This week, the Republican Party is twisting itself in knots over Hillary Clinton. On Thursday, Clinton rightly said that Americans expect to hear extreme views on women from terrorist groups and those who eschew the modern world, but we shouldn’t have to deal with extreme views on women from Republican candidates for president.
Instead of improving their extreme views on women – like the views of certain 2016 GOP candidates who oppose a woman’s right to choose, birth control, the Equal Pay Act, the Violence Against Women Act and more – Republicans feigned shock to Clinton’s comments and demanded an apology.
Naturally and unsurprisingly, the GOP’s concern doesn’t extend to actual offensive and baseless comparisons to terrorism made by its own candidates.
SHOT:
“Clinton compares GOP candidates’ views to those of terrorists, RNC wants apology” – Fox News, 8/27/15
CHASER:
“[Mike] Huckabee equated the terrorist actions of Islamic State to what he described as the immorality of Planned Parenthood and abortion. After talking about ISIS, he said, ‘let us not be too smug in this country. Because we have sins to answer for. ‘Since 1973, 60 million unborn children have died in their mother’s womb. If I’m president I will invoke the Fifth and 14th Amendment of the Constitution and protect unborn life.’” [Des Moines Register, 8/26/15]
“[Ben Carson] favorably compared the terrorist group ISIS to the founding fathers of the United States. Carson praised ISIS for being ‘willing to die’ for their beliefs, just like America’s founders, and not compromising for ‘the sake of political correctness.’ He said that while ISIS had the ‘wrong philosophy,’ Americans could learn from their example.” [Think Progress, 1/15/15]
“[Rick] Santorum claimed if the [Iran] deal went through, Obama would be ‘the greatest funder of terrorism in the world’ and that ‘he has put Israel directly in the sights of an anti-Jewish, anti-Semitic country that wants to wipe it out.’” [Mediaite, 7/27/15]
“‘If this deal goes through, the Obama administration, President Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, will become the leading global financiers of radical Islamic terrorism,’ said [Ted] Cruz. He further criticized the deal for lifting the ballistic missile embargo, claiming it is tantamount to arming a theocratic regime that has pledged to murder Americans.” [Washington Examiner, 7/23/15]
“Scott Walker on Thursday said his experience undermining labor unions in Wisconsin has prepared him to take on the threat of the Islamic State in the Middle East. ‘If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world,’ Walker told a packed crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference, in response to a question about how he would fight the terrorist group, which has killed thousands in Iraq and Syria.” [Huffington Post, 2/26/15]