It has come to my attention that Rima Barakat — who’s running for the Republican nomination to House District 6 in the Colorado State house — against Joshua Sharf has made an issue of a comment I left on Joshua’s blog View from a Height. I’d like to address a couple of issues that surround the controversy.

First of all, it’s a bit ridiculous to attribute comments left on a blog to that blog’s owner. I leave comments up on Thinking Right all the time that I disagree with. In fact, my comment policy states:

I love getting feedback from my readers, and I enjoy debating the issues with those that disagree with me. However, I will not tolerate foul language or people running down either other commenters or me. I also would appreciate a valid email address so that if necessary we can continue the debate outside of the comment section.

I will not stand for trolls, they will be dealt with swiftly and decisively. I pay for this website out of my own pocket, and just so you know, the first amendment doesn’t protect your right to be offensive or pick a fight on my website.

I believe that’s a pretty fair representation of most blogger’s comment policy, although there’s certainly no one size fits all prescription. Mr. Sharf does not endorse my views. I don’t even know if he holds the same views as I do regarding the Palestinian situation. I’ve – quite frankly – never asked him about it.

As far as my comment, what I intended to say was that typically those that defend the atrocities committed by groups like Hamas (atrocities committed against Israelis as well as their own people by the way) run away from the debate when confronted with the facts. Ms. Barakat seems to fit the mold. To my knowledge, rather than address the issues brought up in Joshua’s post, she has brought out her defenders to help her in her efforts to play the victim.

As a matter of fact, rather than address the issues raised by Joshua, she accuses the State Republican party of declaring war on everything Muslim, everything Arab, and everything immigrant.

Here’s a quote from the article linked above that’s along those same lines.

“What surprises me is the condoning of these types of attacks by some party members and officers who have done nothing to stop them,” she said.

Might I suggest that Ms Barakat grow a thicker skin, and start addressing the issues raised by her critics? Or would I be accused declaring war on everything Muslim if I suggested that?

Either way, Ms Barakat’s handling of this situation says far more about her than Mr. Sharf, or I.

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