Bill Bennett’s speech to the Values Voter Summit was a fascinating exercise in the rhetoric of projection. His main subject was the debate over the Park 51 community center, which we all got to know and love as the “Ground Zero Mosque.” Bennett, who never misses an opportunity to remind audiences of his American history books, poured on the drama, referring to the proposed location as one that “landing gear crashed into” on 9/11. That was part of the reason, he said, that it was incumbent on Muslims to prove that they were moderates, which something like a “march” of solidarity.
“Muslims proclaim themselves the new victims,” said Bennett. “They are not.”
Bennett dished out statistics on hate crimes against Jews, noting dryly that the media would never declare America an “anti-Jewish” country. The subtext: this audience had its priorities right, and shouldn’t be shamed into wondering if the “mosque” was a way to increase tolerance. Did that beg a question? No worry: Bennett had the answer.
“They say we are racists,” said Bennett. “No. We. Are. Not.” If they didn’t stand up now and fight the mosque and fight other issues like it, “as Lincoln said, all the moral lights around us would be blown out.”
