Rep. Connolly accuses opponent of hate speech

Rep. Gerry Connolly (left) and Manga Anantatmula.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11th District), who is running for re-election, accused his Republican opponent, Manga Anantatmula, of hate speech during a virtual candidate forum hosted by the Fairfax County NAACP Oct. 3. 

Connolly, who has represented the Annandale/Mason District area in Congress since 2009, also accused Anantatmula of calling Black Lives Matter protesters terrorists. “She is a champion for Donald Trump, including his dog whistles and racism,” he said.

Anantatmula supporters at a Trump rally.

“My opponent has called Muslim Americans of Congress jihadis,” Connolly said. “Three of the four Muslim Americans in Congress are African Americans, one of whom went on to become attorney general of Minnesota. He is not a jihadist. That is a smear that ought to be condemned.” 

“I found her views about other minorities frankly repugnant,” Connolly said of Anantatmula.“If elected, she will be an acolyte for Trump in Congress. I believe Trump is a threat to democratic liberties and has to be fought every step of the way.” 

 “I will not debate her to give her a platform for hate speech,” he said. During the NAACP forum, the candidates spoke separately and did not confront one another. 

Anantatmula, immigrated from India as an adult, became a naturalized U.S. citizen, and worked as a contractor for the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security. 

Her website uses the letters in Manga for the slogan “Making AmericaNs Great Again.” She describes herself as a champion of Hindus in America and has tweeted in support of India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, which would deny citizenship to Muslim refugees. 

Voting access

During the NAACP forum, Anantatmula answered a question about how she would protect people’s right to vote by stating that “voter fraud is happening a lot.” She maintained that people are receiving multiple mail-in ballots and that it’s possible to possible for one person to vote in two states. She proposed a “national voter database” and called for replacing states’ rules on voting with national rules to prevent fraud.

Connolly called Anantatmula’s focus on voting fraud “insulting to the NAACP.” He said, “voter fraud is used by Republicans all over the country as a cover for the voting suppression they otherwise can’t justify.” 

He noted how in some precincts in Prince William County there were long lines and problems with the voting machines, while white-majority precincts had no such problems. He has been working on thwarting the postmaster general’s attempts to “delay and disrupt voting by mail.” 

Connolly said he supports early voting, universal registration, and back-up paper ballots. 

“The problem in America is not enough people vote,” he said. “Forty percent of eligible voters did not vote four years ago and that’s how we got Donald Trump.”

Police reform

Regarding police reforms, Anantatmula called for better training and said “there should be no room for bias. There should be no room or tolerance or carelessness.” 

When asked if she supports ending qualified immunity for police officers, Anantatmula, said No. Instead, she said, problems should be handled through better training and oversight. “Bad apples must be let go and cannot be given chances again and again,” she said. 

Related story: Congressional candidates clash on climate change, racial justice, immigration and much more

Connolly called for fundamental reform of law enforcement and said he supports the Congressional Black Caucus’ Justice in Policing Act, which would ban racial profiling, chokeholds, and no-knock warrants and require other changes to counteract structural racism in policing.

According to Connolly, the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd “have ripped open the racial and ethnic disparities and inequities in America.” African Americans are three times more likely to get COVID-19 and twice as likely to succumb to it than whites, he noted. 

Healthcare

“That is because we don’t all have equal access to healthcare. Some of us don’t have access to healthcare at all,” Connolly said. 

The attempts by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress to roll back the Affordable Care Act would have a devastating impact on Americans most in need of healthcare, he said. 

Anantatmula said healthcare is a top priority, including efforts to cut the cost of prescription drugs. “Nobody should be denied any medical care,” she said but does not support Medicare for all. 

“It is the passion of my life to broaden rights in America, to protect everybody’s liberty, to raise people up and give them opportunity irrespective of background, color, gender ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation,” Connolly said. “I spent my entire adult life fighting for civil rights and voting rights, fighting against discrimination and against voter suppression.”