Cordoba House

Republican Orrin Hatch Stands Up For Cordoba House (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | August 31, 2010, 1:26PM

Sen Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

A conservative Republican Senator has now come out strongly against efforts to block the construction of the Cordoba House Muslim community center near Ground Zero in New York: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT).

In an interview with the local Fox affiliate in Salt Lake City, Hatch stated his support and past work for religious freedom. "So, if the Muslims own that property, that private property, and they want to build a mosque there, they should have the right to do so," said Hatch. He also discussed his past experiences dealing with discrimination against the construction of Mormon temples -- and when his late friend Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) helped him to resolve just such a dispute in Boston.

Hatch acknowledged that there have been objections to the construction of the center, on the grounds of sensitivity and whether it should be built, but ultimately he came down on the side of the right to build it without interference. He also added: "And there's a huge, I think, lack of support throughout the country for Islam to build that mosque there, but that should not make a difference if they decide to do it. I'd be the first to stand up for their rights."

It should be noted that there has been much discussion about a possible right-wing challenge against Hatch for his party's nomination in 2012, just as his co-Senator Bob Bennett lost renomination at the state convention this year. If that were to come to pass, don't be surprised to see these comments used against him.

(via Think Progress)

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Jon Stewart

Bloomberg: Cordoba House Controversy Is All About The Elections (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | August 27, 2010, 10:22AM

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg continued his defense of the Cordoba House Islamic center near Ground Zero on The Daily Show last night, telling Jon Stewart that "there's nothing new" about the planned project. "The difference is we're in election season," Bloomberg said, "and this whole issue I think will go away after the next election."

He added: "This is plain and simple people trying to stir up things to get publicity, and trying to polarize people so that they can get some votes."

Stewart was glad that the Mayor was defending the Cordoba House, because "I would like to build a synagogue -- reform -- in St. Patrick's cathedral."

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Cordoba House

Poll: Less Than A Quarter Of Americans Have 'Favorable' View Of Islam

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 26, 2010, 10:47AM

The Islamic Circle of North America-NY hosts a rally.

Proponents of the Cordoba House project planned for Lower Manhattan have said that one of the project's goals is to build a mutual understanding between American Islam and the non-Muslim American majority. A new national poll shows there's a long way to go before that vision is a reality.

The survey of 1,082 adults conducted this week by CBS found just 24% of respondents had a "favorable" view of Islam. Nearly 40% said they had an "unfavorable" view of the second-largest religion on the planet, while 37% said they don't have an opinion on the faith.

Not surprisingly, those numbers translated into very little support for the Cordoba House project. Just 22% of all respondents said it was "appropriate" for the Muslim cultural center to be built near Ground Zero, while 71% said it was "inappropriate."

Among the plurality who hold an unfavorable opinion of Islam, support for the project was almost nonexistent. Nine percent said it was appropriate for Cordoba House to be built, while 88% said it was inappropriate. Those holding a favorable view of Islam split on Cordoba -- 50% said building it was appropriate, while 42% said it was inappropriate.

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Cordoba House

Fmr. Bush Adviser Ken Adelman: Bush Should Publicly Support Cordoba House (AUDIO)

Jillian Rayfield | August 25, 2010, 4:00PM

Ken Adelman

Former Bush and Reagan adviser Ken Adelman said today that he fully supports the planned construction of the Cordoba House Islamic center near Ground Zero, and is "a little disappointed" that former President George W. Bush hasn't come out in support of it as well.

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

Bloomberg At Iftar Dinner: 'Islam Did Not Attack The World Trade Center' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | August 25, 2010, 3:28PM

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg

New York City Mayor Bloomberg re-upped his support last night for the right of Muslims to build the Cordoba House Islamic center near Ground Zero. Speaking to Muslims celebrating the end of Ramadan with an Iftar dinner, Bloomberg reiterated that "we are not at war with Islam. We are at war with Al Qaeda."

He added that the debate over the proposed site must be "civil and respectful."

