Robert "Obama may be a Muslim" Spencer, director of JihadWatch, a David Horowitz funded project, founder of the Orwellian organization SIOA (Stop the Islamization of America), and one of the leaders in the Right-wing (along with Pamela Geller) opposing the Cordoba Islamic Center near Ground Zero is suffering from a serious malady.
He seems to be stuck on the fact that no one wants to debate him...because...well...he's an all around bigot.
All of this started when Spencer was told by Reza Aslan on Christiane Amanpour's ABC program This Week that his hate work would be consigned to the "trash bin of history." Spencer responded with a surprised, awkward grin and squinty eyed nod. Later, when his tongue was untied he unleashed a pair of long blog posts pretty much attacking Aslan through ad hominem personal attacks.
Fast forward to the past few days when Spencer took it a step further. Ahmed Rehab of CAIR-Chicago was on Michael Medved's radio program and stated that he, unlike, Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar would not have left the stage over O'Reilly's comments because he never leaves a debate. Spencer rushed to his soap box and claimed that Rehab "ducked a debate" with him, and therefore was lying.
Spencer is missing a key ingredient here: truth. Rehab never "ducked a debate" with Spencer, he never agreed to one in the first place.
Ahmed Rehab writes:
Apparently this guy (Spencer) heard me on the Michael Medved show earlier today where I disagreed with Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar for storming off the stage during a debate with Bill O’Reilly. It is something I would not do. Spencer who had invited me to a debate before, ran to his blog and put up a piece complaining that if that is the case then how come I “ran away” from debating him.
Surfing through JihadWatch.org, it doesn’t take much to figure out that Spencer is an odd fellow. His rhetoric ranges between the sensational, the simplistic, the superficial, and in many cases the delusional (such as in this case). yet still, until today, I thought he was smarter than that.
Apparently Spencer does not know the difference between storming off from a debate, and never gracing the debate with your presence in the first place.
Spencer, I never agreed to debate you in the first place, and it is highly unlikely that I ever will. If I did for some odd reason, I assure you I would stomach your delusional diatribes throughout the length of the debate and not storm off.
I have debated people in the right wing. So Spencer is probably wondering why I am ignoring him? Well, it’s pretty simple really.
There needs to be three criteria present for me to actively want to set up a formal debate with you:
- That I disagree with you. (Why would I want to debate someone I agree with?) Spencer Check.
- That you are a reasonable individual who is a truth-seeker. Spencer Fail.
- That I respect you. Spencer Fail.
In this epic slam of Spencer, Ahmed Rehab essentially points out something that Spencer, basking in his inflated ego never considered: people don't want to debate bigots such as him because it would be like someone from the NAACP debating David Duke. It just wouldn't fly. The two aren't equal.
Spencer replied in his usual ad hominem based style by posting a picture of Ahmed Rehab shirtless and claiming that he wears eyeliner, lipstick and is a....horror of all horrors...Muslim metrosexual. This also seems to be Reza Aslan's sin, and then he wonders why respectable individuals do not want to debate him or his conspiracy theories?