pan....isn't the difference the fact that Imus directed his slurs at college students who were simply playing competitive collegiate basketball.....not an activity that would make them "fair game", like being a prominent US presidential candidate would make one....."target wise"?
From Pat Robertson's CBN:
Quote:
http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/CBN.../FAQ_cult.aspx
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How Do I Recognize a Cult?
By CBN.com
.....Mormonism teaches that God is not the only deity and that we all have the potential of becoming gods. (Ibid., p. 576.) (Remember that Satan's fall came about because he wanted to be like God.) God, according to Mormons, is not just Spirit but has "a body of flesh and bones as tangible as a man's." (Doctrine and Covenants, 130:22.) They teach, "As we are, he was. As he is, we shall become." (Joseph Smith, "The King Follett Discourse," p. 9.) There has been constant revision of Mormon doctrine over the years, as church leaders have changed their minds on a number of subjects including polygamy, which was once sanctioned by the church.
In summary, the Mormon church is a prosperous, growing organization that has produced many people of exemplary character. But when it comes to spiritual matters, the Mormons are far from the truth......
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I am not supporting Sharpton's attack on Romney's religious beliefs. I Just don't think Romney was "victimized" by Sharpton's rhetoric.... the CBN example indicates that what Sharpton said is "mainstream" in fundamentalist christian "circles"....but what Imus said about the college girls....they weren't running for POTUS in a political party that is hugely supported and influenced by conservative christians.....but simply became well known enough to be coherently targeted by Imus on his presumption that much of his audience would be familiar enough with them to comprehend his publicly broadcast moral and racial denigration of them, was justification for his employer's negative reaction, and the reaction of many of the public.
I see your comparison as similar to an attempt to compare apples to oranges.
I believe I know what you're trying to do, but I see no inconsistency in Sharpton condemning what Imus did....at least in NY & in NJ, Sharpton is a recognized (by the media and public perception....) long time spokesman for the "black community", and he wears another "hat" as a mnister of the christian faith, and as a former (maybe even a current) presidential candidate in the opposing political party vs. Romney's..... and then later slurring Romney's candidacy via the differences between mainstream christian religious beliefs, vs. those of Romney's "cult".....
If, in 2004, a black member of Swiftboat Veteran's for Truth, had condemned a radio jock for making slurs similar to those that Imus was fired for making, and then later attaced John Kerry's patriotism and credibility by accusing him of putting himself in for unearned medals to shorten his combat tour or to pump up an undeserved reputation for "valor and heroism" in combat, I don't see a difference between that progression and what Sharpton has done in the two instances.....
Romney knew that running for POTUS in a political party that includes and actually listens and responds to the dogma and demands of the likes of a Pat Robertson, would bring attacks on Romney's relgious beliefs. If Sharpton was not a member of christian clergy, there might be a weak case for your example, but that is not the circumstance here......