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Cordoba House

Chris Matthews Calls Out Rick Lazio For Exploiting Cordoba House For Campaign (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | August 24, 2010, 6:56PM

New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio has been focusing a lot of his campaign's attention on opposing the proposed Cordoba House Islamic center near Ground Zero, and today on Hardball, Chris Matthews took him to task for playing politics with the controversy. Matthews asked Lazio how he responds to those who say the focus "has a lot to do with the fact that you're down 30 points in what looks to be your upcoming general election fight with Andrew Cuomo for governor."

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Cordoba House

Karl Rove: Cordoba House Imam's Role Under Bush No Big Deal, But Obama Plays Politics (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | August 24, 2010, 4:45PM

more at fox.com August 18, 2010

Former top George W. Bush operatives are really distancing themselves from the Bush administration's relationship with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. Karl Rove said last night on Fox News that he wasn't aware until "recently" that Rauf was sent abroad by Bush's State Department to talk about the Islamic faith.

Laura Ingraham, filling in for Bill O'Reilly, asked about Rauf "working" for the Bush administration.

"I'm not sure working is the right title," Rove said, trying to frame Rauf's role as part of "bureaucratic" State Department decisions that are determined "apolitically." Rove's evidence included the fact as a young Republican he was named to a youth delegation during Jimmy Carter's administration.

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Cordoba House

Santorum: Rauf 'Is A Jihadist, He's Just Not A Violent Jihadist' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | August 24, 2010, 12:19PM

Feisal Abdul Rauf and fmr. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) is pronouncing that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man behind the Cordoba House community center project, is a jihadist -- just a not a violent one.

Appearing last night on Greta Van Susteren's Fox News show, Santorum pointed to Rauf's past comments about American foreign policy, when he said that the United States had more innocent Muslim blood on its hands than al-Qaeda had innocent non-Muslim blood on their hands.

"My thinking was all along if he made the statements that he made, he probably had a lot more that are going to be found out. This man is not a moderate Muslim. This is someone who believes the United States has blood on their hands, that the United States is responsible for this. He is a jihadist, he's just not a violent jihadist. That does not make him a moderate."

So there you have it: Being against American foreign policy means a person is a jihadist -- that is, an enemy of America -- even if they're not violent about it. Question about this non-violent jihad stuff: How does one non-violently commit an act of terrorism?

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Cordoba House

Ron On Rand: My Son Is Not Islamophobic (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 24, 2010, 12:17PM

Ron Paul

After ostensibly dissing his son -- and politicians like him who oppose the Cordoba House project in Manhattan -- over the weekend, Ron Paul took to the airwaves to defend Rand Paul's view on the project while also making it clear he disagrees with it.

To recap: Rand, like many politicians running in tight races this year, is opposed to building the Muslim community center, and has further called on American Muslims to donate the money that would be spent on building the community center to 9/11 victims' families as a show of "reconcilliation." In a blog post over the weekend, Ron Paul ripped into views like that, claiming that any opposition to the project was "all about hate and Islamaphobia."

In a pair of CNN interviews last night and this morning, Ron stuck to his guns about the community center project -- opposition is nothing but a political game being ginned up by bigots. He even went so far as to say he and Rand are on "different sides" of the issue. But he said Rand's opposition to the project did not suggest he's bigoted toward Muslims.

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Cordoba House

The Dems Who Have Spoken For Cordoba House

Eric Kleefeld | August 24, 2010, 8:45AM

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

With all the attention we've given to politicians who have attacked the Muslim community center set to be built near Ground Zero in New York, let's take a different look at the story: A list of the Democratic politicians who have stood up in support of it.

Opposition to the project has been brewing for weeks, and the issue came to a head a week and a half ago, when President Obama voiced his support for the right of organizers to build it.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Hundreds Protest Islamic Center In Downtown Manhattan]

Since, some Dems have come out and said that the project should be moved -- most notably Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who nevertheless affirmed the right of Muslims to build it. So let's look at the other side of the equation: Dems who have spoken out on the project's behalf, both before and after Obama's remarks.

