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Khizr Khan, The Democrats’ New Rockstar
To give Hillary Clinton and the DNC their due, they nailed it in finding Mr. Khan. Expect to find his speech — half-elegy for his US Army captain son, half endorsement of Clinton — re-tweeted and shared on Facebook, along with challenges from your liberal friends.
It’s powerful stuff — if the story they tell is true, CPT Khan died a hero’s death — but there are ways to parry it. So, Ricochet, let’s crowd-source our responses.
Via the Independent, here’s the text of the speech:
Published in GeneralTonight we are honoured to stand here as parents of Captain Humayun Khan and as patriotic American Muslims – with undivided loyalty to our country.
Like many immigrants, we came to this country empty-handed. We believed in American democracy; that with hard work and goodness of this country, we could share in and contribute to its blessings.
We are blessed to raise our three sons in a nation where they were free to be themselves and follow their dreams.
Our son, Humayun, had dreams too, of being a military lawyer, but he put those dreams aside the day he sacrificed his life to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. Hillary Clinton was right when she called my son ‘the best of America’.
If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America. Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims. He disrespects other minorities; women; judges; even his own party leadership.
He vows to build walls, and ban us from this country. Donald Trump, you’re asking Americans to trust you with their future.
Let me ask you: have you even read the United States constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy. [he pulls it out] In this document, look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of law’.
Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America.
You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one.
We cannot solve our problems by building walls, sowing division. We are stronger together. And we will keep getting stronger when Hillary Clinton becomes our President.
In conclusion, I ask every patriot American, all Muslim immigrants, and all immigrants to not take this election lightly.
This is a historic election, and I request to honour the sacrifice of my son – and on election day, take the time to get out and vote.
And vote for the healer. vote for the strongest, most qualified candidate, Hillary Clinton, not the divider. God bless you, thank you.
The answer here is to embrace their son as an example of how Muslims should act, then juxtapose him against US-haters like CAIR, the Orlando shooter, the San Bernardino shooter, etc..
Start a Muslim military recruitment program with their son as a model for Muslim-Americans.
Hillary and Barack say we need Muslims to defeat terror. Let’s offer the opportunity in this serviceman’s honor.
Hey, there are folks who essentially deny the possibility of that existing.
I viewed it as #2 as well.
added: Trump is saying some of the things that need to be said. I’m just afraid that he is saying them so badly that it will discredit the important ideas, such as, we have a right and obligation to control immigration so that it is overall a benefit to America and the country’s future.
No worries.
Ok, but not sure how we navigate this issue.
No response needed. Ignore it.
Oh by the way- about 9% of America’s fighting force in WWII was Italian-American, while we were fighting Italy.
Italian Americans didn’t protest that we stopped Italian immigration during the war with Italy, because it made sense.
Italians were interned during WWII, because our Constitution isn’t a suicide pact and hot wars call for emergency measures.
We are in a hot war now with a religious diaspora, and just like when we are in a hot war with a country, emergency immigration measures are needed.
Hey Peter Robinson- do you still have the contact number where I can call to be a speech writer for Trump? His messaging on this issue has been lacking lately.
Agreed. I think there is a very respectable case for putting a moratorium on immigration from (at least some) majority Muslim countries. Likewise, I’ve been arguing — and for longer than Donald Trump — that the United States’ foreign policy should not be viewed as a kind of charitable organization.
Unfortunately, Trump has advocated positions close to mine in such a cussedly irresponsible and foolhardy way that I — and everyone else in that position — looks to be as much a buffoon as Donald Trump.
That poor woman – look at her face. She’s lost her son – all this is gall and bitter wormwood on her tongue. I admit I find it distasteful when political parties try to claim ownership of patriotism and to ride on the coat tails of dead soldiers.
Far fewer than the left would have you believe. Their narrative is that everyone on the right hates Muslims. And this Big Lie works in their favor.
Ann Coulter’s take…
You know what this convention really needed? An angry Muslim with a thick accent like Fareed Zacaria.
and
Ann Coulter Retweeted Mary Kate Killilea
What about the MOTHER of an American hero? She stood submissively in a hijab by husband’s side.
Ann Coulter added,
Fascinating. I’m not sure how Democrats do this — convince people that they believe in the American dream achievable through hard work and the essential goodness of this country. If you’ve been listening to Dennis Prager in recent days, you heard him say (paraphrased), “Democrats are only saying ‘this is already a great country!‘ because Donald Trump forced the issue.” They don’t begin to believe it.
He’s pointed out that Barack Obama has said “Racism is in our DNA.” Eric Holder told us we’re “cowards.” Obama promised to “fundamentally transform this country” a few days prior to his election. Why would a “good” country need “fundamental” transformation?
I would add that “the system is rigged” message promoted by Elizabeth Warren is not consistent with “hard work and the essential goodness of the country” will help you achieve the American dream. The whole underlying victimization mentality — only government (run by Democrats) will provide social justice — does not comport with the idea that your own efforts in a basically good society makes achievement of your dreams possible.
I realize I may sound like a religious nut, but there’s a spirit of deception over the Democrat party and those susceptible to its influence that should be disturbing to any intellectually honest person.
Has Mr. Kahn ever been to Ft. Hood, Texas? We don’t properly vett the Muslims we take into the armed services that are born in this country, let alone the immigrants.
If no one individual is emblematic of Islam’s problems, then no one individual is emblematic of its virtues. Prudence dictates that caution because for every Capt. Kahn there is more than one Nidal Hassan.
