Perry: Playing the victim card
By Jennifer Rubin
WashPost
Texas Gov. Rick Perry was asked by George Stephanopoulos on ABC about his wife’s comments that he was being “brutalized” because of his faith:
Stephanopoulos didn’t exactly get a straight answer as to whether Perry felt victimized because of his faith. And when Perry is pressed to denounce actual bigotry, he hides behind freedom of speech. Huh? “I’m not going to say he can’t say what he wants to say.” That’s nonsense. No one is shutting up Pastor Robert Jeffress; the question is whether the pastor’s words are bigoted. Would he say the same about anti-Semitic or anti-Hispanic remarks?
The Fix’s Chris Cillizza tweeted, “Perry’s continued refusal to denounce Jeffress is odd. Ensures that he keeps getting asked about it and it stays in news.” It sure does. That was the headline on the ABC story, not Perry’s belated rollout of his jobs plan. Even Perry’s criticism of Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan got lost in the shuffle.
I went back to the Perry camp to ask what attacks were launched because of the governor’s faith. Spokesman Mark Miner responded by e-mail: “Mrs. Perry was expressing her feeling and opinions and did not refer to a particular attack.” In other words, no one has actually attacked Perry for his faith. I also asked why he wouldn’t join prominent conservative leaders like Gary Bauer and Bill Bennett in denouncing the remarks. Miner would only say, “The governor has said he disagreed with the pastor’s remarks.” But if Jeffress had said Jews shouldn’t be president, I would assume Perry would have denounced that; so why are Jeffress’s anti-Mormon comments any different? Miner seemed stumped and never answered whether he would denounce and not merely disagree with such sentiments.
(More here.)
WashPost
Texas Gov. Rick Perry was asked by George Stephanopoulos on ABC about his wife’s comments that he was being “brutalized” because of his faith:
Stephanopoulos didn’t exactly get a straight answer as to whether Perry felt victimized because of his faith. And when Perry is pressed to denounce actual bigotry, he hides behind freedom of speech. Huh? “I’m not going to say he can’t say what he wants to say.” That’s nonsense. No one is shutting up Pastor Robert Jeffress; the question is whether the pastor’s words are bigoted. Would he say the same about anti-Semitic or anti-Hispanic remarks?
The Fix’s Chris Cillizza tweeted, “Perry’s continued refusal to denounce Jeffress is odd. Ensures that he keeps getting asked about it and it stays in news.” It sure does. That was the headline on the ABC story, not Perry’s belated rollout of his jobs plan. Even Perry’s criticism of Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan got lost in the shuffle.
I went back to the Perry camp to ask what attacks were launched because of the governor’s faith. Spokesman Mark Miner responded by e-mail: “Mrs. Perry was expressing her feeling and opinions and did not refer to a particular attack.” In other words, no one has actually attacked Perry for his faith. I also asked why he wouldn’t join prominent conservative leaders like Gary Bauer and Bill Bennett in denouncing the remarks. Miner would only say, “The governor has said he disagreed with the pastor’s remarks.” But if Jeffress had said Jews shouldn’t be president, I would assume Perry would have denounced that; so why are Jeffress’s anti-Mormon comments any different? Miner seemed stumped and never answered whether he would denounce and not merely disagree with such sentiments.
(More here.)
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