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Cordoba House

Ron Paul On Cordoba House Split With Son: Rand Is His Own Man

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 23, 2010, 3:16PM

Ron Paul

Ron Paul says he's not his son's keeper when it comes to the roiling debate over an Islamic cultural center planned for lower Manhattan. After it became clear today that the legendary Texas libertarian and his Kentucky GOP Senate nominee son, Rand, differ over the proposed Cordoba House project -- Ron rips critics for treading on the Constitution, while Rand takes the politically popular I'm-against-it-at-Ground-Zero view -- I asked Ron's congressional spokesperson to weigh in on the divide.

"Rand Paul is his own man," Rachel Mills said in an email this afternoon. It's a terse but to-the-point response that suggests an acknowledgment from the Ron Paul camp that, when it comes to the rights of Muslims to build where they please, the elder and junior Paul do not see eye-to-eye.

To recap: Rand Paul says that the Cordoba House shouldn't be built, and that the money that was to be used to build it should be donated to a 9/11 victims' fund instead as a sign of unity. Ron Paul calls rhetoric opposing the project "all about hate and Islamaphobia."

Cordoba House

Rand vs. Ron? Cordoba House Drives Wedge Through The Paul Family

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 23, 2010, 12:45PM

Rand and Ron Paul.

Are Ron and Rand Paul on opposite sides of the Cordoba House debate? Rand, running for Senate in Kentucky, has taken the standard GOP line on the project -- namely, it's up to New York officials to decide the project's fate, but personally he's against it. And now, in an extremely strongly-worded statement posted to his movement's website Friday, father Ron ripped into opponents of the Cordoba House project, saying that the rhetoric taking on the plan is clearly "all about hate and Islamaphobia."

Neither Paul immediately responded to a request for comment on their difference in language. But the Cordoba House appears to be an issue where Rand is very publicly breaking from this father's dyed-in-the-wool libertarianism, which often leaves the elder Paul standing alone against the GOP establishment.

Last week, Rand's campaign told TPMDC that that he was among the many politicians on both sides of the aisle who think that building an Islamic cultural center in the old Burlington Coat Factory two blocks from the site of the 9/11 attacks on New York is bad idea. Rand even offered his own suggestion about what American Muslims should do with the millions they'd need to spend building the project -- namely, not use it to build the Cordoba House.

"While this is a local matter that should be decided by the people of New York, Dr. Paul does not support a mosque being built two blocks from Ground Zero," Paul spokesperson Gary Howard told me. "In Dr. Paul's opinion, the Muslim community would better serve the healing process by making a donation to the memorial fund for the victims of September 11th."

The elder Dr. Paul has harsh words for views like that.

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WI-SEN

WI-SEN GOPer Ron Johnson: Construction Workers Should Boycott Cordoba House

Eric Kleefeld | August 23, 2010, 9:56AM

Republican candidate for Senate Ron Johnson (WI).

Ron Johnson, a businessman and the likely Republican nominee against Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), is voicing his opposition to the proposed Muslim community center near Ground Zero in New York. Furthermore, he's calling for construction workers to boycott the project if the city and state won't revisit the matter and block it.

As the Racine Journal Times reported on Friday:

"Those folks are trying to poke a stick in our eye," Johnson said. "I just hope the zoning officials and the city, the state revisit that, rezone that piece of property."

The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate continued: "If they don't do it I hope the construction workers in New York show their outrage and say we are not going to do that."

So this is what it takes for Republicans to support organized labor...

The TPM Poll Average currently gives Johnson a lead of 48.8%-46.9% over Feingold. Previously, Feingold came out strongly against the center's opponents, calling the opposition "one of the worst things I've ever seen done in politics."

Cordoba House

Karen Hughes Opposes Cordoba House, Neglects To Mention Her Relationship With Its Imam

Christina Bellantoni | August 23, 2010, 9:48AM

Karen Hughes

We'd been wondering when Bush administration officials were going to step forward to remind everyone who is worked in a tizzy over the proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero in New York City that the project's booster did international religious outreach for the United States.

The answer came -- sort of -- this weekend, when Karen Hughes penned a Washington Post op-ed saying that organizers should "move the mosque."

Hughes sounds many of the same notes we've heard frequently from opponents over the last few weeks. But what struck us is that Hughes failed to mention her own work with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf as he was dispatched around the globe to discuss the Islamic faith in America on behalf of the Bush administration.

