By Christine Todd Whitman
NJ.com
July 20, 2012
I am appalled by Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s questioning the loyalty of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She and the other representatives who joined in the allegations that Abedin has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood should be ashamed. Is this the way we now treat faithful government officials who happen to have immigrant parents? I applaud Sen. John McCain for standing up against members of our party and these egregious claims. Secretary Clinton and I disagree on many policy views, but knowing the many challenges of her job and her aide’s jobs, I have tremendous respect for their hard work on behalf of our country.
While we always have to be alert to the tactics of countries who are our enemies, the sort of unfounded attack unleashed by Congresswoman Bachmann and her colleagues brings back painful memories of a low point in our history. Attacking people’s reputations in this way without irrefutable proof is dangerous and just plain wrong.
Unfortunately, McCarthyism is a good description for this behavior and to go there for political gain at the expense of integrity is bad for our system of government and our credibility as a nation of laws.