An interesting article appeared recently in the liberal-lefty news website, Alternet, on the dirty tricks of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, designed by her to undermine her main rival, Barack Obama on racial and gender grounds during the Nevada primary. In it, Steven Rosenfeld wrote about how the Nevada State Education Association — which backs Clinton — brought about a lawsuit against the Culinary Workers Local 226 — which backed Obama — to keep them from caucusing in downtown casinos.

The CWL is made up largely of people of color and this move was seen as a way of disenfranchising them in order for Clinton to become the Democratic nominee for president. Since she couldn’t woo them with ideas, she’ll use cutthroat tactics and keep them powerless so she can get her dream job.

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) looks at fellow Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), during presidential debate in Hollywood, California January 31, 2008. Reuters

This isn’t a biased attack on Clinton, or an endorsement of Obama. Electoral politics is a dirty business. It’s a part of our system of winning at any cost, where the end justifies the means. This inherent feature corrupts all who become part of it, and no matter who wins, the loser is always integrity.

A prominent feature of American politics that Rosenfeld neglected, however, is the widespread use of a dirty trick that carries enormous  political capital for the perpetrators and liability for its victims. That is Islamophobia.

It’s a potent weapon in an age where wars are waged against an alleged Islamic existential threat, backed up by a culture of open and mainstream Muslim bashing — no candidate wants to tarnish their campaign through guilt by association. It’s also a weapon exploited by many candidates, including Clinton.

First, there was the rumor that Obama was educated at a Saudi-financed madrassa in Indonesia, which was linked to the Clinton campaign. Then there was the remark by former Senator — and Clinton supporter — Bob Kerrey, referring to Obama as “Barack Hussein Obama” in a thinly veiled effort to portray him as un-Christian and un-American. Obama struck back — denying his Islamic background and professing his “deeply held” Christian faith.

In the Washington caste system, Islam is an untouchable.

Islamophobia is more than a race card during elections, however: there’s evidence that people in power have deeply held anti-Islamic beliefs, and are willing to use their  power to promote them.

On Jan. 17, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) held a hearing in Washington, called “Testimony On Islamic Finance/Sharia,” and invited the founder of Society of Americans for National Existence, or SANE, David Yerushalmi, to speak.

SANE (a more fitting name would be INSANE) is probably one of the most vocally racist political groups outside of the Klan/Nazi scene; in fact, if Yerushalmi wasn’t Jewish with Israeli citizenship, the organization would be classified as such.

SANE’s racism is directed not only against Muslims (“Will many of them be killed in the war? Of course, and it is intended to be so,” according to the SANE war manifesto’s War On Islam) but others as well.

“There is a reason why the founding fathers denied blacks the right to vote,” wrote an approving Yerushalmi on SANE’s website.

But what happens if you stop hating Muslims? That same day, former Congressman and Michigan native Mark Siljander was indicted on charges of supporting terrorism because of lobbying work he performed on behalf of an Islamic charity, Islamic American Relief Agency.

IARA was indicted four years ago for funneling money to Taliban commander, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Ironically, Siljander’s company, Global Strategies, Inc., was hired by the agency to help get them off the terrorist list.

Siljander was, at one time, a fiery Christian fundamentalist who once complained in a letter about the mention of Ramadan during a Congressional service.

Since then, he has turned around and used his energies to find common ground between Muslims and Christians, culminating with the publication this summer of his book, “A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman’s Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide.” Siljander’s indictment could very likely discredit his efforts to build Muslim-Christian ties and help overcome the many common misperceptions and stereotypes that fuel Islamophobia.

Broun, on the other hand, is doing the exact opposite and has remained unpunished for it, so far. As a fundamentalist Christian, Islamophobia is a vital component of his theocratic agenda, one that’s shared by the tens of millions of Americans who identify themselves as Evangelical Christians. He, among others, believes in what he’s doing.

This can be seen in his refusal, along with 40 Republican Congressmen and one Democrat, to endorse H. Res. 635 that shows governmental recognition and respect for Ramadan. Broun was one of 60 co-sponsors of a resolution honoring Christmas two months later.

None other than Michigan Rep. Tim Walberg summed up the logic of rejection:

“To offer respect for a major religion is one thing, but to offer respect for a major religion that has been behind the Islamic jihad, the radical jihad, that has sworn war upon the United States, its free allies and freedom in Iraq, is another thing.”

The assumption that Al-Qaeda is synonymous with Islam notwithstanding, Walberg reveals that he’s internalized a major tenet of Islamophobia – that some forms of clerical fascism (Islamism) are worse than others (Christian, Jewish, Hindu.)

That the Ramadan resolution was passed in spite of radical Islamophobic opposition should not be seen as a victory.

Among other things, the Ramadan resolution:

“Commends Muslims in the United States and across the globe who have privately and publicly rejected interpretations and movements of Islam that justify and encourage hatred, violence, and terror.”

The Christmas resolution, however:

“Acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the Western civilization.”

Both resolutions condemned bigotry and violence against both religions, but only one is associated with terrorism and it’s the one drawn up to show respect for Islam by the Democrats. The anti-Islamic pretension of the Christmas resolution is obvious; it was co-sponsored by 60 Republican representatives, including Broun, as a way of countering the Ramadan resolution.

It’s very revealing of how far rooted such beliefs and perceptions are in the corridors of power. It’s not limited to Congress, either; during the Republican primary, presidential hopeful – and Michigan native – Mitt Romney told Muslim businessman Mansour Ijaz that he wouldn’t appoint any Muslim to a Cabinet position. And who could forget George W. Bush himself, who not only described terrorists as hating us for our freedoms — and not anything America has done — but also described the “war on terror” as a war against totalitarian “Islamofascism.”

Never mind the fact that his base of support came from Christofascists, that he made his remarks while Israel was killing 1300 Lebanese civilians in its fight against “Islamofascism,” and that his Iraq occupation fueled this movement’s growth. His use of this catchphrase even helped fuel the ultra-right, especially David Horowitz, which believes in this, even if the president does not.

The question as always boils down to one thing — the solution. CAIR Media Affairs coordinator Corey Saylor attended the Islamic Finance briefing and observed that this blatant anti-Muslim bashing occurs because “our political clout” has a long way to go “to be where it needs to be.”

That’s true, but are we doing ourselves any favors by measuring our political clout by how much politicians pander to us? If the system is so corrupt, are our long-term interests served by corrupting ourselves through participation?

It’s time to develop more action-oriented strategies to bring attention to how institutionalized Islamophobia really is and to defeat it. Why limit our political activity to helping some jerk get elected, only to stab us in the back later on, when we can empower our communities and end Islam’s untouchable status in public discourse through our own grassroots action?

The answer to that is infinitely more important than who should get our vote.