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Rick Lazio

NYC Firefighters, Police Sergeants Protest Lazio's Use Of 9/11 Imagery (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | August 20, 2010, 12:07PM

NY gov. candidate Rick Lazio (R)

New York gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio (R) is getting a lot of flack for his video that uses 9/11 footage to oppose the proposed Cordoba House Islamic center a few blocks from Ground Zero.

Most recently, the New York City firefighters union sent Lazio a letter expressing "surprise and disappointment" that Lazio would use the imagery for an attack ad against Democrat Andrew Cuomo, and urging him to remove the video.

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Howard Dean

Olbermann Pushes Dean On Cordoba House Stance (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | August 20, 2010, 10:54AM

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean

Former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean appeared last night on Countdown, to defend his remarks that the Muslim community center project near Ground Zero in New York should be moved to a different location. During the interview, Dean called for a dialogue between 9/11 families and the center's organizers -- and insisted that he was not associating himself in any way with the outspoken opponents on the right such as Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin.

Keith Olbermann mentioned during his introduction of Dean that Arshad Hasan, the head of the Dean-founded liberal political group Democracy For America, has criticized Democrats -- without directly mentioning Dean -- who have sought to compromise with an "implacable opposition." And Olbermann put tough questions to Dean, such as asking what compromise he can imagine people like Gingrich and Palin would accept.

"Yes, I don't think the Sarah Palins and Newt Gingriches have any interest. They're clearly exploiting this for whatever political gain they think they can get out of it," said Dean. "But I think there are some people of good will, perhaps, including some of the families of the victims that we might actually sit down around a table with. This is a tough issue I think some of my own folks on my end of the spectrum of the party are demonizing some fairly decent people who are opposed to this. And, again, in no way am I defending, you know, the right wing of the Republican Party.

"But there are 65 percent of the people in this country are not right-wing bigots. Some of them really have deep emotional feelings about this. And I think we at least ought to respectfully hear them and sit down with Muslim-Americans and with some of the people that object to this, and have a thoughtful, reasonable dialogue and see what comes out of it. And in order for it to be a fair, thoughtful and reasonable dialogue, you have to be willing to move."

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Cordoba House

Freedom Of Churches And Mosques Protected In...Arizona

Eric Kleefeld | August 20, 2010, 8:44AM

Habibulllah Saleem in Phoenix, Arizona.

It turns out that there is a state in the union that has enacted a broad standard of religious equality that would fully allow for the development of religious community structures such as the Cordoba House in downtown New York City, without regard to the religion of the organizers. This center of enlightenment and civil libertarianism is none other than...Arizona!

That's right. The same state that passed a tough new immigration law this year, and flirted with one requiring presidential candidates to provide their birth certificates, also passed a law this year that would expand religious freedom in the matter of building houses of worship. And its conservative proponents fully acknowledge that it applies equally to Muslims as it does to Christians.

As the Arizona Republic reported:

State lawmakers strengthened churches' rights this year, passing a law that prohibits cities and towns from using zoning codes or land-use rules to restrict where religious facilities such as churches, mosques or synagogues can locate.

Planned mosques in New York, California and Tennessee have spurred community opposition recently. But any mosque planned for Arizona could build where it pleased, as long as it complied with any local zoning and building requirements that would apply to other development.

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Cordoba House

Feingold Rips Cordoba House Opposition

Eric Kleefeld | August 19, 2010, 2:15PM

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI)

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) is strongly supporting the right of Muslims to build a community center near Ground Zero in New York, saying that its opponents are guilty of "gutter politics."

He called the opposition "one of the worst things I've ever seen done in politics."

WisPolitics reports:

Asked where he comes down on the proposal to build a mosque and community center near the site of the World Trade Center attacks, Feingold said it's tragic there isn't a proper memorial at the site.

"It's just wrong after all these years that there isn't that kind of memorial," he said.

Feingold said those who are looking to use the issue as a political wedge are guilty of "gutter politics" and "one of the worst things I've ever seen done in politics."

