Was Sharpton's comments about Romney appalling?

“It is terribly disheartening and disappointing to hear Reverend Sharpton offer such appalling comments about a fellow American’s faith,” said Romney spokesman Kevin Madden. “America is a nation of many faiths and common values, and bigotry toward anyone because of their beliefs is unacceptable.”

tend not to understand that there are those who don't believe in their concept of God, nor do they get it that if there truly is one and only one God as they claim, then everyone who believes in God believes in the same one.

Just another example of why I am personally opposed to organized religion.

eom

here's my take:

Sharpton was saying that the people who really believe in god AS OPPOSED TO ATHEISTS will be the ones responsible for killing Mitt Romney's candidacy.

BTW - Sharpton didn't do well in this debate, Hitchens dominated both the clock and the arguments. I was surprised at the tact that Sharpton took
in the debate. He just wasn't prepared for the level of debate Hitchens threw at him.

Just like Imus made a blanket statement about the Rutgers Womens Basketball team, the good Reverend just made a blanket statement about Mormons.

So when do we start the boycott of those who sponsor Reverend Sharpton, or do those rules just apply
to Imus, Beck, Savage, and others on the Right?

Now what?

you know, a little humor like Limpballs saying the VT Shooter had to be a liberal, or playing the "Barack the Magic Negro" song, or calling Obama a Halfrican, or that parody of John Edwards singing "I Am Woman".

Gee, can't Mitt take a joke? yuk--yuk--yuk

As long as Rush Limpballs and Sean Hannity are on the radio unopposed, I refuse to be concerned about anything a liberal says.

you know, a little humor like Limpballs saying the VT Shooter had to be a liberal, or playing the "Barack the Magic Negro" song, or calling Obama a Halfrican, or that parody of John Edwards singing "I Am Woman".

Gee, can't Mitt take a joke? yuk--yuk--yuk

As long as Rush Limpballs and Sean Hannity are on the radio unopposed, I refuse to be concerned about anything a liberal says.

you know, a little humor like Limpballs saying the VT Shooter had to be a liberal, or playing the "Barack the Magic Negro" song, or calling Obama a Halfrican, or that parody of John Edwards singing "I Am Woman".

Gee, can't Mitt take a joke? yuk--yuk--yuk

As long as Rush Limpballs and Sean Hannity are on the radio unopposed, I refuse to be concerned about anything a liberal says.

Stick with this, it's a little involved.

They were debating the role of religion in Civil Rights. Sharpton was arguing that religion was important in defining that all were equal, and Hitchens disagreed, saying that MLK had surrounded himself with secular humanists, and had read Hegel and Marx. He argued, and this is the important part, that some religions even endorsed segregation.

He didn't say it, but the Mormons were one such group, as Sharpton knows.

Sharpton then answered that religion did play a role in everything MLK did, and that to deny this was to rewrite the history of Civil Rights. Then he made the comment that seemed so out of place: As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry, that’s a temporary situation.

The comment only makes sense in context. When Hitchens said "some religions endorsed segregation," Sharpton thought of the Mormons, which made him think of Romney. So he answered the first part of Hitchens's argument by pointing out that religion was a strong part of MLK's motivation, and he answered the second part of Hitchens's comment, that some religions supported segregation, by basically saying "True, but..." and then making a snarky comment about the religion, basically as an attempt at a joke to hide the fact that Hitchens had scored a point.

My own interpretation is that Sharpton houses a bitterness towards Mormons for supporting segregation. I can believe that he was referring to Hitchens, as if saying "You are right, some religions such as the Mormons were on the wrong side and supported segregation, but it will be us believers, and not you secular atheists, who defeat the Mormon who is running, thus punishing him for the sins of his religion." I can also believe he meant "You are right, some religions, such as the Mormons, supported segregation, and those of us who believe in God will defeat the Mormon Romney, who must not believe in God because of the sins of his religion." Or maybe change that last clause to "who must not believe in God because his religion does not agree with mine."

I don't know which he really meant. Either way, he was blaming Romney for something that someone in his religion had once supported, and in the process was insulting all Mormons. He should base his opinion of Romney on Romney alone, not on any group Romney belongs to. He should know better. He of all people should know way better.

Thanks.

And the MSNBC story doesn't appear to supply much of it.

Remember, this was a staged "debate" between Rev. Al Sharpton and author Christopher Hitchens, who is hawking his latest typing exercise, "God is Not Great." Without a full understanding of the context of Sharpton's comment, there's no way in the world to extrapolate some kind of blanket anti-Mormon sentiment from it, unless you're a sleazy, dishonest, shit-stirrer making six figures a year for a corporation with so much blood on its hands from the Bush adminsitration's illegal invasions that even the denouement of Ceaucescu would seem to be too lenient a punishment.

Or something.

Everything ELSE about Romney is appalling...

Sharpton vs. Hitchens. Now that's a debate I would love to see.

that Mormonism is complete bullshit. Why should he be expeced to curb such an assessment just because he has a religion? There is no reason, beyond a basic level of tolerance being more comfortable for day to day interaction, that adherents to one religion should accept the teachings of another religion as having any validity.

to begin with.

not appalling just dumb

http://tinyurl.com/yv6puv


BTW - the debate runs just under 2 hours.