Editor's Note: Igor Birman and I have a great relationship, as we both lived in Russia at the same time. We have a lot about which to talk. Coincidentally enough and as it turns out after some long conversations, we lived very near each other in Moscow in 1993-1994. Igor is a perfect candidate for Congress during these tumultuous times in connection with current Russian expansionism. He brings a unique and much needed perspective to Congress. Igor has a Doctorate in law from the Emory University School of Law (2006) and a bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Davis (2003).
"At 19, Igor Birman raised his right hand and repeated the oath of allegiance through a Russian accent that had begun to fade."
"Standing beside him was his grandmother, who was 89 and blind in both eyes, a condition the family considered a consequence of the Soviet health care system. A Jewish girl from Czarist Russia, she spent the autumn of her life with a tape player pressed to an ear preparing for the naturalization test so she could die an American."
"Years later, Birman watched as his boss and political mentor, Republican Tom McClintock, and his colleagues made similar pledges as members of the House of Representatives, solemnly swearing to affirm the Constitution of the United States."
"'It occurred to me how little that oath means to so many members of Congress – Republican and Democrat alike – who say the words, raise their right hand and then immediately forget the words they just uttered,' Birman, a candidate for the 7th Congressional District, recently told supporters packed into an Elk Grove living room."
The rest of the Sac Bee story is here.
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