Jon Kyl: Embassy Statement Was Like Telling A Raped Woman She ‘Asked For It’

[DonViejo]

Source: TPM

Here's what Kyl said, as quoted by Roll Call reporter Meredith Shiner:

"It's like the judge telling the woman who got raped, 'You asked for it because of the way you dressed.' OK? That's the same thing. 'Well America, you should be the ones to apologize, you should have known this would happen, you should have done — what I don't know — but it's your fault that it happened.' You know, for a member of our State Department to put out a statement like that, it had to be cleared by somebody. They don't just do that in the spur of the moment."

Read more: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/jon-kyl-embassy-statement-was-like-telling-raped

[nolabear]

1. Am I stupid? I have no idea what he's talking about. What's the equivalent here?

I'm serious. Someone please enlighten me.

[mrmpa]

7. You're not stupid............

I get tired of posts that just quote people, and don't give any background as to what the quote refers to and who the person being quoted is.

[DonViejo]

14. Kyl is U.S. Senator from Az

I'm surprised someone at DU doesn't know the name of one of biggest flaming a-holes in the Republican Party. Thank G-d Kyl is retiring

[olddad56]

21. now I'm confused. If he is from Arizona, what is he doing in this country's senate

[freshwest]

22. This is from the same party that says women can't get pregnant from rape, or if they do, it wasn't

A legitimate rape, and/or it's a gift from God. I'm not interested in the latest offal from the party of the war on women, children, the environment and freedom to think and live as you choose

But someone had to bring it here, and I'm glad you did. Now we have to make sure Jeff Flake doesn't replace this dickweed. There is a great Democrat, Richard Carmona running for that slot.

[mrmpa]

36. All republicans in my estimation are...........

assholes, thus I don't pay attention as to who they are or they were elected to represent. I do know the republican "players", but I don't know all of them.

[Andy823]

12. He doesn't even know what he is talking about

Seems like some republicans are simply making really stupid comments trying to defend Romney's idiotic attack on the president. It's simply BS that makes no sense, but it works on the crazy wing of the party, and it seems like that's all they are trying to please these days.

I have to admit though this is the stupidest defense I have heard so far!

[Angry Dragon]

16. I believe he is referring to the first statement by the Ambassador BEFORE

any bloodshed

Here you have a man trying to defuse an angry mob and protect his people and the republicans are finding fault with it.

Republicans eat so much shit some of it (or a lot) comes out of their mouths

[karynnj]

26. Not easy to do - you have to think like a RW person

Here goes:

The woman dresses provocatively, rape occurs

RW nutjobs make disrespectful file and it is played in Arabic in Egyypt, the US embassy is attacked.

He is saying that the statement was saying that the film (the woman ) was to blame.

The equivalence has lots of problems:

it was issued 6 hours before the embassy was attacked. In fact, the statement was an attempt to tamp down the anger.

Most people would find the film offensive, while thankfully few believe that a woman's dress justifies rape.

[KamaAina]

2. I'll take Repukes Saying Idiotic Things About Rape for 400, please, Alex.

[shawn703]

3. Well, there's one rat that doesn't have the sense to jump ship

Idiot

[gordianot]

4. Republicans should stop talking about rape they always get it wrong.

[aquart]

5. Except for the embassy statement being made BEFORE the "rape."

[ChairmanAgnostic]

28. Ah, retrospective rape.

[Blue State Bandit]

6. Sorry, not a legitimate rape.

EPIC FAIL

[KamaAina]

11. DUzy!!

[MADem]

13. You win the thread! nt

[JBoy]

8. That makes absolutely no fucking sense at all. n/t

[lakercub]

9. I asked in another thread

and I'll ask again.

What apology?

[Angry Dragon]

18. The statement before any bloodshed

coming from the people on the ground, not DC

[frylock]

30. the word apologize, sorry, or anything even resembling an apology..

cannot be found in the embassy statement. they condemned the attacks as well as condemning those that would incite violence, like the idiots that produced the trailer.

[lakercub]

32. Let me clarify

I know what all the statements were. Where is there an apology in any of them? The first embassy statement isn't an apology for anything...just a disassociation with the film.

[Angry Dragon]

33. I agree with you

I guess Willard can see things that no one else can see, he hears voices

[CBHagman]

40. The reference was to statements made by embassy staff in CAIRO, not Benghazi.

Benghazi, Libya, is the site of the American consulate where U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three others were murdered.

But Romney's (and Kyl's) claims about an apology refer to tweets from someone at the U.S. embassy in Egypt.

Here's a timeline and a partial explanation:

[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/cairo-libya-attacks-timeline/[/url]

[lakercub]

41. Heh, yeah I knew all this

My question refers to the fact that I see no apologies...anywhere...by anyone...for anything on the American side of this. Romney's complaints about Obama apologizing are complete and total crap.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

44. "What apology?"

Mitt is claiming the "apology" is saying the United States government is sorry we have freedom to put out offensive material.

Which was never in the statement.

Meanwhile Mitt is also trying to get porno banned.

.....figure THAT one out....

[JRLeft]

10. I hate these vapid bastards. What a stupid response to an ignorant fucking Neocon.

[tanyev]

15. Republicans sure do think about rape a lot.

[LadyHawkAZ]

17. And he'd know n/t

[Faygo Kid]

19. Yeah, same thing. These guys are determined to lose.

Normally I would be deeply offended by use of a rape metaphor, but if it digs their hole a little deeper (and it will), then it's all to the good. Anything to remove clowns like Kyl and Mitt from any authority over our lives.

