If Shah holds extremist/racist views, it would presumably have been hard for her to advance in the Democratic party. The entire Counterpunch argument seems to be that she and her family have ties to the VHPA, and that she did not go out of her way to deny allegations made during a screaming match. Nothing in there about her side of things, or that of her brother, who the author emailed. Now I dislike the Sangh as much as the next guy, but I would like to know more about what Shah actually did for the organization (and for how long) before drawing any definite conclusions. I'd also like to know more about just what the VHPA (as opposed to VHP) does.