"In the end I believe in freedom of religion," he said. "If somebody owns property and it's within the zoning rules, if they want to build a house of worship that is a fundamental right. And I would make the point I am for freedom on this point, and freedom of religion is fundamental."

'Ground Zero Mosque'

Jack Conway Echoes Rand Paul With Cordoba House Stance

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 19, 2010, 2:05PM

Kentucky Democratic Senate nominee Jack Conway

Kentucky Democrats waiting to hear their Senate nominee's take on the controversial Cordoba House project in lower Manhattan finally got their answer today -- and it sounds a lot like the response from GOP nominee Rand Paul.

"I think we have to keep the families of the victims of 9/11 foremost in our minds and because of that I would prefer to see it located elsewhere," Conway told the Knox County, KY Times-Tribune. Conway also said the project is "an issue for New York primarily."

Earlier this week, this is what Paul's campaign told me about their man's take on Cordoba House:

"While this is a local matter that should be decided by the people of New York, Dr. Paul does not support a mosque being built two blocks from Ground Zero," Paul spokesperson Gary Howard said. "In Dr. Paul's opinion, the Muslim community would better serve the healing process by making a donation to the memorial fund for the victims of September 11th."

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Cordoba House

Grassroots Or Astroturf? Signs At 'Mega Mosque' Protest Were Pre-Printed (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | August 19, 2010, 2:00PM

A protest against the 'Ground Zero Mosque' in New York.

Conservatives are having fun with Speaker Nancy Pelosi's suggestion that there is some sort of conspiracy uniting the opponents of the proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero, but a closer look at some of the early protests suggests at least some coordination.

Check out the video embedded below, footage from a June protest that you've probably seen many times on television in recent days.

Organizers of the protest boasted 10,000 people and say their energy triggered an increase in coverage. What struck us about the footage were the pre-printed signs condemning what opponents call a "mega mosque." Many had the Web address for Pamela Geller's anti-Muslim group Stop Islamization of America printed right on them.

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John Hall

NY Dem Rep. John Hall: Build Cordoba House Somewhere Else

Jillian Rayfield | August 19, 2010, 12:14PM

Rep. John Hall (D-NY)

Rep. John Hall (D-NY) said in a statement yesterday that he opposes building the proposed Cordoba House Muslim community center so close to Ground Zero: "I think honoring those killed on Sept. 11 and showing sensitivity to their families, it would be best if the center were built at a different location."

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Charlie Rangel

Rangel: I'm 'Proud' Cordoba House Developers Are 'Sticking To Their Guns'

Jillian Rayfield | August 19, 2010, 11:43AM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) came out in support of the proposed Cordoba House Islamic community center two blocks from Ground Zero yesterday, saying that he's "kind of proud that they're sticking to their guns and saying this is where they would want to worship."

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Cordoba House

Franken: Attacks On Cordoba House 'One Of The Most Disgraceful Things That I've Heard'

Eric Kleefeld | August 19, 2010, 11:28AM

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) is slamming conservative opposition to the Muslim community center project near Ground Zero in New York City -- the city where he formerly resided for many years -- calling the attacks against it "one of the most disgraceful things that I've heard."

Franken made the remarks during an appearance in Springfield, Illinois, the State Journal-Register reports, at an event for Democratic county chairmen. Franken also alluded to the unfamiliarity with New York City that many people actually have in regard to this story. "I don't know how many of you have been to New York, but if a building is two blocks away from anything, you can't see it," said Franken.

Franken got in a joke, as well: "It's a community center. They're going to have a gym. They're going to have point guards. Muslim point guards."

On a more serious note, he also added: "They (Republicans) do this every two years. They try to find a wedge issue, and they try to work it."

'Ground Zero Mosque'

Time Poll: 61% Of Americans Oppose Cordoba House

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 19, 2010, 10:32AM

Protesters against a proposed community center and mosque near ground zero called Cordoba House.

A new poll from Time magazine out this morning suggests it's not a great time to be a Muslim in America if you're trying to build a community center in lower Manhattan or hoping to get nominated to the Supreme Court or run for President.

Simply put, it's not a great time for American Muslims to try and exercise those Constitutionally-granted rights of theirs.

