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Monday, October 25, 2010

A Question for Beth Krom, Candidate for Congress

With all due apologies to my readers in other parts of the country, in other countries and all ships at sea, I would like to be a little provincial here. We have an election coming up November 2, and in Irvine and surrounding areas, Beth Krom, former mayor of Irvine is running for John Campbell's congressional seat. As a constituent, I have a question which I would like to pose to Ms. Krom.

As you know, Ms Krom, UC-Irvine has for the past several years, experienced strife on our campus over many of the speakers brought to speak by the Muslim Student Union. Complaints have been lodged that some of these speakers crossed the line into anti-Semitic hate speech. Also, as you know, members of the MSU disrupted the speech of the Israeli ambassador to the US on February 8, 2010- on the UCI campus. After this incident, John Campbell (after considerable prodding) wrote a letter of complaint to UCI Chancellor Michael Drake about the activities of the UCI-MSU.

I would like to know what specifically, if anything, you have said on the record about this continuing controversy at UCI. More specifically, have you ever issued a written public statement, made a public statement or written any letters to the UCI Chancellor or the University of California president expressing your views on this issue. If not, I would like to give you the opportunity to make such a statement publicly describing your views.

Please note that I am not referring to any private contacts and discussions you may have had with UCI officials or UC officials.  I want to know specifically what your public position is on this issue.

Update: I just e-mailed this question to her website (10-26-10). I'll let you know if I get a response.

8 comments:

Siarlys Jenkins said...

If I were her, I would quote a local expert named Gary Fouse to the effect that what we elect legislators for is to legislate. If there is some federal legislation needed to fix this situation, then perhaps she should state what it might be, although I don't think there is. If not, then she should state that she will be quite busy with the duties that the people of her district are entrusting to her to carry out in the federal legislative branch of government, and will leave to local authorities what is essentially a local police matter.

Before answering this question, she should of course consider, does the Constitution of the United States of America confer upon congress (that would be in Article I) any authority to do anything about this subject?

http://aleksandreia.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/the-foundation-and-limits-of-federal-power/

Gary Fouse said...

Don't congressmen and women go to Wash to represent their constituents? Are they totally divorced from their districts?

Squid said...

Gary,

I would also like to hear Beth Krom's explaination regarding why the MSU is allowed to continue to exist on the UCI Campus, when the were removed from campus activities or sponsorship for the current semester. It appears that the MSU is "Co-Sponsoring" an event at Crystal Cove, UCI, with two other groups. The title of the presentation is "Israel Apartheid: A Beginners Guide", and can be attended on Thursday. This annoucement can be found at the MSU web site. Is this the way the UCI Administration conducts business, without oversite? What would Krom do in this situation?

Squid

Siarlys Jenkins said...

What do you mean by "represent" Gary? It seems you are changing the terms whenever it suits your convenience. Generally, she would be responsible to "represent" her constituents by voting yea or nay on legislation, and asking pointed questions to elicit informative answers on pending legislative proposals.

Also, it never hurts to "represent" constituents in finding their way through the federal bureaucracy when they have a legitimate purpose, as long as the representative isn't playing favorites.

But since when are congress representatives responsible to intervene in the governance of a local state university? Write to your state legislator!

Gary Fouse said...

Well, Siarlys, if it is a waste of time to ask our representatives about these local issues, I guess it's aa waste of time to send them to Washington.

Siarlys Jenkins said...

No Gary, there are FEDERAL issues to deal with in Washington, and since California is a part of the United States, subject to the jurisdiction of federal law (to the extent permitted by the federal constitution), people in California are entitled to a voice in FEDERAL decisions.

Like I said, if there is some FEDERAL intervention or legislation you advocate, that is a legitimate question for the congress rep, or a candidate for that office.

There are OTHER positions responsible for LOCAL decisions, such as, state legislators, the officials directly responsible for the university system, Orange County law enforcement. As a matter of federalism, these operate under state sovereignty, and federal intrusion should be limited, no?

Gary Fouse said...

Again, if you are correct, Krom should have thrown my letter in the trash. She didn't.

Siarlys Jenkins said...

Now you're talking.