Guest post by AJ
It’s cringe worthy to see Senator Rubio tackle Trump’s Islamophobia by mentioning the crescents in the Arlington Cemetery and thus trying to appear ‘Presidential’. Rubio’s record shows he has no genuine concern about Islamophobia. Take for example when he lambasted President Obama for his speech at a Baltimore mosque or the fact that Rubio’s largely Zionist neocon donors wouldn’t want Rubio to behave in any other way. These examples highlight that Rubio is neither Presidential or better than Trump. His criticisms of Trump fall off the mark as they just reinforce the reality that he is a politician who will say anything to the win the race.
At CNN’s Republican debate on Thursday, Marco Rubio appeared to do something very unusual for the GOP stage: He tried to take a stand against Islamophobia, particularly against Donald Trump’s Islamophobia.
Only Rubio did it in the worst possible way.
Rubio said, commenting on Trump’s comments that “a lot of” Muslims hate America:
I know that a lot of people find appeal in the things Donald says, because he says what people wish they could say. The problem is presidents can’t just say anything they want. It has consequences — here and around the world.
And so let me give you one: Two days ago, I met this extraordinary couple who are on furlough because they are missionaries in Bangladesh. It’s a very tough place to be a missionary. It’s Muslim. And their safety and security very much relies upon friendly Muslims that live alongside them — that may not convert but protect them and certainly look out for them. And their mission field really are Muslims that are looking to convert to Christianity as well. And they tell me that today they have a very hostile environment in which to operate in because the news is coming out that in America leading political figures are saying that America doesn’t like Muslims.
So this is a real impact. There is no doubt that radical Islam is a danger in the world.
I can also tell you that if you go to any national cemetery, especially Arlington, you’re gonna see crescent moons there. If you go anywhere in the world, you’re going see American men and women serving us in uniform that are Muslims. And they love America. And as far as I know, no one on this stage has served in uniform in the United States military. Anyone out there that has the uniform of the United States on and is willing to die for this country is someone that loves America — no matter what their religious background may be.
Rubio’s answer isn’t that we shouldn’t be bigoted against Muslims because we should respect other people and their beliefs. It’s that we shouldn’t be bigoted against Muslims because it’s tactically advantageous to be polite, because we need Muslim allies in the Middle East, Muslims might convert to Christianity, and Muslim Americans could maybe join the military.
This is pretty weak. The problem with Islamophobia is, fundamentally, that it’s bigotry. While being nice to Muslims does happen to be tactically advantageous (as Hillary Clinton has also said), it shouldn’t be the primary reason for rejecting bigotry.
Not only that, but Rubio actually suggested that we should respect Muslims because they might stop being Muslims — by converting to Christianity…
Read the rest here.