During a recent episode of The Shalom Show, host Richard Peritz asked freshman Rep. Allen West (R-FL) how he planned to cope with regular interactions with political opponents, in particular Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), who the host described as someone that “supports Islam.” In his reply, West painted Ellison as someone who “really does represent the antithesis of the principles upon which this country was established.”
West has a long history of offensive rhetoric aimed at Islam. He has said that displays of the “coexist” bumper sticker, which has the symbols of many major religions, including Islam, “represents something that would give away our country. Would give away who we are, our rights and freedoms and liberties because they are afraid to stand up and confront that which is the antithesis, anathema of who we are.” West has also said that Islam is “a totalitarian theocratic political ideology, it is not a religion,” and he believes terrorism is fundamental to Islam: “this is not a perversion. They are doing exactly what this book (the Quran) says.” West even criticizes Republicans who do not declare full opposition to Islam. “George Bush got snookered into going into some mosque, taking his shoes off, and then saying that Islam was a religion of peace,” he said during his congressional campaign.
Casting political opponents as existential threats to America, as he does here to Ellison, is also nothing new for the Tea Party favorite. As he was preparing to take office, West declared that he was “even more focused that this liberal, progressive, socialist agenda, this left-wing, vile, vicious, despicable machine that’s out there is soundly brought to its knees.” He’s also said that progressives “detest anyone who has the courage of conviction and love of America, something which they find unconscionable,” and that “liberals seek to destroy any institution of intrinsic value: God, country, family, honor, valor, courage, virtue.”
Update Ellison respond to ThinkProgress's reporting with a statement: "I was surprised to hear of Congressman West's comments
because he has never expressed these sentiments to me directly. Contrary to the views expressed by Congressman West, I work to represent the highest ideals of our great nation - Ideals like freedom of worship and respect for all faiths, equal protection under the law as well as a civil and open public discourse."
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/01/24/west-ellison-antithesis/Kind of funny that the supposedly big brave military man needs to go on a friendly show and say these things about Keith Ellison behind his back and not to his face. Why is that?
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