The poll finds that Americans overwhelmingly oppose the planned Muslim community center near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan -- and overwhelmingly support the notion that building it is an insult to the the families of the victims of 9/11. Sixty-one percent of respondents to the poll said that the Cordoba House shouldn't be built at the site of that old Burlington Coat Factory, while "more than 70%" concurred "with the premise that proceeding with the plan would be an insult to the victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center."

So it seems property rights are out for American Muslims. Just 55% of respondents said they'd be happy with a mosque being built two blocks from their own home (by contrast: more than 70% said they'd be OK with a Catholic church or Jewish synagogue built in the same location.)

It seems that, according to many Americans, public service for Muslims isn't a great career move, either.

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Howard Dean

Howard Dean Says Cordoba House Should Be Built Somewhere Else (AUDIO)

Eric Kleefeld | August 18, 2010, 6:36PM

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean

Another very prominent Democrat now says the planned Cordoba House Muslim community center in New York City should be moved away from the vicinity of Ground Zero: Former Democratic National Committee chairman and ex-presidential candidate Howard Dean.

"I've gotta believe there has to be a compromise here," Dean said during a radio interview. "This isn't about the right of Muslims to have a worship center, or Jews or Christians or anybody else to have a place to worship, or any place around Ground Zero. This is something we ought to be able to work out with people of good faith. And we have to understand that it is a real affront to people who've lost their lives -- including Muslims. That site doesn't belong to any particular religion, it belongs to all Americans and all faiths. So I think a good, reasonable compromise could be worked out, without violating the principle that people ought to be able to worship as they see fit."

Dean said that after having met so many objections, the center should be moved somewhere else, but that this should be done with the cooperation of its organizers. He also said: "I think it's great to have mosques in American cities. There's a growing number of American Muslims. I think most of those Muslims are moderate. I hope that they'll have an influence on Islam throughout the world, because Islam is really back in the 12th century in some of these countries like Iran and Afghanistan where they're stoning people to death. And that can be fixed. And the way it's fixed is not by pushing Muslims away, it's by embracing them and have them become just like every other American -- Americans who happen to be Muslims."

Perhaps Dean is right, and the Muslim center could be moved to South Carolina, Oklahoma, Arizona, North Dakota, or New Mexico. Or it could go to California or Texas, or somewhere else in New York. Or perhaps it could go to South Dakota, or Oregon, or Washington or Michigan -- or even to Washington, D.C. Yeah.

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Cordoba House

Anti-'Mosque' Geller: 'Strip Clubs Didn't Bring Down The Towers'

Christina Bellantoni | August 18, 2010, 4:47PM

Conservative activist Pamela Geller

Pamela Geller, one of the most prominent opponents of the proposed Islamic center two blocks from the former World Trade Center, said today in an interview the treatment of the "South Park" creators is a prominent factor in her quest to stop the center from being built.

Geller, author of the book, The Obama Administration's War on America, is the force behind the anti-Muslim group Stop Islamization of America and the Atlas Shrugs blog but insists her opposition to the Islamic center is not racist or bigoted. "It's a common decency issue," she said.

In a lengthy phone interview today with TPM, Geller cited her problems with Islam and its practices; offered spotty historic references and cherry picked the things she doesn't like about those "non-secular" Muslims while swearing she has no problem with most members of the Islamic faith.

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Cordoba House

Peter King: Gingrich Was Wrong To Compare Cordoba House Organizers To Nazis (VIDEO)

Eric Lach | August 18, 2010, 3:37PM

Rep. Peter King (R-NY)

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) says Newt Gingrich went too far when he compared developers behind the Cordoba House Muslim community center in New York City to Nazis. His comments echo those made by Pat Buchanan yesterday, who also called out Gingrich for bringing Nazi comparisons into the debate.

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Cordoba House

No Love For Cordoba House In Arkansas Senate Race

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 18, 2010, 3:23PM

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)

Both nominees for Senate in Arkansas have made it clear they're not interested in signing onto the planned Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan.

Republican nominee John Boozman is especially clear on his disdain for the concept of the so-called "Ground Zero mosque." In a post to his campaign blog this week, Boozman dinged President Obama's speech on the Cordoba House as "unfortunate, albeit not entirely unexpected," and further evidence that the White House is "completely out-of-touch with the American people."

