Newt Gingrich
Gingrich Communications
1425 K Street, NW
Suite 350
Washington, DC 20005

Mr. Gingrich

For years you have run a successful reading program in your home district encouraging young people to read, learn and grow. You commitment to educating people and exploring ideas is commendable. As an elected official I applaud this type of leadership.

So it was stunning to see you engage in uneducated, pandering rhetoric and stirring the pot of “Islamaphobia.” Let’s be clear – “Islamaphobia” is a misnomer for the ugly reality of bigotry.

Upon becoming Speaker of the House you proudly shared the GOP “Contract with America.” It seems lately you have forgotten the “real” contract with America you took an oath to defend: the Constitution.

Shame on you Mr. Gingrich, for suggesting constitutional freedoms should be based on the behaviors of foreign governments. As an American, the notion our constitutional freedoms should be subject to the whims of Saudi “reciprocation” is lunacy. Defending our constitution often means defending those we disagree with.

I serve on the board of SamTrans, the bus service in my county. Recently a well-known anti-Muslim group bought ads to run on the sides of our buses. More than 100 clergy leaders of various faiths sent letters condemning the ads and asked for a meeting with their interfaith council.

I was clear in my agreement with the clergy – the ads were hateful, based on mis-information, hurt members of the larger community and were on a personal level, repulsive.

But I reminded the assembly of my oath to protect the Constitution. As much as I wanted to “do something” to get rid of the ads – the protection of the Constitution and 1st amendment was imperative. Hard as it was, I defended the right of the anti-Muslim group to advertise their agenda of hate.

Shame on you Mr. Gingrich for equating Muslims with Nazis when exercising their constitutional right to worship in a privately purchased building.

We can never forget those who perished at the hands of criminal mad men on 9/11, but many choose to overlook a simple fact: if you are Muslim in Afghanistan or Pakistan, the body count is growing daily at the hands of the same criminals.

Does the name Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan sound familiar? This American Muslim soldier, awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, is buried in the hallowed earth of Arlington Cemetery after being killed serving his country in Iraq. He is not alone. Many Muslims are buried in Arlington after giving the US their last full measure of devotion. Perhaps you can explain to their grieving families why you would lump them with Nazis, and scorn their constitutional right to worship. Instead of protecting the rights of these and other American Muslims you have chosen to demonize them.

Shame on you Mr. Gingrich for actually believing your vitriol is limited to a single project in New York.

Americans from Wisconsin to Florida, from New York to California and points in between are having their constitutional rights attacked. Most of these attacks come from small-minded bigots with supremacy agendas. Having a national figure like you leading the way turns debate into hate speech and violence. Do you recall the bombing by an alleged supremacist of a mosque in Jacksonville, Florida? Had the bomb been planted in a slightly different position, 60 worshippers would have perished in the blast.

Principled leadership is desperately needed to deal with uncertain futures in an uncertain time. You chose to take a path favored by only the lowest of politicians. The classic political strategy of telling the public “whom to fear” and “where to assign blame” is vile pandering to the basest fears and insecurities. It is sad to see a leader adding to division and hatred because it may simply further their political campaign.

Candidly Mr. Gingrich, between you and the radical terrorists we both despise, I don’t know who is doing more harm to America today.

Shame on you Mr. Gingrich.

I rarely post articles  – but this one about the Pakistan floods and subsequent relief efforts hit home very hard.  My parent’s hometowns have been largely spared from the devastation.  Sadly, a number of my friends have seen ancestral homes/towns gone.  Many are spending hours on Googles pages looking for family members who have not been in contact.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he has never seen anything like the flood disaster in Pakistan, and urged foreign donors to speed up assistance to the 20 million people affected.  The situation is dire and compassion is in short supply for those hurt the most.

One issue which needs to be acknowledged is the reluctance to give money to/for Pakistan.  The reasons are many.  This article appearing in Foreign Policy clearly states the challenges and the issues.  I encourage you to read the article in full – but the summary is a poignant  plea to the better angels of our nature.

Pakistan has suffered from desperately poor moral leadership, but punishing the helpless and homeless millions of the 2010 floods is the worst possible way to express our rejection of the Pakistani elite and their duplicity and corruption. The poor, hungry, and homeless are not an ISI conspiracy to bilk you of your cash. They are a test of your humanity. Do not follow in the footsteps of the Pakistani elite by failing them. That would be immoral and inhumane. This is a time to ask only one question. And that question is: “How can I help?”

Full Article on Foreign Policy can be read HERE

For those looking for the Google Crisis Response Page:

http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/pakistan_floods.html

On Thursday August 5 I spoke before the California High Speed Rail Alliance board to express 3 points:

1. The phased implementation approach for construction of the system is critical
2. Electrification of Caltrain is vital for the fiscal viability of preserving the route and right-of-way
3. A short story of San Carlos and our grade separations.

San Carlos had a contentious campaign when grade separations were implemented.  Predictions from opponents were dire regarding our city character and the effect of  doing the separations.  Folks in favor looked to improve the miserable traffic flow and help economic development.  Almost a decade after the construction – what can we conclude?

• Accidents of cars/people on the tracks have dropped to zero
• Traffic issues are much better
• Economic development (Home Depot and Lucky) were done as a result of better access
• The “worst cases” did not come to pass.

To this day there are detractors of the berms, and they correctly point out “things we should have done.”  In hind-sight, improving the sidewalk conditions of Old County Road, under-grounding of utilities and better pedestrian access are all points of design and implementation which would have made this project go from “good” to “stellar.”  These are things the council is making progress on improving and I wish we could move faster in making those improvements.

In the discussions regarding High Speed Rail (HSR) there are opinions – and then there are facts.  One simple fact – a grade separation is not a death sentence.  In the San Carlos case it has meant greater safety, better traffic flows and economic development.  This can also be the case for the jurisdictions fighting hardest  and issueing ultimatums of implementation scenarios.

A final thought I offered was the notion of FUD: Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.  When there is a vacuum of information, FUD will fill the void.  Some of the FUD we are hearing is politically motivated, some is because good information is not being put forward for the general public.  Political FUD is just part of the process and has to be addressed.  FUD resulting from an information vacuum is simply bad management.  Being more direct: the current PR firm in place has niether servered the public, nor the High-Speed Rail Alliance and should be replaced.

A group of terrific city leaders from San Mateo and Santa Clara counties hope a musical message will help remind you of the serious issues Prop 22 addresses.  The state has long had a specific mantra of how it would balance its budget – if they can steal the money, they will.  For years the state has stolen billions from cities and transit agencies.  The continual raids on local money have meant depletion of public safety, infrastructure crumbling and core services being elimniated.  For too long the state has operated under the assumption of “if it isn’t nailed down, we’ll take it.  If we can pry it up, it wasn’t nailed down.”

You’ll hear flowery rhetoric from the opposition, but you need to be clear who they are.  The opposition is primarily those who benefit from a spinless legislature who have shown year after year they cannot balance a budget.  Cities, on the other hand, have to balance a budget every year.  I had an exchange with one opponent recently and asked if they would change their “No on 22″ button to “It’s OK to Steal.”  They declined – but had no response to the fact the monies in question are for cities and transit agencies to do their important work.

You’ll hear more from me on this issue between now and the election.  I hope you will support this critical initiative and vote yes on 22.

Summer usually means a lighter schedule. The August meetings for SamTrans and Caltrain have been cancelled. Next meetings will occur in September