Hung Cao is right. “Extremist” is an exercise in empty demagoguery that is designed to scare people away from supporting the targeted person, without actually refuting what the target says. At the same time, there was a genuine jihad threat after 9/11, and still is. As the years went on, it became far less common for Muslims to be tarred with this label than for it to be used against opponents of jihad violence and Sharia oppression of women. I wonder if Hung Cao is aware of that.
“Virginia Candidate Compares ‘Extremist’ Criticisms Of Republicans To Post-9/11 Treatment Of Muslims,” by Michael Ginsberg, Daily Caller, October 3, 2022:
Virginia congressional candidate Hung Cao implied that Democrats’ claims of Republican extremism are similar to the treatment of Muslims in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in a Sunday debate.
Cao, a retired Navy special operations officer, is running against incumbent Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton in Virginia’s Tenth District. He is a participant in the National Republican Congressional Committee’s (NRCC) Young Guns program, and Wexton is an NRCC target. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) includes her in their Frontline defense program.
The two candidates debated at the Dar Alnoor Islamic Community Center, in an event co-hosted by the MOVE Chamber of Commerce. Towards the end of the debate, Cao held up posters created by the Wexton campaign claiming that he is an “extremist.”
“Where have you heard this word before?” Cao asked. “Where have you heard this word before? I fought and served this country. I bled for this country. And I’m being called an ‘extremist.’ I’ve served honorably for every American. I know lots of people that served with me didn’t agree with my politics. And its fine. I served them anyways. I served them as a commanding officer, and I served them in combat, to preserve life. And now I’m being called an ‘extremist.’”
“Where have you heard that before? This is how we tear people apart. I deserve to be called an American. I’ve earned that right. We’ve all earned that right. We’ve earned that right to be called Americans, even though we weren’t born here,” he continued….
