags, the Auschwitz T-shirts because that said to me that the road to recovery is going to be far longer than I would have thought if this were just a kind of Trumpist insurrection, that it was also a white nationalist insurrection. And, you know, we have to have our eyes wide open about this. And it so illustrative of the importance of having people of character in the Oval Office because when you have someone who is willing to appeal to the basest instincts and people and legitimize them, this is what happens. --NPR: Rep. Adam Schiff weighs in on the raid at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home 8.16.22
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6.12.20:
As we work towards coronavirus recovery, communities across America are beginning to envision what it could look like to not just return to the way things were, but to build back better. On Tuesday, June 9, at 5:00 p.m., Congressman Adam B. Schiff (California’s 28th District) held a multi-faith community conversation on justice, equity, and coronavirus recovery, moderated by Rev. Dr. Najuma Smith-Pollard (Cecil Murray Center at USC), featuring Rev. Mike Kinman (All Saints Church Pasadena), Rabbi Sharon Brous (IKAR Los Angeles), and Salam Al-Marayati (Muslim Public Affairs Council). |
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9.24.15 Op/Ed by Rep. Adam Schiff: Pope Francis Deserves the Nobel Peace Prize:
In America these days, we tend to view everything through the prism of transient popularity or politics–who’s up, who’s down, who’s supporting the Democrats or the Republicans. But in Pope Francis, we find someone who transcends the trends or usual divides, and who has used his pulpit to encourage action on the issues that truly matter, informed by nothing but his faith and communion with God.
I am not a Catholic, so it might seem odd for me to be calling for the Pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. But that is what is so truly extraordinary about this pontiff. Pope Francis truly talks to the entire world community—not just his flock—exhorting all of us to treat each other as brothers and sisters, rather than separate and distinct communities with interests that don’t transcend our differences.
That’s why I am encouraging other members of Congress to join me in a letter nominating the pope as the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. His speech today before Congress only cemented my conviction that he deserves it, even if he would eschew the attention and accolade for himself, rather than a focus on God’s teachings.
Pope Francis Visits America By the Numbers
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First, Pope Francis has been a powerful advocate for peace, urging an end to conflict and support for constitutive ties among nations. He has called on the world to use diplomacy and discussion to solve disputes, rather than military force, coercion or intimidation. This commitment to nonviolence, which the pope has put into practice every day through his words and actions, is at the very core of the principles behind the Nobel Peace Prize.
Second, Pope Francis has worked to galvanize the international community to take on global problems, such as the changing climate and environmental degradation. Pope Francis has brought together at the Vatican policymakers from around the world to build support and consensus around the need for a global response to the challenges facing our planet. Through his stature as a spiritual figure, Pope Francis casts the issue of an unhealthy Earth in religious terms, emphasizing our joint duty to care for the world and to pass on an unspoiled environment to future generations.
Third, Pope Francis has distinguished himself through his courageous stand for human rights and his condemnations of all genocide, both past and present. Most recently, in calling the world’s attention to the persecution of Christians and other minorities in Syria and Iraq, the pope has spoken out against the darkest chapters of human history made possible “by general and collective indifference.”
And finally, as the world struggles to cope with a flood of refugees not seen since the end of World War II, the pope has emerged as perhaps the leading advocate for relief. He made this call yesterday at the White House, and repeated it again today in his address to Congress. The pontiff has urged the international community to respond collectively to this unsurpassed humanitarian disaster, even as he has acted personally to invite a Syrian refugee family to reside in his residence at the Vatican. As he said during his address, “our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the Second World War. This presents us with great challenges and many hard decisions.” It is our responsibility to meet those challenges.
When Martin Luther King Jr. accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, he spoke of hope for a more perfect world: “I believe that even amid today’s mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow.”
In Pope Francis, we find not only a kindred spirit, but a similarly passionate and convincing voice for our time and for an end to our conflicts. I hope other members of Congress will join our call, and that the Nobel Committee will look favorably on this most humble of servants.
In America these days, we tend to view everything through the prism of transient popularity or politics–who’s up, who’s down, who’s supporting the Democrats or the Republicans. But in Pope Francis, we find someone who transcends the trends or usual divides, and who has used his pulpit to encourage action on the issues that truly matter, informed by nothing but his faith and communion with God.
I am not a Catholic, so it might seem odd for me to be calling for the Pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. But that is what is so truly extraordinary about this pontiff. Pope Francis truly talks to the entire world community—not just his flock—exhorting all of us to treat each other as brothers and sisters, rather than separate and distinct communities with interests that don’t transcend our differences.
