House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco, yesterday:
There is no question that there is a concerted effort to make this a political issue by some, and I join those who have called for looking into how is this opposition to the mosque being funded. How is this being ginned up, that here we are, talking about Treasure Island, something we've been working on for decades, something of great interest to our community as we go forward to an election about the future of our country, and two of the first three questions are about a zoning issue in New York City.
So because she got some questions she didn't like at a press conference, we have to investigate the finances behind people who oppose the mosque? Are you kidding me?
I understand part of the impulse here, which is that in political campaigns, there ought to be transparency. But that transparency needs to be across the board -- you can't pick and choose who will be investigated. So to the extent that Pelosi would like there to be more information about how political campaigns are funded, then we ought to debate new policies that would apply to everybody -- equally.
It's also worth noting that there is already some public information available about mosque opponents. The first political ad that I'm aware of on this subject was produced by the National Republican Trust PAC -- which is required to comply with public disclosure laws. You can see their funding sources at opensecrets.org.
There's nothing wrong with combing through public records -- that's what they are there for, after all. But the notion that we should launch a special investigation into the funding of mosque opponents is wrongheaded and flies directly in the face of that other important clause of the First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.