Lou Ann Zelenik, who is running to be the Republican nominee in Tennessee's 6th Congressional district in November, issued a statement yesterday about the proposed Islamic Community Center in Murfreesboro that has already created much controversy in Middle Tennessee. And today she doesn't want to answer any questions about it.
Update: Someone from one of the news stations just called and wanted to interview me on camera today, but I can't get up to Nashville in time. He said that they've been trying to call Zelenik's office and have been getting hung up on as well. He also said she's supposed to be at some meeting or dinner or something in downtown Nashville tonight, so hopefully they will be able to track her down. I think this is about to get pretty ugly for her. If you're in Nashville, watch the local news tonight! Thanks for the recs.
Here's the statement:
Let there be no mistake, Lou Ann stands with everyone who is opposed to the idea of an Islamic training center being built in our community. This “Islamic Center” is not part of a religious movement; it is a political movement designed to fracture the moral and political foundation of Middle Tennessee.
We Americans pride ourselves on being a tolerant people, but tolerance does not require naïveté. Our nation is at war with Islamic extremists. Radical Muslims are killing our servicemen and servicewomen everyday. They say want to kill us, and time and again they have backed up their words with action.
Yes, we are tolerant, but our nation was founded on the tenets of the Judeo-Christian tradition; we have a right to defend that tradition. Until the American Muslim community find it in their hearts to separate themselves from their evil, radical counterparts, to condemn those who want to destroy our civilization and will fight against them, we are not obligated to open our society to any of them.
There are those in our society who bow before the throne of political correctness, as if it itself were the god that would save our country. Those people live in a fantasy world that never was and never will be. Those who cower in silence are equally wrong. The People of Rutherford County all need to stand together and say, “enough is enough.”
As Martin Luther King said, “in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends,” so let us not be silent. Stand strong for our God, our families, and our country. God bless you all.
I was offended, but not really surprised, when I read Lou Ann Zelenik's statement this morning. She issued these remarks a week after hundreds of angry residents showed up at the Rutherford County Commission meeting to protest the new Islamic Center, and a day after the sign marking the site of the proposed new center was found vandalized for the second time in less than six months. As a lifelong Tennessean and possible future constiuent, I wanted to let her campaign know that her bigoted remarks do not reflect the attitudes of all residents of the 6th District. Unfortunately, Zelenik's campaign staffers were unwilling to answer my questions seeking clarification, claiming that she had "no comment" on the very issue she had issued a press release about just yesterday.
The first time I called, I told the young woman who answered that I had a couple of questions regarding the candidate's statement about the Islamic Center. She told me to hang on, and I was transferred to a generic voicemail. I called back immediately, and a man answered who told me that Zelenik's campaign would have no further comment about her statement or the Islamic Center. When I asked why her campaign was unable to answer any questions, he said something about her wanting to show support for the local community, but would have nothing further to offer. He also said Zelenik wasn't interested in making it a campaign issue after issuing a statement the day before. He then said "thank you" and cut me off.
I took a different approach the third time I called. I went on Lou Ann Zelenik's website and tried to find an upcoming campaign event where I could ask her my questions in person. She posted some events that she has already attended, but no future events are listed. When I called for the third time, another woman answered and told me there was a barbecue tonight in the Blackman area of Murfreesboro that I could attend, and when I asked specifically when and where, she handed the phone to the first staffer I talked to, whom I believe recognized my voice and said she didn't know where or when the barbecue would be held.
Shortly afterward, I contacted all three local news stations in Nashville and told them I had a suggestion for a story, explaining what had just happened. The local ABC affiliate here, WKRN, told me they already had a reporter on it and the woman in the news room I spoke with said that the rumor was that they had Zelenik on camera and the story would air on their 6:00 newscast.
I find it very ironic that Lou Ann Zelenik is running for public office to represent Tennessee 6th Congressional District, and yet doesn't want to answer any questions about a local issue she voluntarily brought into her campaign. In her statement, she claims that people who "cower in silence" are as wrong as people who "live in a fantasy world" of political correctness. However, she apparently feels that those statements don't apply to her.
We've seen these GOP candidates make their bigoted statements, cloaked in claims of phony tolerance and justifying their hate with quotes from people like Martin Luther King, Jr., only to run away from them later or claim their opponent is distorting their platform. Or maybe I'm just another "naive" liberal. Lou Ann Zelenik is right about one thing though:
The People of Rutherford County all need to stand together and say, “enough is enough.”
If you would like to contact Lou Ann Zelenik, her campaign HQ's number is 615.962.7716.