Reilly Criticizes Patrick’s Ties to Armenian Genocide Deniers

Hub Politics, MA
April 22 2006

Just as I suspected. While the idiosyncrasies of Deval Patrick’s ties
to a group that lobbies on behalf of Republic of Turkey’s denial of
the Armenian Genocide, it has nonetheless provided Patrick rival Tom
“Cover Up” Reilly with a springboard for attacking Patrick.

While gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick stood by his association
with a D.C. lobbyist working to squash the legitimacy of the Armenian
genocide, opponent Tom Reilly said he wouldn’t want anything to do
with a person like that.

“Anyone who would try and undermine the history and the truth of what
happened to the Armenian population, I certainly would be disappointed
in that. I certainly would not want to have anything to do with that,”
Reilly said.

The Herald reported yesterday that a Deval Patrick fund-raiser in
Washington D.C. was co-hosted by Bernie Robinson, a consultant to the
Livingston Group, a high-powered lobbying firm that has taken millions
from the Turkish government to fight Congress from recognizing that
the slaughter of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians beginning in 1915
was genocide.

Reilly, whose office is defending the state’s refusal to include the
point of view of those who deny there was an Armenian genocide in the
statewide Department of Education history curriculum, said Patrick
will “have to make his own decisions as to who he associates with
and the people that raise money for him.”

Patrick’s spokeswoman, Libby DeVecchi, is earning her salary defending
Patrick, as she has in this case. “It is unfortunate that one of our
opponents is trying to make a political issue out of the tragedy,”
she said.

With Reilly’s criticism, this story with Patrick and Livingston
Group has reached its peak. The reality of the situation is that
it certainly doesn’t look favorable, it is an undeniable truth in
Washington that you will be dealing with people and groups who have
some connection, weak or strong, to other groups and beliefs that
may or may not politically viable.

I will say though, Patrick’s defense is weak at best. I will also say
that if the Livingston Group or some other group tied to the Patrick
campaign was involved with a group that denies the occurance of the
Nazi Holocaust, this story would be a lot different.

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