"REID CAVES TO PRESSURE ON CORDOBA HOUSE"....

[Cha]

August 16, 2010

.... "When President Obama bucked public opinion and delivered a strong endorsement of the First Amendment on Friday night, it took the dispute over the Cordoba House proposal to a new level. There was no political upside for the president -- conservatives only celebrate constitutional principles when they approve of those being protected -- which made it all the more admirable when he did the right thing.

It's safe to say the president's party was less impressed. While Democratic candidates, already worried about public attitudes less than three months before the midterm elections, could push off the controversy by dismissing it as a "local matter," Obama's remarks made dodging more difficult. Instead of reporters asking whether they support allowing Americans to build a community center in lower Manhattan, now reporters are asking whether they agree with the president.

In the case of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), he doesn't.

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid is breaking ranks with President Obama over the issue of the proposed construction of a controversial Islamic center and mosque just blocks away from Ground Zero.

"The First Amendment protects freedom of religion," spokesman Jim Manley said in a statement. "Sen. Reid respects that but thinks that the mosque should be built some place else. If the Republicans are being sincere, they would help us pass this long overdue bill to help the first responders whose health and livelihoods have been devastated because of their bravery on 911, rather than continuing to block this much-needed legislation."


I suppose I shouldn't be surprised -- courageous stands are rarely rewarded by voters in competitive contests -- but it's nevertheless disappointing to see Reid make the wrong call. It's disappointing because I'm all but certain Reid doesn't actually believe this. As a member of a religious minority himself, Reid knows better. He has to.

Indeed, notice that Reid's statement made no effort to explain why the former Burlington Coat Factory store is an inappropriate location for a community center, or how many blocks away from Ground Zero would be satisfactory. There's a very good reason for that -- the stand against religious liberty for Muslim Americans may be popular, but it's very hard to defend.

It's worth emphasizing that Reid agrees that the First Amendment "protects freedom of religion." This matters to the extent that the statement effectively concedes the legal reality -- like it or not, the law is the law, and the religious rights of Americans are still protected. In other words, Reid is effectively saying, "They can build the community center, but they shouldn't."

In a case like this, the concession doesn't amount to much. Reid is still wrong.

As is usually the case, Republicans responded to Reid's effort to prevent political attacks by attacking him anyway. If he was going to get slammed either way, Reid probably should have just done the right thing and stood up for the American values he knows are worth fighting for."

—Steve Benen 4:35 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (53)

Re-id! What's wrong with you, Senator? Don't be scared of that idiot, angle.

[Cha]

1. My snively little blue dog who voted NO on the HCR

is against it too..using it against his repuke opponent who broke ranks and supported it.

arcuri is going to hear from me..again.

<snip>

"House Democrat now politicizing mosque issue"

This is genuinely sad. But we now have a House Democrat who has come out against the planned Islamic center -- and is using the issue politically against his Republican opponent, who had previous supported it.

The Democrat in question is Rep. Michael Arcuri of New York. Previously, his Republican challenger, Richard Hanna, had shown the courage to buck his own party and support the center, on the grounds that opposing it was at odds with American values.

"It's extremely easy to understand why people are upset by this, but this country was founded by people who were running away from religious persecution," Hanna, the Republican, said last week.

You'd think this is a stance all Democrats would embrace. Not Democrat Michael Arcuri.

<snip>

"It gets even better. Now Arcuri's Republican challenger has reversed himself, and has come out against the center, too. Amazingly, according to the Utica Observer-Dispatch, Democrat Arcuri's campaign is politicizing the issue by attacking him for flip flopping. As if Arcuri's own stance is couragous or admirable.

Here's the bottom line: When Arcuri's GOP opponent did the right thing and came out for the center, this signaled that the mosque controversy didn't have to be a campaign issue. Yet a Democrat chose to make it one. How many more Dems are going to play these pathetic Rovian games?"

<more>
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/08/house_democrat_now_politicizin.html