Time out

Mark Halperin writes in Time Magazine today a plea to all Republicans not to take advantage of what Obama said with regard to the Ground Zero mosque. It is a truly bizarre piece of writing. According to Halperin, Obama knew when he made his statement that it would be unpopular, but he made it because he believed it was the right thing to do. Halperin argues that accordingly, no one should criticize him for it. According to that logic, no one should criticize Obamacare or the unstimulating stimulus either. After all, Obamacare was polling below 40% when the Democrats pushed it through. They did not listen to the opposition of the American people to the bloated giveaway they called the stimulus package either.

Halperin and Time need to understand the meaning of the word democracy. People are entitled to disagree and to express those disagreements. No one should remain silent just because Obama or Time for that matter thinks that the views they express are correct. One would hope that all the views Obama expresses are views he think are correct. Are we to believe that Halperin is of the opinion that Obama often knowingly does the wrong thing?

The truth is that Halperin's real point is that Obama's position on the mosque is one that everyone agrees is correct; opposition is just bigotry. The problem with this argument is that it is just plain wrong. Indeed, the idea that the issue is religious freedom is offensive and closed minded. No one is saying that the Muslim community cannot or should not practice their religion. That is their absolute right in America. All that is being said is that the community needs to be sensitive to the feelings of others, namely the survivors of 9-11, particularly those who lost loved ones at the WTC. Is it wrong to ask for decency from the developers of the mosque? Is it wrong to ask for honor for the fallen? Of course not! But Obama in what Halperin calls "his carefully chosen words" does none of that. He raises the straw man of religious freedom so that he can support those he considers victims in his twisted ideology. He ignores the propriety of building a mosque at a site where thousands were killed in the name of Allah.

With writers like Halperin, Time may soon join Newsweek in being sold for $1. Even at that price, it would be no bargain.