The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20150707061155/http://www.salon.com:80/2015/02/19/conservative_civil_war_islamophobic_activist_seeks_to_oust_grover_norquist_from_nra_board/

Conservative civil war: Islamophobic activist seeks to oust Grover Norquist from NRA board

Anti-tax activist Norquist condemns "conspiracy theories" linking him to Islamist activism

Topics: Grover Norquist, Frank Gaffney, national rifle association, NRA, Conservatives, Americans for Tax Reform, Muslim Brotherhood, Palestine, islamism, Breitbart News, ,

Conservative civil war: Islamophobic activist seeks to oust Grover Norquist from NRA boardGrover Norquist (Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

Facing re-election to the National Rifle Association’s board of directors, anti-tax activist Grover Norquist is mounting a vigorous fightback against conspiracy theories linking him to the Muslim Brotherhood, writing in a letter to fellow board members that he’s the victim of a smear campaign by anti-Islam activist Frank Gaffney, with whom he has been embroiled in a long-running feud.

In the letter, obtainedby the conservative website Breitbart News, Norquist calls the Center for Security Policy president and Reagan-era Defense Department official a “stalker” who “spins conspiracy theories” that Norquist is gay, a Muslim, and responsible for the Bush administration’s foreign policy blunders. “For the record, No. No. and No,” Norquist responded. “One of his staffers told me I was part of the Russian Jewish Mafia. (Also no, but I think that would pay better.)”

Referring to a recent report by conservative journalist Lee Stranahan, who criticized Norquist family members’ pro-Palestinian activism and highlighted questionable financiers of Norquist’s Islamic Free Market Institute, the Americans for Tax Reform founder wrote that Gaffney allies’ campaign against him had “risen to a new level.” Norquist noted that the American Conservative Union’s board has unanimously condemned Gaffney’s charges of his Islamist ties as “reprehensible” and “unfounded.”

“There have over the years been death threats from hopefully harmless idiots who follow Gaffney,” Norquist wrote in his letter. “The authorities have followed up on ones that pass their threshold of specificity. My goal is to respond to any real concern any real person has without exciting the crazies. They feed on attention as it makes them think they are not nuts.”

You Might Also Like

In his own letter to NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, Gaffney responded to Norquist’s letter by accusing Norquist of misleading the board.

“As you know, they [NRA board members] received recently a letter from one of their colleagues, Grover Norquist, in which he makes a number of false representations that require correction,” Gaffney wrote. “That is especially the case as Mr. Norquist is currently standing for reelection to the Board and the information he seems determined to conceal should be known by — and of concern to — every member of the NRA.”

“Specifically, Mr. Norquist attempts to mislead you and other NRA Directors about the nature of his record and conduct about which I have been warning for many years,” Gaffney continued. “The issue is not, as he claims, that he ‘ran the Bush White House and presidency.’ Rather, the problem is that he helped Muslim Brotherhood operatives gain access to and influence over the George W. Bush campaign and administration to the detriment of the President’s conduct of the ‘War on Terrorism’ and the national security.”

The back-and-forth between the two men comes three years after Gaffney attempted to have Norquist expelled from the Conservative Political Action Conference for his alleged Islamist ties, a call that met with widespread derision within conservative ranks. Gaffney also launched an online petition to ban Norquist from last year’s event.

Luke Brinker is Salon's politics editor. Follow him on Twitter at @LukeBrinker.

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • 1 of 8
  • Close
  • Fullscreen
  • Thumbnails
    Sonic

    7 ways Americans have defiled the hot dog

    Sonic's Bacon Double Cheddar Croissant Dog

    Sonic calls this a "gourmet twist" on a classic. I am not so, so fancy, but I know that sprinkling bacon and cheddar cheese onto a tube of pork is not gourmet, even if you have made a bun out of something that is theoretically French.

    Krispy Kreme

    7 ways Americans have defiled the hot dog

    Krispy Kreme's Doughnut Dog

    This stupid thing is a hotdog in a glazed doughnut bun, topped with bacon and raspberry jelly. It is only available at Delaware's Frawley Stadium, thank god.

    KFC

    7 ways Americans have defiled the hot dog

    KFC's Double Down Dog

    This creation is notable for its fried chicken bun and ability to hastily kill your dreams.

    Pizza Hut

    7 ways Americans have defiled the hot dog

    Pizza Hut's Hot Dog Bites Pizza

    Pizza Hut basically just glued pigs-in-blankets to the crust of its normal pizza. This actually sounds good, and I blame America for brainwashing me into feeling that.

    Carl's Jr.

    7 ways Americans have defiled the hot dog

    Carl's Jr. Most American Thick Burger

    This is a burger stuffed with potato chips and hot dogs. Choose a meat, America! How hard is it to just choose a meat?!

    Tokyo Dog

    7 ways Americans have defiled the hot dog

    Tokyo Dog's Juuni Ban

    A food truck in Seattle called Tokyo Dog created this thing, which is notable for its distinction as the Guinness Book of World Records' most expensive hot dog at $169. It is a smoked cheese bratwurst, covered in butter Teriyaki grilled onions, Maitake mushrooms, Wagyu beef, foie gras, black truffles, caviar and Japanese mayo in a brioche bun. Just calm down, Tokyo Dog. Calm down.

    Interscope

    7 ways Americans have defiled the hot dog

    Limp Bizkit's "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water"

    This album art should be illegal.

  • Recent Slide Shows

Comments

Loading Comments...