Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota was right when he said this:
There's also a more important principle at work here. And that is that the transnational terrorists who committed this outrageous act on 9/11, they are arguing that America is at war with Islam," he said. "The way to undermine and counteract that false narrative is to stand on our sacredly held beliefs of religious liberty. That's how we demonstrate that, no, America is a country ... for everyone where people worship as they see fit. The problem with stopping this Islamic center is that it implies that the Muslim world is responsible for it, when it was al Qaeda that was responsible."
But he was apparently wrong when he said this:
"The truth is that we're a party of principle," the second-term lawmaker added. "We believe in the idea of religious liberty."
The deafening silence from a full spectrum of Democratic elected officials should be considered nothing short of a disgrace. The anti-Islam noise machine launches a cynical attack on a minority religious group and most Democrats collapse like a house of cards. Others cower in fear. With all due respect to Mr. Ellison, this does not look like a party of principle to me.
President Obama stood up for religious freedom. His bold defense of a basic principle, arguably the founding principle, of this nation is something that will stand him in good when the history of this time is written. To see so many of his fellow Democrats greet the right-wing attack on religious liberty with silence is nothing short of sickening. Shame on them. Shame.
If the quiet ones are the sort of Democrats President Obama has to deal with, people who can't even come to the defense of freedom of religion when the pressure is on, then it is no wonder he seeks negotiation with Republicans. At least he knows who he is dealing with.
Finally, there are Democrats who say the President shouldn't have added his $100 bill to the debate. That, he should have let national Republicans continue on and on, and that he should have joined other Democrats in remaining silent. It was a political trap, these Democrats say. Maybe. Maybe not. We will see. I can say that no matter what you think of Barack Obama as a politician, or as president, his defense of religious liberty tells you a great deal about the character of the man.