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Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul to Address Arab American Institute's National Leadership Conference

AAI
Posted on Tuesday October 16, 2007

Texas Congressman is First Republican Candidate to Confirm Participation in the Dearborn, MI Conference

Washington, Oct. 16- Presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) has confirmed that he will address the Arab American Institute’s National Leadership Conference (NLC), Our Voice, Our Future: Yalla Vote ‘08. The NLC will be held from October 26-28 in Dearborn, MI, and Paul is scheduled to speak on Friday at 1:20 p.m.

Paul is the first Republican candidate to confirm that he will attend the conference, joining Democratic hopefuls Governor Bill Richardson (NM), Congressman Dennis Kucinich (OH) and former Senator Mike Gravel (AK).

“We are pleased that Congressman Paul will join Arab American leaders from across the country to discuss important issues such as civil liberties, the war in Iraq, and broader U.S. policy in the Middle East,” said AAI Chairman George Salem. “We are hopeful that other Republican candidates will accept our invitation and join us in Dearborn.”

Other confirmed speakers include Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and John Sununu (R-NH) as well as Congressmen John Dingell (D-MI) and Charles Boustany (R-LA). Republican strategist Ed Rollins, Democratic strategist Peter Fenn, and pollster John Zogby will lead a discussion on the 2008 presidential race, and Steve Clemons (Washington Note) and Spencer Ackerman (TPM Muckraker) will discuss the role blogs are playing in political debate. The NLC will also feature political training workshops conducted by Wellstone Action, the SPIN Project, Alliance for Justice, and the Information Services Group on campaign organizing, communications strategies, advocacy rules for non-profit organizations, and micro-targeting.

For more information on the history of Arab American political participation, click here. Recent poll results of Arab American voter attitudes and trends can be found here.

Media can register to cover the conference by clicking here; the registration page also includes space for any special requests or instructions. Members of the press can contact Andy Sabino, AAI Public Affairs Coordinator, at 202-429-9210×26 or asabino@aaiusa.org for information on accommodations or other logistical questions.

Click here to see a full conference agenda with speaker, workshop, and panel times and information.