Charles, you used that paragraph to imply that somehow, Sarah Palin was on the same plane as perry where it comes to islam. They’re NOT. What Palin said in a speech in China in no way compares to what perry has said and done with reference to islam.
Saying we are not at war with islam does not hardly compare to signing agreements to build mosques all over Texas and teach islam to schoolchildren.
Their approaches to islam could not be more opposite.
perry had not a clue how to handle the Ground Zero mosque controversy, so he asked a palestinian who had run against him for govenor. Never mind this guy had ties to terrorists, and finally after hemming and hawwing for weeks, he said well, maybe they could build it somewhre else. Compare that to what Sarah Palin DID to try and stop it from being built.
You tried to make them sound equal when nothing could be further from the truth.
FWIW, here is a little more of that speech. Yes, context matters.
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Sarah Palin gave an extraordinarily well-crafted speech in Hong Kong, a real Reagan speech.
“I am a Commonsense Conservative ...
“Two weeks ago, America commemorated the 8th anniversary of the savagery of September 11, 2001. The vicious terrorist attacks of that day made clear that what happened in lands far distant from American shores directly affect our security. We came to learn, if we did not know before, that there were violent fanatics who sought not just to kill innocents, but to end our way of life.”
“Their attacks have not been limited to the United States. They attacked targets in Europe, North Africa and throughout the Middle East. Here in Asia, they killed more than 200 in a single attack in Bali. They bombed the Marriott Hotel and the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. Last year in Mumbai, more than 170 were killed in coordinated attacks in the heart of India’s financial capital. In this struggle with radical Islamic extremists, no part of the world is safe from those who bomb, maim and kill in the service of their twisted vision.”
“This war — and that is what it is, a war — is not, as some have said, a clash of civilizations. We are not at war with Islam. This is a war within Islam, where a small minority of violent killers seeks to impose their view on the vast majority of Muslims who want the same things all of us want: economic opportunity, education, and the chance to build a better life for themselves and their families.”
“The reality is that al Qaeda and its affiliates have killed scores of innocent Muslim men, women and children. The reality is that Muslims from Algeria, Indonesia, Iraq, Afghanistan and many other countries are fighting al Qaeda and their allies today. But this will be a long war, and it will require far more than just military power to prevail. Just as we did in the Cold War, we will need to use all the tools at our disposal — hard and soft power. Economic development, public diplomacy, educational exchanges, and foreign assistance will be just as important as the instruments of military power.”
“During the election campaign in the U.S. last year, you might have noticed we had some differences over Iraq. John McCain and I believed in the strength of the surge strategy — because of its success, Iraq is no longer the central front in the war on terrorism. Afghanistan is. Afghanistan is where the 9/11 attacks were planned and if we are not successful in Afghanistan, al Qaeda will once again find safe haven there.”
“As a candidate and in office, President Obama called Afghanistan the “necessary war” and pledged to provide the resources needed to prevail. However, prominent voices in the Democratic Party are opposing the additional U.S. ground forces that are clearly needed. Speaker of the House Pelosi, Defense Subcommittee Chairman Murtha, the Senate Armed Services Committee Chair, and many others, recently expressed doubts about sending additional forces! President Obama will face a decision soon when the U.S. Commander in Afghanistan requests additional forces to implement his new counterinsurgency strategy.”
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So this speech was made IN China before the *surge* in Afghanistan.
You sure read a lot into a quote by Sarah Palin.
We know Sarah Palin is opposed to implementing Sharia Law. But Perry has never said he was, so you don’t know that’s not the same.
Sarah Palin never had to deal with a mosque in Alaska — they started building the first major mosque after she ended her term as Governor. But she never spoke out against building Mosques. Perry has been attacked for going to a ground-breaking ceremony for a Mosque while he was Governor, but you have no evidence Palin wouldn’t do the same.
We know Palin doesn’t oppose Mosques — when she opposed the Ground Zero mosque because it would be insenstive, she specifically said she’d support it being built somewhere else.
She also in THAT press release mentioned “peace-loving Muslims”. I mention that not because I think there’s a problem with that, but because there are some here at FR that think anybody who calls a muslim “peace-loving” is a dhimmi or a muslim sympathiser. IT’s why Perry is being attacked, because he was FRIENDS with a muslim.
Perry also spoke out against the Ground Zero mosque, saying it would be insensitive.
Palin has also, so far as I can find, never said anything against teaching about the muslim religion in schools, nor did she ever come out against the particular plan that Perry was supporting. His relationship with the muslim was well-known when Palin heartily endorsed him for Governor, and she has never mentioned it being a problem in all the years they have been friends and collegues.
They BOTH came out against the federal program that a lot of people confuse with the Perry one.
So, if you are so certain that Palin is entirely different from Perry, it’s up to you to actually provide a quote from Sarah Palin that indicates she disagrees with Perry on something regarding Islam.
Until then, you are just speculating. I provided an actual FACT, a quote from Palin that is in opposition to the beliefs of more than a few of the people who are attacking Perry on this issue.
Maybe you missed those many posts at FR saying that even saying a muslim is like us is a stupid RINO thing to say. But that has been said regularly.
BTW, Perry never “signed an agreement” to build mosques anywhere. In case you hadn’t noticed, we have freedom of Religion in this country, which means a religious organization has the right, subject ot LOCAL zoning laws, to build houses of worship. The last time I mentioned this, a few freepers attacked me for thinking Islam was a religion — but I point back to the Sarah Palin quotes to show that SHE agrees with me that it is a religion.
A LOCAL government found a mosque to be within zoning regulations, and so it was being built, and Perry did attend the ground-breaking ceremony. That is a far cry from “signing agreements to build mosques”.
And you may be confusing the Perry/Ali curriculum with the federal government curriculum. The Perry/Ali curriculum teaches the history of muslim culture; it does NOT teach the religion of Islam. It also does not whitewash the wars and the terrorism.
There is nothing wrong with teaching our young adults about the culture of Islam, just as they should learn about other cultures. But since this discussion is about differences between Palin and Perry, show me one instance where Palin has ever spoken out against school children hearing about the muslim history and culture (as opposed to the federal government program that all of us has spoken out against).
> Sarah Palin: "Our nation was founded in part by those fleeing religious persecution. Freedom of religion is integral to our charters of liberty. We don’t need to agree with each other on theological matters, but tolerating each other without unnecessarily provoking strife is how we ensure a civil society. In this as in all things, we should remember the Golden Rule. Isn’t that what the Ground Zero mosque debate has been about?"Again, this is a call by Palin to tolerate muslims in this country, without "unncessarily provoking strife". That indicates to me that she would not be attacking Perry for allowing a mosque to be built in Texas -- far from it, as she calls for us to tolerate one another.
On a last note about your comment -- what difference does it make when she made her statements? Why does it matter to you that it was "before the surge"? Do you think the surge somehow would make her change her opinion on muslims? Why?
Do you think if she DID change her opinion, she wouldn't have said something?