Franken: Opposition to mosque is “one of the most disgraceful things that I’ve heard.”

[jefferson_dem]

Franken said conservative opposition to the mosque is “one of the most disgraceful things that I’ve heard.”

“I don’t know how many of you have been to New York, but if a building is two blocks away from anything, you can’t see it. It’s a community center. They’re going to have a gym. They’re going to have point guards. Muslim point guards,” Franken said, to laughter and applause.

“They (Republicans) do this every two years. They try to find a wedge issue, and they try to work it.”

http://www.sj-r.com/breaking/x279156399/Franken-rips-on-Republicans-at-annual-Dem-breakfast

[Enrique]

1. Harry Reid: hey wait a minute, Al... n/t

[NYCGirl]

2. Who could've guessed…

a few years ago that Al Franken would become one of the clearest, sanest voices in the Senate? Al's a mensch.

[Lost4words]

4. I guess those who havent read his books over the years!

we need more like Senator Franken!

[NYCGirl]

15. There are still a few million people who haven't read any

Franken, along with those who only know him as an SNL founder.

[Lost4words]

3. Thank You Al, I love you man!

:kick:

[still_one]

5. and unfortunately some of the Democratic politicians have such a low view

of the populous that they cave in to the hate propaganda instead of doing the right thing. To me that is pure laziness to avoid confrontation. People can argue that it isn't worth the risk for a politician to waste time on this issue, however, that is what a lot of Congressional Democrats have been doing for years. Let's not fight the Patriot Act or the IWR, it might not be politically expedient

The fighting spirit of the Democrats is pathetic. Compare the passion of the Democrats verses the repugs? Everyday the repugs our out there beating up on the Democrats, while the Democrats not only go on the offensive, but do not even defend themselves

The loss of Kennedy's seat demonstrates how lazy a lot of Democratic politicians are

We need more people like Franken who are NOT afraid to speak out

[FirstTimeVoterAt37]

6. Thank God Franken hasn't lost his mind

Insanity seems to be contagious on this issue.

[DirkGently]

7. Bang. Franken nails it. nt.

[David__77]

8. It's not just conservatives, and it's disgraceful from non-conservatives as well.

I completely defend the rights of religious followers to exercise their conscience. And ghettoizing a particular religion is a terrible step.

[Aramchek]

9. I love Al. He's good enough, smart enough, and has balls of steel.

[depakid]

10. Franken: Harry Reid- the majority leader, is disgraceful!

See how this stuff plays?

Obama handed it right to 'em on a silver platter.

[jefferson_dem]

11. It's ALL OBAMER'S FAULT!...

!1!.

[depakid]

12. This recent foray into the land of shiny wedge issues no doubt is

As I mentioned, one of the dumbest political plays (for no substantive reason or gain) that I've ever seen.

Now even Dean's gotten into the act!

And Franken- and lord knows who'll flap their lips next.

[polmaven]

27. Yeah...Imagine!

The President of the United State making an observation regarding the Constitutional rights of a group of citizens! How silly of him! Sheesh!!!

[dionysus]

13. ZOMG THAT EVIL OBAMA DID THIS!1!!!elevens!

man, you're a card.

[depakid]

14. Looks like- on the record at least- he has no regrets for the bonehead play:

President Barack Obama said Wednesday he has "no regrets" over the comments he made about the right of Muslims to build an Islamic center near the former site of the World Trade Center in New York.

Obama's latest comment was in response to a question shouted by a reporter as he was leaving a townhall-style meeting on the economy in Ohio.

The president inserted himself into the debate over the proposed Islamic center, which includes a mosque, when he said last week Muslims "have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country" and that included building the Islamic center in lower Manhattan. A day later, Obama told reporters that he wasn't endorsing the specifics of the plan.

His position has drawn criticism from those who say that the $100 million Islamic center should not be built two blocks away from the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Republicans have seized on the issue, with many trying to force Democrats to either stand with the president or buck him.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who is locked in a tight midterm election race, was the highest profile Democrat to move away from Obama, saying through a spokesman that he thinks the mosque should be built someplace else.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., hedged on the controversy Wednesday, saying in a statement that while the freedom of religion is a constitutional right, "where a place of worship is located is a local decision."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4509971

[dionysus]

16. it's good to know you tacitly support this bigotry. i'm not surprised.

maybe it's just your bizarre obsession with the president.
:hi:

[depakid]

18. If you had anything other than juvenile insults, you might consider posting them sometime

obviously you don't or you're not interested in contributing to the discussion.

At any rate- enjoy! Management must love it or you'd long since have been gone.

[DevonRex]

25. Or maybe he *is* management.

:tinfoilhat:

:rofl:

[DevonRex]

26. Bonehead play? Standing up for the constitutional rights of US citizens? Wow.

Just wow.

[depakid]

30. No one's rights are being denied here

The permit's been issued. There was nothing to gain.

This was simply an ill considered response to the right wing howlers- and they've been hollering among themselves thoughout the last year, getting little attention- until now.

And the result? Well, look around. Dems are battling Dems and running around trying to say what they think people want to hear- or backpeddling. Republicans are just loving this.

[Lord Magus]

47. Not for lack of trying.

[dionysus]

34. we must atone... maybe we can win his loyalty by mowing down a pack of muslins... wait, i got a

better idea!

CRUSIE MISSELS!1!!!1

;)

[DevonRex]

37. Ya know, that might just do the trick!

But not the one I, um, you know, had to paint flowers on the other day. :)

[dionysus]

38. maybe you'll find a shiny new launch console in your stocking this year!!

:D

[DevonRex]

41. Heh. Oh a good note, I've decided what to do with the old one.

I'm gonna put it in the back yard and have my own Burning Man festival. And I'm gonna play John Prine songs and "Burn One Down" by Ben Harper and annoy the neighbors. :evilgrin:

Okay, not really, but it was fun to think about. I don't typically annoy my neighbors or burn one down. :)

[dionysus]

43. if you have your own Burning Man, sarah can come over and you can pass trig back and forth like a

bong....

Ronald Regan Jr., speaking about the RNC on the Thom Hartmann Show:
"Sarah Palin's baby was being passed around like a bong at Burning Man."

[DevonRex]

44. ...

OMG. :rofl: Not in MY backyard. Oh no. Nope. Unh uh.

[DevonRex]

17. WTF is wrong with you? And WTF party do you belong to, anyway?

We'll deal with Reid in time. At the moment he's gotta win over that teabagger.

[depakid]

19. Did you read the OP (or Harry Reid's statement on the issue?)

Do you understand what a wedge issue is?

[DevonRex]

24. You didn't answer my question.

[DFLforever]

20. He's a professional antagonist

I'm putting him back on my ignore list.

[depakid]

22. Guess that's like a professional leftist?

[DevonRex]

29. Hon, it's "left" to stand UP for constitutional rights, not to call it a "bonehead play."

Just an FYI.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

31. Some people are principled, but not practical. Some are practical, but not principled.

Some are neither.

[Lord Magus]

46. Reid IS disgraceful.

He shouldn't be the Majority Leader. He never should've been. The job title itself shows why he's unqualified: he's too spineless to be a leader.

[Douglas Carpenter]

21. kick and recommend!! that was truly fantastic!!!

[Arkana]

23. Al tells it like it is again.

[bergie321]

28. I believe that this Muslim Group should compromise

Instead of building a "mosque" at "ground zero", they should build a community center devoted to interfaith cooperation and they should move it 2 blocks away. They should also fire the "terrorist sympathizer", "radical Imam" and hire a moderate who is hated by Al Qaeda and who Bush sent on an around the world mission of peace and unity.

[Douglas Carpenter]

32. now that is a reasonable compromise

and for those who don't know any better or have missed your point - here is the NYT article written last December before this whole CRAZY hate campaign began:

Muslim Prayers and Renewal Near Ground Zero

By RALPH BLUMENTHAL and SHARAF MOWJOOD
Published: December 8, 2009


snip:

“ As a Sufi, Imam Feisal follows a path of Islam focused more on spiritual wisdom than on strict ritual, and as a bridge builder, he is sometimes focused more on cultivating relations with those outside his faith than within it.

snip:

Those who have worked with him say if anyone could pull off what many regard to be a delicate project, it would be Imam Feisal, whom they described as having built a career preaching tolerance and interfaith understanding.

“He subscribes to my credo: ‘Live and let live,’ ” said Rabbi Arthur Schneier, spiritual leader of Park East Synagogue on East 67th Street.

snip:

The mayor’s director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs, Fatima Shama, went further. “We as New York Muslims have as much of a commitment to rebuilding New York as anybody,” Ms. Shama said. Imam Feisal’s wife, Daisy Khan, serves on an advisory team for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, and Lynn Rasic, a spokeswoman for the memorial, said, “The idea of a cultural center that strengthens ties between Muslims and people of all faiths and backgrounds is positive.”


snip:

“ Building so close is owning the tragedy. It’s a way of saying: ‘This is something done by people who call themselves Muslims. We want to be here to repair the breach, as the Bible says.’ ”

The F.B.I. said Imam Feisal had helped agents reach out to the Muslim population after Sept. 11. “We’ve had positive interactions with him in the past,” said an agency spokesman, Richard Kolk. Alice Hoagland of Las Gatos, Calif., whose son, Mark Bingham, was killed in the hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, said, “It’s quite a bold step buying a piece of land adjacent to ground zero,” but she said she considered plans for the site “a noble effort.”

snip:

Joy Levitt, executive director of the Jewish Community Center, said the group would be proud to be a model for Imam Feisal at ground zero. “For the J.C.C. to have partners in the Muslim community that share our vision of pluralism and tolerance would be great,” she said.

Mr. El-Gamal agreed. “What happened that day,” he said, “was not Islam.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/nyregion/09mosque.html?_r=1

link to the cordoba intiative:

http://www.cordobainitiative.org /

link to Imam Feisal Press Conference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfIPO7CVflA


.

[4lbs]

40. You actually think the howlers would care? All they would see is that a Muslim is still running

the place.

[otohara]

33. Al Franken Rocks & Is The Only Liberal in the Senate

Paul Wellstone would be proud of you Sen. Franken :toast: :yourock: :toast:

[Lord Magus]

48. Bernie Sanders is still in the Senate too.

[MadBadger]

35. Liberal Opposition to it is the Most disgraceful thing.

[Jefferson23]

36. That drives me nuts too. n/t

[4lbs]

39. ANd this is why we should all support Franken for President in 2016.

He cuts through the BS and says it like it is.

[DFLforever]

42. Disgraceful is the perfect word to describe this ploy

Shameful would be a close second

[DemocraticPilgrim]

45. This issue is getting too much attention, it's stupid and talking like it's the only one in the US..

it's not th only one, because it's the US. Now let's get back to jobs.