That’s why I am encouraging other members of Congress to join me in a letter nominating the pope as the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. His speech today before Congress only cemented my conviction that he deserves it, even if he would eschew the attention and accolade for himself, rather than a focus on God’s teachings.
Pope Francis Visits America By the Numbers
0 seconds of 53 secondsVolume 0%
First, Pope Francis has been a powerful advocate for peace, urging an end to conflict and support for constitutive ties among nations. He has called on the world to use diplomacy and discussion to solve disputes, rather than military force, coercion or intimidation. This commitment to nonviolence, which the pope has put into practice every day through his words and actions, is at the very core of the principles behind the Nobel Peace Prize.
Second, Pope Francis has worked to galvanize the international community to take on global problems, such as the changing climate and environmental degradation. Pope Francis has brought together at the Vatican policymakers from around the world to build support and consensus around the need for a global response to the challenges facing our planet. Through his stature as a spiritual figure, Pope Francis casts the issue of an unhealthy Earth in religious terms, emphasizing our joint duty to care for the world and to pass on an unspoiled environment to future generations.
Third, Pope Francis has distinguished himself through his courageous stand for human rights and his condemnations of all genocide, both past and present. Most recently, in calling the world’s attention to the persecution of Christians and other minorities in Syria and Iraq, the pope has spoken out against the darkest chapters of human history made possible “by general and collective indifference.”
And finally, as the world struggles to cope with a flood of refugees not seen since the end of World War II, the pope has emerged as perhaps the leading advocate for relief. He made this call yesterday at the White House, and repeated it again today in his address to Congress. The pontiff has urged the international community to respond collectively to this unsurpassed humanitarian disaster, even as he has acted personally to invite a Syrian refugee family to reside in his residence at the Vatican. As he said during his address, “our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the Second World War. This presents us with great challenges and many hard decisions.” It is our responsibility to meet those challenges.
When Martin Luther King Jr. accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, he spoke of hope for a more perfect world: “I believe that even amid today’s mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow.”
In Pope Francis, we find not only a kindred spirit, but a similarly passionate and convincing voice for our time and for an end to our conflicts. I hope other members of Congress will join our call, and that the Nobel Committee will look favorably on this most humble of servants.
10.10.13: Asbarez op-Ed response to an op/ed written by Adam Schiff:
Congressman Schiff,
With utmost pain and bewilderment, I read your article about “The Plight of Syria’s Christians” on the December 4 issue of Asbarez Post.
Finally and after nearly three years of uninterrupted and vicious covert action for a regime change in Syria, enthusiastically supported by you and your misguided colleagues on Capitol Hill, you come to plainly and accurately describe the open graveyard that my birthplace, Syria, has turned into.
Accounts of witnesses and conditions on the ground testify to the fact that
death, destruction, displacement and despair in recent wars past, fade away compared to what the perpetrators of this calamity succeeded in achieving in Syria.
And you Congressman, supported those who were intent on destroying Syria.
You supported the sanctions imposed on Syria in which the Syrian Christians were equally victimized.
You supported the funding, arming and invasion of Syria by gangs of extremist fanatics whose imported symbols of freedom and democracy were depicted in kidnapping bishops and nuns, slashing throats of Christian priests and the desecration of Christian & other houses of worship.
Through your silence and lack of condemnation you supported the repeated violations of Syrian sovereignty by Israel and its destructive air raids on targets where Syria’s Christians, proudly serving the Syrian army were naturally among the targets.
And at the threshold of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, do I remember a condemnation of Turkey’s role in opening the gates of HELL on “good neighbor and friendly” Syria, allowing the funding, training, arming and access of the world’s jihadists through it’s long joint border? Did I hear you condemn Turkey’s role in the destruction of the Genocide survivors’ safe haven, the heroic city of Aleppo, and the attack on the Armenian Genocide monument in Der El Zor?
You were one of the first to hail the Obama Administration’s ‘bright” decision to compound the pain and suffering of the Syrians, including Syria’s Christians, by remotely bombing Syria for an ugly crime ( a last desperate effort of the foreign criminal gangs in Syria trying in vain, to secure a foreign intervention? ) . And you only changed your mind, Mr. Schiff, after witnessing the tsunami of opposition from the American people against any kind of attack on Syria.
And when did this love of Syria’s Christians wake up in you, Mr. Schiff? And what’s so special about Syria’s Christians?
Your enthusiastic support of George Bush’s war on and occupation of Iraq resulted in the demise of hundreds, the displacement of thousands and the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Christians from their ancestral lands.
Your blank-check support of Israel’s discriminative policies, perpetual occupation, land seizure, settlement expansion, violence against the indigenous population in occupied Palestine have long ended the “continued vitality” of the two thousand year old Christian communities, including the exodus of tens of thousands of Armenians, who once called Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Palestine, the cradle of Christianity, their home.
Shall I continue with Egypt, Sudan or Lebanon?
Enough said about your care and compassion for Christians in the Middle East.
Congressman, spare us the insult of shedding crocodile tears over the Christian communities in Syria and the Middle East.
For a century indeed and the last 40 years in particular, The Christian communities in Syria lived in peace, security, prosperity and an atmosphere of cultural & religious freedom, until the allies you supported, introduced “freedom” and “democracy” to the region.
Congressman, when it comes to Syria, silence, and a hands-off policy, will be the best demonstration of respect towards the Plight of Syria’s Christians.
Respectfully,
Zaven Khanjian
Congressman Schiff,
With utmost pain and bewilderment, I read your article about “The Plight of Syria’s Christians” on the December 4 issue of Asbarez Post.
Finally and after nearly three years of uninterrupted and vicious covert action for a regime change in Syria, enthusiastically supported by you and your misguided colleagues on Capitol Hill, you come to plainly and accurately describe the open graveyard that my birthplace, Syria, has turned into.
Accounts of witnesses and conditions on the ground testify to the fact that
death, destruction, displacement and despair in recent wars past, fade away compared to what the perpetrators of this calamity succeeded in achieving in Syria.
And you Congressman, supported those who were intent on destroying Syria.
You supported the sanctions imposed on Syria in which the Syrian Christians were equally victimized.
You supported the funding, arming and invasion of Syria by gangs of extremist fanatics whose imported symbols of freedom and democracy were depicted in kidnapping bishops and nuns, slashing throats of Christian priests and the desecration of Christian & other houses of worship.
Through your silence and lack of condemnation you supported the repeated violations of Syrian sovereignty by Israel and its destructive air raids on targets where Syria’s Christians, proudly serving the Syrian army were naturally among the targets.
And at the threshold of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, do I remember a condemnation of Turkey’s role in opening the gates of HELL on “good neighbor and friendly” Syria, allowing the funding, training, arming and access of the world’s jihadists through it’s long joint border? Did I hear you condemn Turkey’s role in the destruction of the Genocide survivors’ safe haven, the heroic city of Aleppo, and the attack on the Armenian Genocide monument in Der El Zor?
You were one of the first to hail the Obama Administration’s ‘bright” decision to compound the pain and suffering of the Syrians, including Syria’s Christians, by remotely bombing Syria for an ugly crime ( a last desperate effort of the foreign criminal gangs in Syria trying in vain, to secure a foreign intervention? ) . And you only changed your mind, Mr. Schiff, after witnessing the tsunami of opposition from the American people against any kind of attack on Syria.
And when did this love of Syria’s Christians wake up in you, Mr. Schiff? And what’s so special about Syria’s Christians?
Your enthusiastic support of George Bush’s war on and occupation of Iraq resulted in the demise of hundreds, the displacement of thousands and the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Christians from their ancestral lands.
Your blank-check support of Israel’s discriminative policies, perpetual occupation, land seizure, settlement expansion, violence against the indigenous population in occupied Palestine have long ended the “continued vitality” of the two thousand year old Christian communities, including the exodus of tens of thousands of Armenians, who once called Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Palestine, the cradle of Christianity, their home.
Shall I continue with Egypt, Sudan or Lebanon?
Enough said about your care and compassion for Christians in the Middle East.
Congressman, spare us the insult of shedding crocodile tears over the Christian communities in Syria and the Middle East.
For a century indeed and the last 40 years in particular, The Christian communities in Syria lived in peace, security, prosperity and an atmosphere of cultural & religious freedom, until the allies you supported, introduced “freedom” and “democracy” to the region.
Congressman, when it comes to Syria, silence, and a hands-off policy, will be the best demonstration of respect towards the Plight of Syria’s Christians.
Respectfully,
Zaven Khanjian
A conservative Christian coalition has sent a mailer to the 27th Congressional District’s politically potent Armenian American community, calling Rep. James E. Rogan’s main opponent, state Sen. Adam Schiff, “a champion of the homosexual agenda.”
In response, a Washington-based coalition of religious groups Friday denounced the tone and content of the mailing, sent by the Orange County-based Traditional Values Coalition to 15,000 to 20,000 district voters with Armenian surnames. Schiff also sharply criticized the mailer, a one-page letter headed “Warning: Do You Really Know Adam Schiff?”
Rogan campaign manager Jason Roe said Friday that the letter was “nothing we would have put out” but declined to denounce it and instead attacked the Interfaith Alliance as a “sham organization” that he said is biased toward Schiff.The mailer also cites campaign contributions to Schiff from the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights organization, and from Hollywood producer David Geffen, who is gay.
Then, in boldface, capital letters, it says, “Does Adam Schiff represent your Christian values?”
The Rev. Lou Sheldon, head of the Traditional Values Coalition, said his group was only exercising its right to communicate with voters. He said that Armenian Americans hew to family and Christian values and that he wanted them to know that Schiff “just isn’t with them, and they need to know where he stands.” He said the reference to “Christian values” referred to Armenians and “has nothing to do” with Schiff’s being Jewish.
Sheldon’s mailer also cited two anti-hate bills that Schiff supported and that the Traditional Values Coalition says require California public schools “to teach children that homosexuality is a normal and positive lifestyle” and promote “homosexuality at taxpayer expense.”...........The Interfaith Alliance called on Rogan’s and Schiff’s campaigns to denounce the mailer’s “tactics of fear and dehumanization to play upon the prejudices that exist toward gay and lesbian Americans.”
Rogan campaign manager Roe indicated Friday that the congressman regretted having signed the Interfaith Alliance’s “civility pledge” earlier in the campaign.
Sheldon called the alliance a group of renegades funded in part by Democrats. The group was founded, its leaders say, to reflect a wider view of the religious community than that offered by high-profile conservative Christian groups.
Schiff said he believes that “hatred is not one of America’s traditional values” and denounced the mailer as “an outrageous insult to the Armenian community” and “part of a pattern of divisive and bitterly negative campaigning by Mr. Rogan and his supporters.”
“Although I do not support same-sex marriage,” Schiff said in a statement released through his campaign office, “I do support strong anti-discrimination laws and resent the deliberate and gross distortions of my positions in this mailing.” -Jean Merril; Los Angeles Times; Religious Group’s Anti-Schiff Mailer Ignites Controversy 10.21.2000
In response, a Washington-based coalition of religious groups Friday denounced the tone and content of the mailing, sent by the Orange County-based Traditional Values Coalition to 15,000 to 20,000 district voters with Armenian surnames. Schiff also sharply criticized the mailer, a one-page letter headed “Warning: Do You Really Know Adam Schiff?”
Rogan campaign manager Jason Roe said Friday that the letter was “nothing we would have put out” but declined to denounce it and instead attacked the Interfaith Alliance as a “sham organization” that he said is biased toward Schiff.The mailer also cites campaign contributions to Schiff from the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights organization, and from Hollywood producer David Geffen, who is gay.
Then, in boldface, capital letters, it says, “Does Adam Schiff represent your Christian values?”
The Rev. Lou Sheldon, head of the Traditional Values Coalition, said his group was only exercising its right to communicate with voters. He said that Armenian Americans hew to family and Christian values and that he wanted them to know that Schiff “just isn’t with them, and they need to know where he stands.” He said the reference to “Christian values” referred to Armenians and “has nothing to do” with Schiff’s being Jewish.
Sheldon’s mailer also cited two anti-hate bills that Schiff supported and that the Traditional Values Coalition says require California public schools “to teach children that homosexuality is a normal and positive lifestyle” and promote “homosexuality at taxpayer expense.”...........The Interfaith Alliance called on Rogan’s and Schiff’s campaigns to denounce the mailer’s “tactics of fear and dehumanization to play upon the prejudices that exist toward gay and lesbian Americans.”
Rogan campaign manager Roe indicated Friday that the congressman regretted having signed the Interfaith Alliance’s “civility pledge” earlier in the campaign.
Sheldon called the alliance a group of renegades funded in part by Democrats. The group was founded, its leaders say, to reflect a wider view of the religious community than that offered by high-profile conservative Christian groups.
Schiff said he believes that “hatred is not one of America’s traditional values” and denounced the mailer as “an outrageous insult to the Armenian community” and “part of a pattern of divisive and bitterly negative campaigning by Mr. Rogan and his supporters.”
“Although I do not support same-sex marriage,” Schiff said in a statement released through his campaign office, “I do support strong anti-discrimination laws and resent the deliberate and gross distortions of my positions in this mailing.” -Jean Merril; Los Angeles Times; Religious Group’s Anti-Schiff Mailer Ignites Controversy 10.21.2000
