Donnie Deustch and Pat Buchanan today recommended that we send in US Marshals to arrest Pastor Jones. May I be the first to say "Has this nation gone nuts"?
These people want to set the precedent that you can just go arrest people whose legal opinions our actions you don't like. So I assume that they think President Bush would have had the right to arrest Imam Rauf because it may have offended some of his constituents. Really?
They call the President a dictator and then they try to force him to prove it.
I can not believe we are really discussing this nonsense.
Media fail. Republican Fail. Democratic Fail. Presidential Fail.
But everyone involved has a chance to redeem themselves. This Saturday, on 9/11/2010 - Burn Candles, Not Qu'rans.
How difficult is it to show that our country has principles with a few loons? It really shouldn't be. Instead, we are constantly creating a platform for hatemongers and publicity hounds to take the country hostage, and then even looking for ways to rationalize their actions.
This is what happens when you let intolerance and bigotry fester and say things like "I won't comment on the wisdom of building a house of worship", or ask for religious leaders to compromise their rights to make the intolerant and outright bigots happy. I understand the short term political rationale, but I submit the long term impacts are overwhelming bad for our country.
Michael Bloomberg understood there are moments where Americans must be unequivocally led, not "represented". This is one those times. It is a shame no other politician of stature is willing to join him. It is why on the day after the President spoke, I wrote a diary saying he needed to go whole hog if he was going to take a stand at all.
Instead, we have come to a moment where the worst of all worlds has now arrived.
So here is the narrative that I expect will play out, if history is any guide.
The trip won't take place or will not resolve the issue. Jones will then say "well, I was willing to compromise". Imam Rauf will portrayed by our 'liberal' media (and some Democrats) is unwilling to show the same graciousness. See...he is the radical!
Of course this makes zero sense, and there was never anything to compromise.
But Imam Rauf has been put in a no-win situation by this other Imam with his own agenda. If Imam Rauf says no, it will be used a justification to move forward with the nook burning, and Jones will get his next fix of attention. And the 70% of Americans who think the mosque should move will now harden their positions out of pure unadulterated emotion.
If the mosque moves, essentially the message sent will be if you threaten to burn a qu'ran, you get basically anything you want.
The other Imam should have stayed out of it. And quite frankly, I assume at this point that he is incredibly naive, a publicity hound, a GOP plant, or a provocateur...I can't put my finger on it but he certainly has made this a bigger mess.
Unfortunately, the US Government has now stepped and into this mess, driven by a ridiculous media. Mark my words. Not to mention we are off the economy again, and the media won't let us back for another week. The issue just got legs at least until Monday. The President's press conference today will be dominated by it.
And Democrats will once again run for the hills even though it isn't necessary, and here is why. There are solutions and this is one example.
Burn Candles, Not Qu'rans. The President should ask for a national moment of unity during his Press Conference today. He should say call for candles to be lit in the windows of every American who disagrees with the book burning. The visuals would need to be available to counter any visuals created by Jones in the global media. We need to understand that in the same way optics can be used against us, they can be used to our advantage. This would show that we cherish our freedom of religion and tolerane, while still being standing for the principle of freedom of speech.
It would have the added value of allowing reporters to check the windows of every Republican, but that is neither here nor there.
You take opportunities like this to show why America is great, not run scared from it. This is a moment to once again show the Muslim world, and Muslim Americans for that matter, that we do not accept this. We denounce and reject it.
We are not afraid. We should not be afraid of what some goofball in Florida will do. We should not give people like him, or terrorists on the other side of the world, veto rights to our Constitution. Instead, when confronted, we should FIGHT BACK as a nation, instead of cowering. And sometime it is as simple as showing the American values are greater than any one individual's intolerance.