Obama’s mosque position nationalizes the mid-term elections

With his ill-advised and blindingly stupid statement in support of the Cordoba Project last Friday night, President Obama did something that the leadership of the Republican party has been struggling to do since the passage of the healthcare colossus. 

He nationalized a midterm election.

What’s interesting is that the issue presents no options for government to intervene and resolve.  The First Amendment’s establishment and expression clauses are quite clear—there is nothing the government or an agency could do to halt the project, except on minor non-federal regulatory grounds (you can’t build a structurally unsafe mosque or fail to conform to local zoning regulations just because you want to build a religious structure).  So there was no reason for Obama to say a word.  He can’t do anything to stop it, and he can’t do anything to promote or sort it.  He should have never uttered a word.  He did, anyway.

It’s worth noting that on every major current affairs issue we’ve had cross our recent news feeds, TV screens and local paper, the President has chosen to side against sizable majorities of the American people.

Healthcare reform was opposed by at least a plurality in some polls and outright majorities in others.  Yet, it was Obama’s “signature policy” issue, and he ignored public opinion to ram it through.

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill led Obama to institute a draconian moratorium against all deepwater drilling in US waters, despite absolute majorities of Americans being against it.

When Arizona passed legislation enabling the state’s police agencies to enforce Federal immigration law, Obama ignored a two-thirds majority favoring the law and sued Arizona to stop the law from going into effect.

But none of these issues by themselves had the ability to transform a traditionally locally-oriented midterm election into a galvanizing national election like 1994.

Until, for the fourth time, Obama ignored the will of absolute majorities of American voters and voiced his complete support for the Cordoba Project.  It appears to have become the proverbial straw on the proverbial camel. 

Americans are a patient, trusting and optimistic bunch.  But even the most naive voter sees a President who just doesn’t seem to give a flying damn what Americans think.  You can stick your thumb in the eye of a patient electorate so many times.  This was one time too many.

Gimme some feedback in the comments.

Obama was for the mosque before he was against it

Friday night, during an Iftar dinner to celebrate the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, President Obama caused a stir by wading into the controversy surrounding the Cordoba Ground Zero Mosque Project:

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But let me be clear: as a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are. The writ of our Founders must endure.

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The reaction from the right blogosphere was swift and nearly unanimous, and GOP leadership pounced.

On Saturday, right after Air Force One touched down at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Obama made the following remarks at Naval Support Center – Panama City:

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“I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there,” Obama said yesterday in Panama City, Florida, during a trip with his family to the Gulf of Mexico. “I was commenting very specifically on the right that people have that dates back to our founding. That is what our country is about.”

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Give the President some credit.  It took 2004 Presidential Candidate John Kerry many months to declare that he was for the war in Iraq before he was against it.  This Obama dude, though...  He’s panther quick.  He walked it back in less that 24 hours.

Featured in the news: Bloggers react to Obama’s backing of Ground Zero Mosque

• Atlas Shrugs – “If you had any doubt who Obama stood with on 911, there can be no doubt in our minds now. .. Once again, Obama puts himself directly at odds with the majority of the American people, as is his way and the hallmark of his presidency.”
• Ace of Spaces HQ – “You know who else my enemy is? My enemy is someone who think it's a good idea to advertise the virtues of Islam next door to Islam's Greatest Hit.”
• Doug Ross @Journal – “President Obama doesn't care what you or I think. Facts, logic, reason and history play no part in his "decision-making". Only ideology matters with this particular breed of hard-left Democrats.”
• Weasel Zippers – “Obama spits in America’s eye…”
• Gateway Pundit – “Well, this is real stunner.  Since most voters in America are against building a mosque at Ground Zero, it only figures then that our radical far left president would join the 20% who believe it’s a good idea.”
• Hot Air – “Besides, the left has invested so much energy over the past month patting itself on the back for its moral superiority that they’d have wigged out if he had sided against them here. He can deny them a public option, but god help him if he denies them a Teachable Moment at the wingnuts’ expense.”
• Riehl World View – “I don't think anyone is questioning their right to worship. This is about where. You don't have a right to say a Christian prayer in a public school.”
• Ed Driscoll – The White House was much better off declaring the Cordoba House a local issue. By wading into this, if conservatives weren’t already fired up, ready to go (to coin a phrase) this November, they will be now after reading this.
• Protein Wisdom — “The people of New York who don’t want it? They’re just going to have to learn how to be good Americans.”
• Jennifer Rubin – “He is entirely – and to many Americans, horridly — a creature of the left, with little ability to make moral distinctions. His sympathies for the Muslim World take precedence over those, such as they are, for his fellow citizens. This is nothing short of an abomination.”

Riddle:  What do you get when you cross a radical Muslim with a radical Communist?
Answer: Barack Hussein Obama!  mmm hmm hmm

Obama: Since Islam has always been a part of America, a mosque at Ground Zero is awesome, or something

 

Obama backs controversial New York mosque project

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With the rhetoric growing more heated, Obama decided on Friday to make his voice heard.

Obama was speaking during an Iftar dinner he hosted at the White House. Iftar is the evening meal when Muslims break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

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While the establishment and free expression clauses are absolutely iron clad, making such a statement—following his idiotic statement regarding Islam in America earlier this week—perfectly illustrates that the smartest man in the world is a complete moron. 

Democrats from sea to shining sea must be asking themselves, “what else can go wrong?”

Gimme some feedback in the comments.