[SansACause]

20. Worst. Coordinate. Political. Attack. Ever.

Must have seemed like a great plan: let's coordinate efforts to attack Pres. Obama over his apology to the terrorists who just killed his ambassador to Libya. Where things went horribly wrong was their poor grasp of chronology.

[NYC Liberal]

23. Oh the irony of a Republican crying about "blaming the victim"

particularly about rape!

[amandabeech]

24. IMHO, I think that it is possible that the U.S. Embassy in Egypt knew that something bad was

about to go down, and was trying to defuse the situation so that U.S. interests and citizens would have some time to protect themselves.

I recall reading today, somewhere, that the trailer to this ugly film was broadcast on Libyan TV and elsewhere in N. Africa yesterday. I hope that I'm wrong, but if I'm right, some organization was using it to fire people up. Well, they succeeded.

I hope that all U.S. citizens, as well as citizens of our NATO allies, get the hell out of N. Africa and the Middle East by noon Friday, when many followers of Islam will go to their weekly service. Undoubtedly, there will be unscrupulous religious leaders who will try to incite violence. In fact, I also read that religious leaders in Egypt were calling for a million-man march in Cairo on Friday. Goody.

But you know who will suffer? Our troops in Afghanistan. This trailer will make it to Afghanistan, if it already hasn't, and will just make the bad situation there worse. Burning Korans and allegations that they were flushed down the toilet only brought attacks on our troops. Think what this film trailer will do.

This whole mess may end up very, very badly indeed, and there are many extremist folks from various religions who will be responsible.

On edit: spelling, and adding this explanation.

[Igel]

37. Only because of communal thinking.

Hence the entie "we understand why you might become angry and do something violent" kind of quasi-placating. Even if it's followed by "but violence is never justified," you've already shown empathy and sympathy for the victimizer.

I can understand why it's said--to try to calm down and placate imbeciles with a miniscule amount of wisdom spread among the entire cast of thousand.

But when I heard HRC's statement, I immediately recast it as, "I can understand how a man might find my sister's dress provocative and take it to be incitement, but rape is never justified."

Best just to say, "Whoever thinks that my sister's provocative dress can ever be justification for violence is an imbecile because it's never justified."

The proper statement, IMHO: "Anybody who calls himself a Muslim and commits this kind of act is defaming Allah more than somebody who calls his camel the son of Muhammed by Allah. He insults all Muslims and dishonors them. Any real Muslim must call him apostate or worse than an infidel. We expect imams and other Muslims in Libya to find out who these kafir are and who, if anybody, promulgated this act and and deliver him to the Libyan government for trial in America in order to defend the honor of Islam so that it will not called the religion of pigs and dogs."

IOW, HCR's comments reflected a narrow ethnocentrism and misses the point entirely.

[surrealAmerican]

25. He's not too clear on the whole concept ...

... of metaphors, is he?

[MotherPetrie]

27. WHAT.A.PIECE.OF.SHIT!

[goodhue]

29. Hilarious

Alleged apologies are like "legitimate" rape? Can't believe the Republicans really want to reopen this issue.

[SoapBox]

31. The Party of Bullies and Baggers...

ALWAYS obsessed with

1.) anything involved in lady "parts"...pregnancy, rape, birth control, sex, abortion, forced ultra sounds, etc. etc.

and

2.) anything Nazi...they disgustingly toss around Nazi, Hitler, Germany in WWII, etc....with zero regard for the hideous
atrocities that happened.

Sickening.

[underpants]

34. RW Radio thinks they have a winner here

Hell look at the 9/11-gasm that Fox News put on last night. Rush and Hannity (caughts bits today) were just sure that THIS WAS IT!!! I see now that Mitt really made a complete ass out of himself last night.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

45. Want a recap?

Fox's Ralph Peters On Libya Attack: "They Kill Four Of Ours, You Kill 400 Of Theirs"

http://mediamatters.org/video/2012/09/13/foxs-ralph-peters-on-libya-attack-they-kill-fou/189864

Fox Rallies Around Romney For Widely Criticized Libya Remarks

http://mediamatters.org/research/2012/09/13/fox-rallies-around-romney-for-widely-criticized/189886

Ann Coulter: Obama's Actions "Led To Our Ambassador Being Killed" In Libya

http://mediamatters.org/video/2012/09/13/ann-coulter-obamas-actions-led-to-our-ambassado/189867

Fox's Steve Doocy: The U.S. Embassy In Cairo Was Essentially "Apologizing To Al Qaeda"

http://mediamatters.org/video/2012/09/13/foxs-steve-doocy-the-us-embassy-in-cairo-was-es/189866

Standard FOX "News" formula, make sure every personality repeats the same lie all day every day and later throw on a fake liberal out of the blue and ridicule them for having their facts wrong to show their viewers how to deal with life outside the bubble.

[fascisthunter]

35. the political party for sociopaths and losers

[Odin2005]

38. Their hypocrisy is stunning.

[bucolic_frolic]

39. Why is SEX always the first analogy the GOP thinks of?

Everytime you turn around they're alluding to it again.

Is it deliberate to keep the Fundamentalists juiced for November?

[Judi Lynn]

42. Kyl is a vain Republican, so proud to have his own chin.

[center]



Not so lucky Mitch McConnell.[/center]

[Tx4obama]

43. Kick! n/t

[RFKHumphreyObama]

46. Given the GOP's problems with comments on rape, did he really want to go there

Not the sharpest tool in the shed