Grahmnesty never fails.
(Politico) — Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin said it wasn’t a response to Republican Rep. Peter King’s hearings this month on post-9/11 Islamic radicalization and terrorism — but it sure felt like it.
Durbin’s hearing Tuesday on anti-Muslim bigotry — the first congressional hearing of its kind — was an opportunity for Democrats to present Muslim Americans in a different light: as a people facing growing discrimination and intolerance.
Durbin noted that King previously said there are too many mosques in the country. And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a possible GOP presidential candidate, has said 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.’”
“Efforts to recruit and radicalize young Muslims must be dealt with,” said South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s panel on the Constitution, and human and civil rights. “To the American Muslim community, I will stand with you, but you will have to help your country. . . . Get in this fight and protect your young people and your nation from radicalization.”
Graham later added: “There are two sides to this story, and I want to talk about both, not just one.”
Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said he was “perplexed” by the focus of Tuesday’s hearing.
“The only way to stop terrorists is to recognize where they are coming from. Political correctness cannot stand in the way of identifying those who would do us harm,” Kyl said. “If we are concerned about the most egregious religious hate crimes, then I wonder why we are not talking about crimes against Jews and Christians.”