Durbin noted that King previously stated there are too many mosques in the country. And he pointed to comments by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a possible GOP presidential candidate, that the country is “experiencing an Islamist cultural-political offensive designed to undermine and destroy our civilization.”
“Some have even questioned the premise of today’s hearing: that we should protect the civil rights of American Muslims,” Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said in his opening remarks. “Such inflammatory speech from prominent public figures creates a fertile climate for discrimination. So it’s not surprising that the Anti-Defamation League says we face an intensified level of anti-Muslim bigotry.’”
via www.politico.com
Of course the right-wing nuts are going nuts over this hearing. They hear "Muslims" and they can't help but freak out (hat tip for that Pavlovian conditioning to Faux News).
Here's a shot of some comments on Politico.com:
Wow! The anger and hate is so strong! And wrong.
The fact is that this was a civil rights hearing. The American community it was focusing on today was the American Muslim community. And fighting to secure the civil rights of each and every segment of our community helps to strengthen the civil rights of every citizen.
As such, I'm not so keen on POLITICO.com's headline about "Muslim rights hearings". These were civil rights hearings focused on the rising bigotry against American Muslims.
Sen. Durbin deserves a lot of credit for taking the lead. I also want to acknowledge Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for co-chairing this hearing.

Recent Comments