Gary Responds to Carter

Well, Carter, to be fair, I didn’t call you “a bigoted skunk.” I’ve grown more mellow these days, and I try to avoid name-calling.
 
Instead, I said your ad for Renee Ellmers was “an appeal to anti-Muslim prejudice.” I think that is a fair statement.
 
“Sixty Minutes” had an interesting piece about the mosque last night.
 
Imam Rauf did strike me as a moderate fellow, and he said he would disclose all the sources of his money. But, Carter, you and I probably will never agree about that.
 
It seems that your argument boils down to saying this community center you call a “victory mosque” shouldn’t be built because it offends some number of people.
 
But I thought the Imam had a good answer to that: It should be built because it’s a signal that America understands that not all Muslims are terrorists and suicide bombers.
 
And I thought that a fundamental principle among conservatives is that America should do what’s right, not politically popular.
 
As I recall, back in the 1950s and 1960s, the great objection to integration is that it would upset people. That didn’t make segregation right.
 
The question here is what’s best for our national interest: To bully this imam into retreating, which makes us looks hostile to all Muslims? Or to embrace a moderate Muslim – maybe even taking a risk by taking him at his word – in the hope that we will make a dangerous world a bit safer for us?
 
And, on top of that, which course is more in keeping with America’s principles?
 
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Gary Responds to Carter

Well, Carter, to be fair, I didn’t call you “a bigoted skunk.” I’ve grown more mellow these days, and I try to avoid name-calling.
 
Instead, I said your ad for Renee Ellmers was “an appeal to anti-Muslim prejudice.” I think that is a fair statement.
 
“Sixty Minutes” had an interesting piece about the mosque last night.
 
Imam Rauf did strike me as a moderate fellow, and he said he would disclose all the sources of his money. But, Carter, you and I probably will never agree about that.
 
It seems that your argument boils down to saying this community center you call a “victory mosque” shouldn’t be built because it offends some number of people.
 
But I thought the Imam had a good answer to that: It should be built because it’s a signal that America understands that not all Muslims are terrorists and suicide bombers.
 
And I thought that a fundamental principle among conservatives is that America should do what’s right, not politically popular.
 
As I recall, back in the 1950s and 1960s, the great objection to integration is that it would upset people. That didn’t make segregation right.
 
The question here is what’s best for our national interest: To bully this imam into retreating, which makes us looks hostile to all Muslims? Or to embrace a moderate Muslim – maybe even taking a risk by taking him at his word – in the hope that we will make a dangerous world a bit safer for us?
 
And, on top of that, which course is more in keeping with America’s principles?
 
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Gary Pearce

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