As for the project itself, Boozman could hardly have been stronger in his condemnation of the Cordoba House.

"Put simply, the construction of the Ground Zero mosque is an insensitive, aggressive political statement whose principle purpose is to irritate the public and stoke controversy," he wrote. "Instead of acknowledging this reality, the President bought the activists' plea for religious expression hook-line-and-sinker and caved to the winds of political correctness in support of the building."

So Boozman's no fan. But neither is the Democratic nominee, Sen. Blanche Lincoln.

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Cordoba House

9/11 Widower Ted Olson: Obama Was Right On Cordoba House (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | August 18, 2010, 2:07PM

President Obama's position in support of the right of a Muslim organization to build a community center near Ground Zero in New York is now picking up the endorsement of a very prominent 9/11 widower: Former Bush administration Solicitor General Ted Olson.

Olson's wife, the late conservative author and activist Barbara Olson, was a passenger aboard the plane that was hijacked and flown into the Pentagon. This afternoon, Olson appeared on Andrea Mitchell's MSNBC show to discuss his current high-profile legal work on behalf of gay marriage. Mitchell then also asked Olson for his opinion about the Cordoba House issue.

"Well it may not make me hap-- popular with some people, but I think probably the president was right about this," Olson responded. "I do believe that people of all religions have a right to build edifices, or structures, or places of religious worship or study, where the community allows them to do it under zoning laws and that sort of thing, and that we don't want to turn an act of hate against us by extremists into an act of intolerance for people of religious faith. And I don't think it should be a political issue. It shouldn't be a Republican or Democratic issue, either. I believe Gov. Christie from New Jersey said it well -- that this should not be in that political, partisan marketplace."

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Cordoba House

Dino Rossi Hedges (A Little) On Cordoba House

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 18, 2010, 1:22PM

US Senate candidate Dino Rossi (R-WA)

Dino Rossi, the freshly-minted Republican nominee for Senate in Washington, is kicking off the general election campaign with a little have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too take on the topic du jour, the Cordoba House project in lower Manhattan.

Rossi, who's challenging the incumbent Sen. Patty Murray (D) in a state usually counted on to be blue, didn't go as far as some of his fellow Republicans when it came to opposing the Muslim community center near Ground Zero. Rather than talk up the "insensitivity" of the project as many Republicans have, Rossi chose to focus on President Obama's recent statements regarding the project.

"I really don't think the President should have waded into this mosque issue. That's not really the direction, I don't believe," Rossi told NBC's Chuck Todd last night. "I don't think anyone disagrees that they have the right to build it. I guess the question is, 'Is it the right thing to do?' I think most Americans would say no, that it isn't the right thing to do. The Governor of New York has even offered to help find a new location. I'd take em' up on it. That's what I think they ought to do."

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NY-GOV

New Lazio Video Uses 9/11 Footage, New Yorker Interviews To Oppose Cordoba House (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | August 18, 2010, 1:07PM

NY gov. candidate Rick Lazio (R)

Republican candidate for New York governor Rick Lazio has released a new web video that features New Yorkers expressing opposition for the proposed Cordoba House Islamic center two blocks from the site of Ground Zero, in a series of man-on-the-street interviews.

The interviews are accompanied by some somber, dirge-like music, and follow video footage of people running after the World Trade Center towers collapsed on September 11, 2001.

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Cordoba House

Poll: NY State Voters Oppose Muslim Center -- But Back Right To Build It

Eric Kleefeld | August 18, 2010, 12:55PM

The site of the Cordoba House project

A new Siena poll of New York state finds that registered voters here continue to oppose the construction of the Muslim community center near Ground Zero in New York City -- but at the same time, they overwhelmingly say that the Muslim group involved has the constitutional right to build it.

The poll asked: "Do you support or oppose the proposal to build the Cordoba House, a 15 story Muslim Cultural Center in lower Manhattan 2 blocks from the site of the World Trade Center?" Here the top-line answer is 27% support to 63% opposed. As we've seen before, opposition is lower in New York City itself, where 36% support it and 56% are opposed.

