Who will stand up to the GOP's war on Islam? by Gene Lyons (salon.com)

[Douglas Carpenter]

Who will stand up to the GOP's war on Islam?

If we don't stop the hysteria soon, bin Laden will score one of his biggest propaganda victories yet

By Gene Lyons

snip:

Regardless of how hard they try to disguise it, if only from themselves, those who would forbid the project express an essentially tribal view of Americanism specifically repudiated by the U.S. Constitution. "Is there any reason to oppose the mosque that isn't bigoted, or demagogic, or unconstitutional?" asks Michael Kinsley. "None that I've heard or read. "Make that two of us. Regardless of motive, it’s all about "prohibiting the free exercise" of somebody else’s religion. The End.

Actually, I’d go further. Are there any arguments against the project that don’t also violate the elementary distinction between "some vs. all" we were all supposed to learn in sixth grade? None that I’ve seen. Broadly speaking, the loftier the rhetoric the more craven the appeal to primitive concepts like the collective guilt of the world’s 1.4 billion Muslims for 9/11, a deranged act of mass murder committed by a tiny heretical sect.

snip:

Walking the neighborhood, a New York Daily News reporter recently took note of the Pussycat Lounge, a strip joint two blocks from ground zero, and the Thunder Lingerie and Peep Show. Also Off Track Betting facilities, along with "17 pizza shops, 18 bank branches, 11 bars, 10 shoe stores and 17 separate salons" offering what’s euphemistically called "bikini waxing." Evidently, not everybody understood it was all sacred ground until Republicans decreed it.

Regardless, now that the issue’s joined, President Obama’s stuck with it. Insulting our Muslim allies and giving Osama bin Laden a huge propaganda victory by making the struggle against terrorism appear to be a war against Islam -- exactly as he claims -- would be a strategic disaster.


read the full article on salon.com:

http://www.salon.com/news/ground_zero_mosque/index.html?story=/opinion/feature/2010/08/18/gop_islam_war&source=newsletter&utm_source=contactology&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Salon_Daily%20Newsletter%20%28Not%20Premium%29_7_30_110

[AlabamaLibrul]

1. From the looks of it, not Democrats... n/t

[Douglas Carpenter]

3. they do sadly seem to be absent from duty

[babylonsister]

4. Umm, seems the democratic President has. nt

[AlabamaLibrul]

5. Not really...

He made a comment that seemed to vaguely support it *at first*, then he felt the need to walk it back the next day, saying he wasn't "commenting on the wisdom" of it, which is just about as good as saying, well, it's legal, but I don't support it.

Once again, the President has opened his mouth on what should be a non-issue, made it 10x bigger than it would have been, and basically said nothing in the process.

[babylonsister]

9. Baloney. Stop watching cable and think for yourself.

Or better yet, listen to the President. He didn't want to get into the local politics of it, but he reiterated his stand yesterday.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=433&topic_id=414852

President Obama: 'no regrets' on Islamic Center

After six days of controversy over his remarks on the planned Islamic center near Ground Zero in New York, President Obama said Wednesday he has "no regrets" over speaking up on the issue.

The president's comments came in response to a reporter's question as he greeted members of the audience at an economic panel in the backyard of a home.

Appearing at a political fundraiser in Seattle Tuesday, Obama may have been hinting at the controversy his remarks stirred saying, "I actually have pollsters, so I know when things aren't popular. I know when they don't poll well. But I was not sent to Washington just to do what was popular. I was sent to do what was right."

[AlabamaLibrul]

10. If he had no regrets, he wouldn't have walked it back like he always does. n/t

[babylonsister]

11. You're like a teabagger; you believe what the

m$m wants you to believe. Enjoy that bubble and ignore reality. :hi:

And PS, why you, a supposed Dem, would like to believe the worst is beyond me. Bye now.

[DFLforever]

7. That doesn't seem to count on DU.

[chimpymustgo]

2. It's time to call this bigotry out - and stand up to it. Thanks for posting.

[mmonk]

6. In an us vs them world, people don't realize when they take away

rights, they take away their own.

[Fuzz]

8. I don't give a fuck about religion, Islam included. I do care about

hypocrisy, freedom, the bill of rights and stopping religious idiots from continuing a fucking religious war and bringing it to our damn country.

Bunch of scared idiots.

[Douglas Carpenter]

12. one more kick

[Douglas Carpenter]

13. ome more

[Turborama]

14. Thanks for posting, Douglas

Shame it was too late to rec.

:kick: