‘Radicalization’ hearings lose anti-jihadist support
The Hate bloggers pile on because even Radical right Representative King recognizes that they are too toxic for national consumption and Congressional Hearings.
Rep. Peter King (R-NY) is scheduled to hold hearings on “radicalization” of American Muslims next month, and he has already taken heat from Muslim leaders and others who are aghast at, for example, King’s suggestion that “80 percent” of mosques are controlled by radicals.
But King is now facing criticism from an unlikely source: the self-described “anti-jihadist” writers who make their living by crusading against Islam and would be expected to be King’s biggest supporters. As blogger Pamela Geller (of “ground zero mosque” fame) wrote in the American Thinker last week:
Methinks Representative King is a wee bit in over his head. I am filled with dread and sorrow at another lost opportunity. Doesn’t King know he is going to be smeared and defamed for these hearings no matter what? So why not achieve something? Why not have the courage of your convictions?
The roots of the split can be found in this Politico article that reported King will not call as witnesses Steven Emerson of the Investigative Project on Terrorism and Robert Spencer of the David Horowitz Freedom Center. That report prompted an angry response from Emerson, who accused King of selling him out. King maintained that he planned to use Emerson as a behind-the-scenes resource.