Sharpton: The New Imus

I don't know if anyone outside Utah cares or even knows about this story. If you haven't heard about it, here's a link to the story on MSN:

Sharpton denies questioning Romney’s beliefs

Here's my understanding of the issue. During a political debate in New York, the Reverend Al Sharpton said, "As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways, so don't worry about that; that’s a temporary situation".

Question: Was 'the Rev' disparaging Mitt Romney's religion by suggesting that anyone who "really believes in God" wouldn't vote for him, or simply questioning his individual beliefs? The comment could be taken either way. And either way, it's thoughtless at best...and bigoted at worst.

Big Al, of course, denies that he really meant it that way. He wasn't talking about Romney at all; he was talking about Christopher Hitchens, the author and atheist he was debating at the time. And then he added this: "What I said was that we would defeat him, meaning as a Republican....A Mormon, by definition, believes in God. They don't believe in God the way I do, but by definition, they believe in God."

My first reaction to Sharpton's explanation is pretty succinct: Bullsh*t. If he were really talking about atheism, he would have said something like, "Those who really believe in God will elect the right candidate, so don't worry about that." He wouldn't have singled out one candidate that he didn't even have the guts to identify by name, just by their religious affiliation. So I don't buy that one.

My second reaction is also succinct: So what? Even if he really was talking about Hitchens—and I don't believe for the merest fraction of a second that was the case, mind you—the comment that he made advocates voting against a candidate solely on the basis of his religion. Guess what, Al? That's religious intolerance. And advocating religious intolerance makes you a bigot.

Reverend Sharpton's was one of the loudest voices of reprimand against Don Imus for his racially insensitive remarks about the Rutger's women's basketball team a few weeks ago. 'Bigotry' was a word that got thrown around a lot. If what Imus said is bigoted—and the overwhelming consensus is that it was—how are Sharpton's religiously insensitive remarks any different?

Strangely enough, there is one significant difference. Don Imus eventually apologized for his comments. Al Sharpton, at least so far, shows no signs of doing so.

If Reverend Sharpton had a milligram of integrity, he'd demand the same accountability for his own comments as he did for Imus'. He'd apologize publicly, profusely, and immediately. And then he'd resign from his radio show.

If anyone thinks this will actually happen, please leave me a comment and I'll get back to you. I'd like to talk to you about some swampland.