The Daily Background
| Mitt Romney’s astonishing hypocrisy on anti-Muslim bigotry
by Arlen Parsa
Mitt Romney, not a fan of Muslims:
I asked Mr. Romney whether he would consider including qualified Americans of the Islamic faith in his cabinet as advisers on national security matters, given his position that “jihadism” is the principal foreign policy threat facing America today. He answered, “…based on the numbers of American Muslims [as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified. But of course, I would imagine that Muslims could serve at lower levels of my administration.”
Romney, whose Mormon faith has become the subject of heated debate in Republican caucuses, wants America to be blind to his religious beliefs and judge him on merit instead. Yet he seems to accept excluding Muslims because of their religion, claiming they’re too much of a minority for a post in high-level policymaking. More ironic, that Islamic heritage is what qualifies them to best engage America’s Arab and Muslim communities and to help deter Islamist threats.
Okay, two comments I want to make. First of all, Josh Marshall is 100% right when he says in the above video that Romney says he’s not okay with minority quotas, then says he wouldn’t allow a Muslim in his cabinet specifically because he believes in quotas. Secondly however, if we are to buy his argument about how representationally a Muslim somehow is ineligible for a cabinet-level position, shouldn’t we then also reconsider voting for a Mormon, considering that Mormons only make up less than 2% of the US population (about the same size as the US Muslim population). Hat tip- Perrspectives.
I think your final comment is accurate, “if the quote is true”. There isn’t any recording to verify the quote from Romney; only the reporters word. Why didn’t Ijaz record the interview?
This smells a lot like Gerritygate. It was another reporter who claimed a quote from Gerrity, which lead New Hampshire to investigate the accusations. Oh yea, New Hampshire cleared Garrity of any wrong doing.
I know it’s the political season and people are desperate to discredit candidates. I’m not believing any more hear say. I want facts!
tplant: if you had bothered to read the full article, you’d find that it wasn’t an interview, it was a Q&A session at a Romney fundraiser. Further, Romney’s campaign manager has conceded that the quote is accurate and that Romney doesn’t want Muslims in his cabinet.