A follow-up question asked: "Regardless of whether you personally support or oppose the proposal to build the Cordoba House, do you believe the developers of the Cordoba House have a Constitutional right to proceed with the construction of the mosque and Muslim cultural center or not?" Here the answer is 64% yes, to only 28% no. Indeed, the internals of the poll show that even a majority of people who didn't support the center in the previous question still affirm the right of the organizers to construct it, by a 51%-42% margin within that sub-group.

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Cordoba House

Pelosi: Let's Probe Conservative Opposition To Cordoba House (AUDIO)

Eric Lach | August 18, 2010, 10:18AM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told a radio station in San Francisco yesterday that she supports calls to investigate the conservative opposition to Cordoba House, a proposed Muslim center to be built a few blocks from Ground Zero in New York City.

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Cordoba House

Rand Paul Elaborates On '9/11 Victims Memorial' Plan For Cordoba House

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 18, 2010, 9:24AM

Kentucky Senate Candidate Rand Paul (R)

Yesterday, Rand Paul's campaign told me that Paul both thinks the Cordoba House project in New York should be left to local officials and also shouldn't be built. In addition, his campaign told me, Paul thinks Mulsims should contribute to the 9/11 victims' memorial fund instead of paying to build the controversial Islamic cultural center.

Today in the Daily Caller, Paul elaborates a bit on that suggestion.

"If the goal of the building's organizers is to reconcile, Paul thinks there's a better way to do that," the Daily Caller's Alex Pappas reports.

"I think reconciliation is best promoted by -- instead of having a multi-million dollar mosque -- maybe having a multi-million dollar donation to the memorial site, would be better for all," Paul told the Pappas.

Interestingly, Paul also doubles down on his view -- suggested by his campaign -- that his take on property rights extends to the Cordoba House project. He takes a swipe at President Obama for his speech about the project over the weekend -- but also offers a subtle rip on politicians of all stripes who are boosting their campaigns for national office with chatter about the Cordoba House.

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

The Out-Of-Towners: Politicians From Far, Far Away Fight Muslim Center In NYC

Eric Kleefeld | August 18, 2010, 8:25AM

The Cordoba House project, the Muslim community center that is set to be built in lower Manhattan a few blocks from the World Trade Center site, has inspired all sorts of opposition. But it's not exactly a not-in-my-back-yard phenomenon. In fact, many of the politicians who have called for stopping the project, and who have spoken of the sacredness of the ground there, aren't from anywhere even remotely nearby to begin with.

Indeed, the intensity of opposition seems to increase as one actually gets further away from the site. And this isn't just for politicians, it's for us regular people, too. A CNN poll has put national opposition at 68%. Meanwhile, a Marist poll of New York City put opposition at a somewhat lower 53%. And furthermore, opposition was lowest in Manhattan -- the site of the actual Ground Zero location and the 9/11 attacks -- where a 53% majority approved of the Muslim community center, compared to 31% against. Opposition then increases in the surrounding boroughs of New York City, a place that has a population larger than many states, and then increases even more going out into the country beyond.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Welcome To The Neighborhood: A Look At The Area Around The 'Ground Zero Mosque']

We decided to use a simple methodology: Using Google Earth, put down a location pin on the World Trade Center site, and then measure the distance to the hometowns of politicians who have slammed the project. So let's take a look at some of these political leaders who come from far and wide, and want to preserve the integrity of the hallowed land with which they don't actually come into regular contact.

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Ground Zero Mosque

Tim Pawlenty Says 'Ground Zero Mosque' Imam's Outreach 'Disgusting' And 'Dangerous' (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | August 17, 2010, 2:27PM

Add Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) to the list politicians with selective memory about Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf's global outreach on behalf of the United States.

Pawlenty, a presidential hopeful for 2012, appeared on Fox News' "Hannity" last night to decry Obama's support for the Islamic cultural center proposed by Rauf's Cordoba House at a site two blocks from Ground Zero. He also criticized the State Department for sending Rauf on a diplomatic mission to the Middle East, saying that was "disgusting" and "dangerous."

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