“What difference at this point does it make? ” – HRC
I think we’ve ignored important things too long. We’ve though we didn’t need to say things. We thought certain views would be / should be obvious.
The media and our self-serving government is infusing people with ideas that are not true, but the people accept them as true.
For example, did you know that ‘kids today’ think about 20% of our population is gay? I mentioned this to my 19 year old, conservative christian, straight A, engineering student daughter, who replied: “Wait, it’s not?”
Things need to be said about freedom, about ‘fairness’, about immigration, about spending and welfare. We need to have these conversations. We need to be honest about balancing needs and interests of different people in this country. We need to be honest about what is achievable through government action, and when government programs will only distort the problems and create different inequities. Liberals don’t want to have these conversations, so they accuse people who disagree with them of racism, selfishness, etc. We need to be unafraid of what they say about us – we need to speak up and stand our ground.
I’d still ignore it until after November. The media will sell it how they choose and exactly how will the left address gay conservatives this election ? They will ignore them. How will they address blacks and women voting R?
At one point in the campaign, there was a Republican cameraman:
I honor your son’s service. The purpose of our involvement in Iraq was to keep the forces and ideologies that killed him and so many of his brothers and sisters in arms away from the homeland. There were serious and deadly missteps in achieving that purpose, but by 2004 the coalition forces were making real progress. President Obama opposed the war in Iraq. His subsequent policies have thrown away the gains that coalition forces had made by 2004, that your son died helping to achieve.
Many of your son’s comrades in arms were killed by IEDs provided by the very Iranian regime that is still the enemy of the USA and which, thanks to Obama and
ClintonCrooked Hillary, is now on the fast track to nuclear weapons.It is more important than ever that we keep the people who hate America and our way of life out of America. Your son died for that. I will do that.
ClintonCrooked Hillary Clinton won’t.This election is not about the smart set feeling comfortable with the narratives. Quite the opposite. This is about an American idol vote.
We do need Muslims who live here to assimilate and a percentage to become American heroes. They aren’t going to do that with leftist thoughts in mind. They will do it when then national tenor is assimilate, or don’t bother me at all, or go to hell.
This is key. The liberals have changed the national mindset away from assimilation. When my daughter was in elementary school, a teacher actually taught them that we aren’t a melting pot, but a “salad bowl.” Nothing but a bunch of disparate ingredients that bump into each other but never meld as one. When we lived in Michigan, we met many Lebanese people. They were Eastern Orthodox Christian rather than Muslim, and they named their children Jennifer and Billy etc, and spoke English in the home. They were professionals such as lawyers, doctors, and business owners. They were some of the most well assimilated immigrants I’d ever seen, and they should be the example for all.
Bingo. I’d also add that plenty of people worried about this issue are indifferent about helping Trump win the white house.
It’s a matter of opinion. I think he’s wrong and I think he should not vote for Democrats in this election. Democrats have shown themselves to be incapable of confronting the challenges that we face. In 2008, they nominated a man who was unfit to serve as president and that man did not disappoint us. He in turn appointed many people to high office who were themselves unfit to hold their offices, and thus they are brought to the sorry state they are in now: they have nominated an unqualified and unfit person to hold the highest office in the land, all in order to check a box and “make history.”
By the way, if we “make history” all of us are in for at least four years of the worst kind of politically correct horseshit bullying by fools who will accuse anyone who dissents of sexism or misogyny. This alone would be reason not to make history and there have been real and lasting negative consequences to the Republic because of it.
This is a keeper!
I don’t have time to watch the speech, but as I recall from Twitter he ad-libbed “you have sacrificed nothing and no one” to Trump.
Here is what Trump should say, if he wants me to be able to defend his response.
First, just graciously acknowledge the truth. Something like “He’s right; so few of us — including me — have ever sacrificed what he has for our country. Thank you for your son’s service, and may you continue to keep his memory bright.”
Second: “I want to make it very clear that I am thankful for you, and your son, and so many other American Muslims who are part of our country. My goal is not to shut you out, it is to defend your lives, too. I have proposed only to — as a temporary measure — suspend immigration from specific countries compromised by terrorism. The policy isn’t about religion, it’s about terrorism. I hope that we can soon have confidence in our vetting procedures so that peaceful Muslims fleeing persecution can come to this country.”
(OK, that’s not what he said in December, but it’s what he said in his acceptance speech.)
Third: “I will take an oath to preserve and defend that Constitution, and I will keep that oath.” Then add a few comments about the Clintons that demonstrate actual constitutional knowledge, and point to Hillary’s lack of loyalty to it. (But keep it a little understated.)
And we should honor the service of this family’s son.
Good stuff here.
Yeah because it’s a “living, breathing document.”
The Dems don’t believe in this. There are ~3000 aborted babies every day who have no equal protection of the law. And they fight tooth and nail to make sure they will never get this equal protection. Disgusting.
Humayun volunteered to put himself in harm’s way. The hundreds who were killed or wounded in the name of Islam at the Boston Marathon never asked for this. The 49 who were slaughtered in the name of Islam in the Orlando nightclub never asked for this. The 3,000 who were slaughtered in the name of Islam in Manhattan on 9/11 never asked for this.
Donald trump isn’t smearing the character of Muslims. The Tsarnaev brothers and Omar Mateen and the nineteen 9/11 hijackers smeared the character of Muslims. Until law abiding Muslims step up and deal with this problem occurring within their midst, Donald Trump will.