RUSH: A lot of people are asking the question, ‘Is it religious bigotry?’ We mentioned this to you yesterday. In a debate at the New York Public Library — that will be ‘liberry‘ for those of you in Sacramento that watch Channel 13 — Al Sharpton, debating Christopher Hitchens, said this…
RUSH: And there was a little laughter out there from the gallery in the debate. The Reverend Sharpton was saying yesterday, ‘No, no, no, no! I was talking about the Republicans in general. I didn’t mean Mitt Romney. I wasn’t talking about Mitt Romney at all,’ he said. Well, let’s listen to this again. Again, this is at the Celeste Bartos Forum at the New York Public Library.
SHARPTON: As for the one Mormon running for office, those that really believe in God will defeat him anyway, so don’t worry about that. That’s a temporary — that’s a temporary situation.
RUSH: Now, on MSNBC today, Joe Scarborough during their morning show today, was talking to former governor Mitt Romney, about whom Sharpton made the comment, and obviously Sharpton’s view is that Mormons don’t really believe in God. At least that’s the way Mitt Romney took it. Here’s what he said…
ROMNEY: I can only, hearing that statement, wonder whether there’s not bigotry that still remains in America. That’s an extraordinary thing for someone to say. I can’t imagine what prompted him to say something of that nature. It’s an extraordinarily bigoted kind of statement.
RUSH: Well, I don’t know. You assume from Romney’s reaction here that he’s offended. Does he sound a little offended? I’m not sure. But Reverend Sharpton, on the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer back on April 9th, had this to say about The Offended…
SHARPTON: If there is no punishment, if there is no policy enforced to continue to go there is to endorse the policy that it doesn’t matter how vile you get and who is violated, that an apology will do. It’s strange to me that none of them will stop to talk about the offended. It is easy for people that have not been offended to forgive people that didn’t offend them. I think that’s arrogant and insensitive. I would think that everyone, especially those running for president, would first say, ‘Wait a minute. Has there been some punishment and acknowledgment by those who were offended here? How can I forgive somebody for something they didn’t do to me?’
RUSH: Well, now, it sounds like Reverend Sharpton is suggesting that people who are offended have a right to be offended, and there needs to be some punishment, not just an apology here from anyone. He hasn’t apologized. He’s claiming that he didn’t insult Mormons nor Mitt Romney, that he was talking about Republicans. I guess we could say the Reverend Sharpton today is acting, ladies and gentlemen, and asking for some respect. Should he get some?
(Playing of Al Sharpton Respeck spoof song.)
So Mitt Romney sounded like he might have been offended; the Reverend Sharpton thinks The Offended should get more than an apology. So we’ll see how this comes out. I don’t expect the Drive-By Media to do much with this, but we’ll see.