WASHINGTON – Following President Barack Obama’s controversial decision to support the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City, countless individuals have stepped forward and shared their position on this issue, including Hamas’ co-founder, Mahmoud al-Zahar, who said Muslims “have to build” the mosque.
 
The contentious issue has splintered national leaders of President Obama’s party, including Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chairman U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who suggested that those who oppose the construction of this mosque don’t understand “what the Constitution is all about.”
 
Facing an uphill reelection battle in November U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) sought to distance himself from Obama and Menendez today as his campaign issued a statement asserting that “the mosque should be built some place else.”
 
Reid’s political maneuvering comes on the heels of statements from the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Tim Kaine, who claimed that Democrats who distance themselves from the President, are “crazy.”
 
Meanwhile amid this politically-charged intra-party controversy, Democrat Senate hopeful U.S. Representative Joe Sestak (D-PA) has failed to clearly explain his position on the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero. In contrast, the Allentown Morning Call reports that “U.S. Senate candidate Republican Pat Toomey’s campaign made clear his opposition to it.”
 
Sestak is expected to accept the endorsement tomorrow of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I-NY), who supports the Ground Zero mosque.  As the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, “Bloomberg’s visit could trigger questions on one of the most controversial issues in politics in recent days: Muslim plans to build a community center and mosque near ground zero in Lower Manhattan… The issue could be sticky for Sestak, who was attacked in TV ads in July by a conservative group for speaking before the advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations in 2007. CAIR’s opponents have branded it as a front for the extremist group Hamas.”
 
“With his fellow Washington Democrats at odds, Joe Sestak needs to tell Pennsylvania voters who he agrees with: His could-be Senate Leader Harry Reid, or his national party leader President Obama?” asked National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokeswoman Amber Marchand.  “After helping Obama and Reid ram their costly economic agenda into law in Washington, Sestak can’t have it both ways, and he owes it to voters to make his position clear.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at 7:24 am and is filed under Front Page Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.