Reading today's New York Times article on New Yorkers' take on the Cordoba House really disappointed me. A key aspect of this entire project that people are completely failing to grasp is the connection (or lack thereof) of everyday Islam to terrorism. The article quotes people delusional enough to start naming how many blocks away from Ground Zero would be appropriate for a mosque to be located.
During the health care debate I was livid over the Democratic Party's inability to form a coherent, usable message to galvanize the electorate and pass progressive health care legislation. My post yesterday on Harry Reid's kowtowing to anti-property rights folks further shows Democrats' inability to be unified on any issue. If there were an issue that Democrats could be 100% together on, this would, and should, be it.
But from the word "go" the Democrats have resembled the Mets front office rather than a functioning body politic. Hoping to allow the Republicans to talk about Cordoba House until they got bored (akin to allowing a child to throw a temper tantrum in the hopes that he/she will simply tire him/herself out) and sidestep the mosque as a campaign issue, the Democrats seemed to be caught off guard by Obama's statement alluding to a "mosque in Lower Manhattan."
There is a great quote from one of the cinematic masterpieces of our time that I believe encapsulates Harry Reid's asking the Cordoba House to not build at Park51. In Super Troopers Police Chief Grady tells Captain O'Hagan that "Desperation is a stinky cologne." In that case, Harry Reid simply reeks. He put out a statement today, after being pressured by Sharron Angle, his opponent for his Senate seat, on the Ground Zero Mosque. Reid's statement explained, "The First Amendment protects freedom of religion. Sen. Reid respects that but thinks that the mosque should be built some place else."
It is no secret that Reid's battle in Nevada is not going as well as he would hope. It's also no secret that Nevada is a relatively conservative state and its constituents would probably not like to see a Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan (even if it is over 2,000 miles away from the site.) It seems that Reid is going the way of John McCain in the hopes of clinging to his Senate seat, integrity be damned. What's most baffling is that it seems Reid is taking the advice of Sharron Angle's press release that had urged him to take a side in the matter. Her statement said, "As the Majority Leader, Harry Reid is usually President Obama's mouthpiece in the U.S. Senate, and yet he remains silent on this issue. Reid has a responsibility to stand up and say no to the mosque at Ground Zero or once again side with President Obama." Obviously, he chose the former.
Echoing my comments during British prime minister David Cameron's trip to Washington regarding both his and President Obama's lack of anger and emotion while talking about BP's cancerous presence in the Gulf, President Barack Obama needs to drop the professorial and calm demeanor when talking about things that are so laden with logic and common-sense and are somehow being debated in the national dialogue. In his Friday evening comments on the Ground Zero Mosque, President Obama spoke in hypothetical and vague terms, declining to specifically address the issues surrounding the Cordoba House.
In very careful wording, Obama stated, "Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable." He never mentions the specific project and makes sure everything remains vague enough so people cannot point to him specifically and say, "Hey, Obama said to build the Ground Zero Mosque. He must hate America."
Nevertheless, people have taken his remarks as an explicit endorsement of the Ground Zero Mosque, which they are not. In fact, Obama took the time out of his family vacation on Saturday to make sure people knew he was not commenting on the Ground Zero Mosque: "I was not commenting, and I will not comment, on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That’s what our country is about.” This has not stopped politicians on both sides of the issue to say Obama has endorsed the Ground Zero Mosque.
He has not, nor should he, endorse the mosque. However, if he is going to speak about this issues he does need to stand up and say specifically that the Cordoba House, which is really more along the lines of a 92nd Street Y than a mosque, has the right to specifically build at Park51. It is private property and the owners of said private property can do whatever they want with it. And yet again, as I discussed last week, New York's elected officials (minus Senator Gillibrand and Representative Nadler) remained silent along with many national Democrats, even while Obama took flak from the usual suspects.
This whole thing reminds me of a debate in the Boston suburb of Walpole back in May regarding the display of a Confederate flag outside of a public high school playing field. The display was on private property, and as much as I detest the Confederate flag and what it stands for, the right of the homeowner to display it is, redundantly, his right. No one is asking people to agree with Cordoba House, no one is asking people to love it and cherish it, all they have to do is recognize its right to exist on private property.
In atypical fashion, many of New York's national elected officials have kept mum on the decision by New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission to not grant 45-47 Park Place landmark status, clearing the way for what has been dubbed the "Ground Zero Mosque." In reality, the Cordoba House will be a multi-functional building with a mosque in it. Additionally, Muslim prayer groups have been meeting at the current building since last year with no trouble at all. Nate and I have already talked about our feelings on the mosque.
