The Nation: The Lesson of Mosque-Mania: It's Our Values, Stupid

[Douglas Carpenter]

an excellent article that should be read by all:

http://www.thenation.com/blog/154081/lesson-mosque-mania-its-our-values-stupid

The Lesson of Mosque-Mania: It's Our Values, Stupid

by Kai Wright

August 19, 2010

There can be no more doubt about what today’s GOP stands for. From mosques and birthrights to lazy laid-off workers, the Republican Party has concocted one way after another to pander to the most reactionary emotions of its base. But if Republicans win back Capitol Hill, they will have Democrats to thank. Because the Dems’ timid rejoinder to the GOP’s summer of demagoguery similarly reveals how afraid they are of debating our defining values. And like all fears, theirs is ultimately self-defeating.

The orchestrated absurdity surrounding a Muslim community center in lower Manhattan is but the latest, if most bald example of the GOP’s attempt to conquer by division. The “debate” Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and House Republicans have stirred couldn’t be more divorced from reality. The center is neither a mosque nor located on Ground Zero. And local authorities, to whom conservative ideology professes deference, have resolved zoning issues to their satisfaction. But the facts don’t matter. Republicans are building a cultural consensus, not making policy.

snip:

What do all of these questions have in common? They concern issues Republicans have hammered and Democrats have dodged. On issue after issue, the Republicans’ divisive ideas for America’s core values win out because Democratic leaders refuse to articulate a set of progressive American values.

snip:

He has said he isn’t commenting on the “wisdom” of building the Muslim community center, but that’s precisely what we so desperately need him to do. Are we the kind of community that holds religious plurality and freedom at its core or aren’t we? Do we believe immigration enriches our communities or don’t we? Are America’s gay and lesbian relationships as legitimate as straight ones or aren’t they? Are we a country that accepts nearly double-digit unemployment or not? Indeed, even on the economy, the real, agenda-shaping questions are value-based ones that Republicans consistently force and Democrats consistently dodge.

snip:

Something Obama did again and again on the campaign trail, actually. On health care. On energy. On the economy. Yes, governing means moving the levers of government, not just running your mouth. But a values stance will always trump one that’s focused on “local laws and ordinances” in the American political sphere. And as long as the president and his party avoid taking one, the Republican demagoguery will continue to dominate.

link to full article:

http://www.thenation.com/blog/154081/lesson-mosque-mania-its-our-values-stupid

[Scurrilous]

1. Thanks.

K & R :thumbsup: