As you no doubt have heard, spineless Harry Reid has decided it’s more politically expedient to oppose the building of an Islamic mosque and community center in the old Burlington Coat Factory building in New York City (BTW, for those of us unfamiliar with the area, TPM has pictures of the neighborhood; I must say, for the most part, it looks like a shithole) than it is to defend the US Constitution and the right it grants “we the people” – be they Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Moonie, or Hindu – to worship (or not) as they see fit (short of human sacrifice or something) without government interference. Whether or not this helps old Harry get reelected, it’s precisely this sort of behavior that has control of Congress on the verge of flipping to Republicans.
Democrats, on the whole, don’t appear to actually stand for much of anything and, given the fact that they appear to be no different than Republicans, aren’t likely to win the seats that are actually in play. All else being equal, boot out the party that’s in power. It’s a shame, really, since – much as the Democrats disgust me – I honestly think having Republicans in charge will be way worse in every way imaginable. Obama looks to be a one-and-done at this point (way too early to call, of course; if the economy and unemployment turn around or things stop looking like such a quagmire in Afghanistan, maybe he can limp to a ineffective second term).
Of course, Obama “stood up” for the rights of citizens to build whatever they want on private property (and good for him), but then of course he had to couch his remarks in a rather Clintonesque way the next day by saying, “hey, oh, wait a minute. They have a right to build there, but I think it’s wrong to actually do it.”
I know, I know. It’s very nuanced. Like saying you defend the right of Nazis to march through downtown Poughkeepsie, but you hate the message they’re sending. OK, I get that, I guess, though I don’t get what’s wrong with building a community center/mosque, and I don’t get why Obama can never just come out and be on the correct side of an issue without trying to have it both ways.
Why not just say, “look, do you want the government or ‘majority rule’ to deny you the right to build your church in a particular location, just because it happens to fall out of favor with the unwashed masses? Should we deny the right of Christians to build churches and assemble freely because Fred Phelps is an asshole and his church is a perversion of Christianity? Should we refuse to allow a Catholic Church to open within a mile of a school because it’s a ‘slap in the face’ to kids and their families who have suffered abuse by priests?”
Yeah, you’re right. It wouldn’t make any difference to these mouth-breathing idiots. But it would make a difference to me.
Then again, nobody’s asking me.