Herman Cain: I Wouldn’t Put A Muslim In My Administration
This is problematic for Cain in a big, big way.
Previously the would-be Presidential candidate said that he “resented” efforts by Muslims to convert people to their religion. To me, that comment crossed the line. All religions look for converts. Saying that you object to Muslims doing it is, quite frankly, a rather bigoted thing to say. You can object to methods – nobody wants to see people converted through force or intimidation – but to say that you resent Muslims seeking converts generally is over the line.
As is saying that you wouldn’t put any Muslims in your administration, which Cain has also now done:
The problem Cain is having is that he is not differentiating between extremist Muslims and Muslims in general. It wouldn’t be news for Cain to say that he’d not have extremist Muslims serving in his administration. But to say that you won’t have Muslims in general, for no other reason than because they’re Muslim?
That’s bigotry. But, sadly, there’s a lot of anti-Muslim bigotry on the right these days. Some, who started with valid concerns about Islamic extremism and terrorism, have allowed those fears to morph into hatred for and opposition to Islam generally.
That’s wrong.
I know that Cain has a lot of supporters, and I know that there are a lot of things about Cain to like, but this for me is a deal breaker. I cannot support someone who caters to the lowest common denominator like this.
Update: Appearing on Cavuto’s show, Cain defends his comments:
He doesn’t do himself any favors. He says that he wouldn’t appoint any Muslims to his administration because he feels Muslims aren’t able to dedicate themselves to the founding principles of the country.
I don’t think that’s accurate.
Tags: bigotry, Herman Cain, islam, muslims
