Thoughts on the Hearing

Just a few observations on the congressional hearing today on the radicalization of Muslims in America: I was able to listen to a good portion of the hearing today, and to be frank, I was totally put off by the cantankerous moralizing of the Democrats sitting on the house committee, a distasteful trait they have perfected over the years. Time and again, Democrats sanctimoniously positioned themselves as the only true defenders of tolerance, diversity and of American Muslims (this, before a panel of American Muslims who completely disagreed with their take on Muslim radicalization in America!). It was a hilarious and somewhat maddening spectacle, as a Democrat, say Sheila Jackson-Lee, would, characteristically wave the flag of race, and the prospect of racism and bigotry, while calm, reasoned Muslims sitting in front of her contradicted everything she said. (Actually, she used practically all of her question time pontificating in almost incoherent babble, until the gavel of the chairman mercifully ended the diatribe, but I digress. It's Jackson-Lee, par for the course.)

It was however deeply frustrating to observe once more how Democrats operate when engaged in a debate they cannot win, so casually and recklessly firing off charges or insinuations of racism and bigotry. It's as though they collectively revert to the mentality of pouting grade-schoolers. It was not surprising, yet sad, to see the race card played over and over and over. The difference here was that the panel sitting before them was almost entirely composed of minorities, so their race antics lacked the adhesive quality they might have otherwise had. Another one of their tactics of choice was on full display as well, as they routinely accused Republicans of "demonizing" an entire group of people in the mold of Senator McCarthy. (Democrats crying "McCarthy!"... that never happens, right?) If anyone was actually listening to what Republicans were saying however, this was clearly a specious charge bordering on the insane, not to mention slanderous. In fact, Republicans went out of their way to defend law-abiding Muslims, and to praise the majority of Muslims who do not share the views of the radicals. But, predictably, this didn't matter in the least to the Democrats on the committee, who were probably too busy tweeting one another about who among them loves Barack Obama the most. For, as soon as the next Democrat had the chance to unload his staff-prepared remarks, the script went unaltered. It's right out of the old playbook, so hackneyed, so predictable, and so contemptible. It's as though no one on that side was paying any attention whatsoever to what the Republicans, or the Muslims on the panel were actually saying. It was almost surreal. When one Democrat quoted Barack Obama as though he were a prophet from the Old Testament (that's pretty much how they see the man after all), I almost turned off the live stream. It was that bad on the Democratic side of the committee.

That said, whether it's the union-inspired pandemonium in Madison, or haughty congressmen playing for the cameras in Washington, some Democrats, as though congenitally, cannot shake the habit of alleging that the opposition, namely the Republicans, are attempting to "demonize" someone. It is they however, the Democrats, who are guilty of demonizing, of ad hominem attacks, of generalizing and stereotyping. By their childish behavior, for which they should be embarrassed, but are not, they presented themselves today as paragons of the very people they warn against until they're blue in the face, who according to them, solely occupy the quarters of the right.

A bright spot: I was very impressed by the testimony of the panel, in particular that of Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, President and Founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy. He was calm, articulate, extremely informative on the issue at hand and, to top it off, he handled the condescending haranguing from the Democrats with admirable flair and icy disdain, as he threw it right back at 'em with the eloquence and level-headedness that they so conspicuously lacked. He raised concerns that most Americans, I believe, share regarding the radicalization of Muslims within our borders, and he offered ideas on what to do about it.

However, as the hearing made demonstrably clear, it will be very difficult to proceed with this discussion so long as political correctness seeps into the conversation.