Everybody's favorite U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut was asked by his longtime buddy Don Imus to opine on the trumped-up controversy of the construction of a Muslim community center in downtown Manhattan, the so-called Ground Zero Mosque. Lieberman employed the tried-and-true method of repeating 9/11 as many times as possible in the brief exchange.
Transcript via The Hill:
"Well, I guess I'd say I'm troubled by it. But I don't know enough to say it ought to be prohibited. But frankly I've heard enough about it, and read enough about it, that I wish someone in New York would just put the brakes on it for a while and take a look at this.
"If -- obviously in our country we give a special status to people wanting to build houses or worship. And we don't consider what religion it is. So that's what we start with, and what makes this an awkward conversation. On the other hand, if the people building this large Islamic center are just looking to build a large facility and house of worship and center in New York, why so close to 9/11, with all the sensitivity associated with that? If they're doing it so close 9/11 to try to bridge the gap and do outreach, as some have said, it obviously hasn't worked, as a lot of the people who lost family and friends on 9/11 are unhappy with it and troubled by it.
"You know, I've also read some things about some of the people involved that make me wonder about what they're involved in building this -- make me wonder about their motivations. I don't know enough to reach a conclusion, but as I said I know enough to believe that this thing is only gonna create more division in our society, and somebody ought to put the brakes on it, as I say. Give these people a chance to come out and explain who they are, where their money's coming from, and see if they can reach out to some of the families of 9/11 victims, to see if they can put their minds at ease, because right now they're not.
Lieberman has also been employing this same modus operandi for decades now: throw out unfounded accusations, try to instill doubt in others, while always maintaining his own (dubious) neutrality. Classic Joe.
Similar twisted "logic" is being employed by the ADL:
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Director Abraham Foxman, both criticized and hailed in recent days for opposing the construction of a mosque near the World Trade Center site, told NPR that the location was needlessly provocative.
In an interview Tuesday with NPR's Steve Inskeep, Foxman stoutly defended his position. He said that his organization remains committed to fighting "bigotry, prejudice, and Islamophobia."
In 2010 Intolerance is apparently the new Tolerance.
One expects the worst from the likes of Joe Lieberman but the ADL's comments on the matter are highly disappointing.
