Former Sen. Norm Coleman Criticized; Mpls. City Council Member Seeks Apology

Former Senator Norm Coleman faces criticism over a Star Tribune editorial that a Minneapolis City Council member calls “racist” and “hateful.”

Council member Abdi Warsame said the title of Coleman’s editorial, “Land of 10,000 Terrorists,” is “unbelievable and characterizes all Somali citizens in Minnesota as terrorists.”

Warsame said the piece is “shocking and I am asking Senator Coleman to apologize to all Somali citizens in Minnesota.”

Warsame said he agrees with many of Coleman’s points in the editorial and he has a great deal of respect for the former senator, but he said, “I cannot accept the overall message that he is putting out, because it is hurtful and counter-productive.”

Warsame said there are Somalis in his ward who are Republicans and “they’ve even called me and told me they reached out to the party telling them this is unacceptable and they want an apology.”

We reached Coleman, by phone, in Washington, D.C. and he says he stands by his editorial. He told us “we have to raise this issue to another level, because the consequences of failure are just too great.”  Coleman also praised U.S. Attorney, Andrew Luger, for his hard work in bringing suspected terrorist sympathizers to justice in Minnesota.

Coleman did say the Star Tribune wrote the headline for the piece, but Warsame said Coleman used the phrase “Land of 10,000 Terrorists” inside the editorial, even if he did not write the actual headline.