Why Erick Erickson Is Wrong On Obama and Ground Zero Mosque

I plan to hit this more during the week even though I am bound to have the unpopular view on this. However a certain legal opinion that was handled down in California by a Federal Judge (The Prop 8 ) has got me very concerned. The Mosque case relates to this.

I like Eric Erickson of Red State. I don't always agree with him but I agree more than I disagree. I think he is a very smart commentator on CNN. However we disagree over crucial points relating to the Mosque situation.

He has now posted The Idiocy of Barack Obama’s Mosque Support . Now if he is floating this to see how it works so he can proposed this view on CNN ,then I strongly suggest he go back to the drawing board.

I think among conservatives that are most vocal against this Mosque they realize their legal arguments are on shaky ground. I also think a lot of conservatives that are not thrilled with this Mosque (Like me) also have problems where Erick and others like him are going with this.

Now one thing you notice in Erick's article is there is no link to the transcript of what the President actually said. Let me provide that. The other thing that should sound alarm bells is there is no actual quotes of what the President said.


Lets get to the core of the the "President supports the Mosque argument".

Obama said:

Now, that's not to say that religion is without controversy. Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities -- particularly New York. Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of Lower Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. And the pain and the experience of suffering by those who lost loved ones is just unimaginable. So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. And Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground.

But let me be clear. As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are. The writ of the Founders must endure.

Again I give a link to the whole transcript read the whole thing.

Now what is wrong with that from any Conservative point of view?

Erick argument falls apart because the ISSUE is all faiths are to be treated the same. That is to their rights and as to certain things they cannot do.

He mentions polygamy. Well no religious group can practice that including Muslims.

He mentions human sacrifice. Well all religions are treated equally in this regard and they cannot start doing their best Aztec imitation .

Eric says: "The logic Barack Obama is using to support the noxious notion that a mosque should be built at Ground Zero opens up all sorts of logical avenues our Genius in Chief probably never even thought about."

But the problem is the President did not say this. He said that the "Mosque must be treated equally that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances".

We have no idea if he thinks in his mind if building this Mosque is a good or bad idea. He did not comment on that.

In other words the same laws and ordinances must apply. Now I suspect that Eric knows there is a big difference between human sacrifice and zoning regulations that apply to Churches and other houses of worship.

As a Catholic I take the long point of view of this.

The sole Catholic Signer of the Declaration of Independence only three years before was not only NOT regarded as a Citizen but he could only attend Mass on his private property. That was because Catholic Churches in public were outlawed in Maryland . Partly because of fear of "Papal power".

Well into the 1800's Catholic Churches and other properties were burned while the Govt looked the other way.

In the mid 1800's the anti Catholic Know Nothing Party (which harassed my several Greats Grandfather in Mississippi) had significant members. It took people like Lincoln and Jefferson Davis to fight that back.

In the 1860's the Reconstruction Government of Missouri passed the infamous Loyalty Oath that infringed on the rights of Roman Catholics. Thankfully this was overturned.


In the late 1800's fearing Catholic indoctrination ,the State of Oregon made public education mandatory. This was an effort of get rid of Catholic schools. Thankfully the Supreme Court reversed that.

In the early 20th Century the KKK took power which in the North was very anti Catholic. In fact they took over the State Government of Indiana. Things finally returned to some saneness when a group of Notre Dame Students arrived at the train station where the Klan were arriving for a event and beat the bloody hell out of them.

Recently we have seen disturbing efforts in the State of Connecticut to target specifically the Catholic Church.

I have seen because of the recent Child abuse scandal on various internet forums people saying the Catholic Church is not a religion but a criminal syndicate and should be treated that way.

Last week among many things a Federal Judge said was that Beliefs of Christan are harmful to Gays and Lesbians. God help us where that leads.

Why do I get the uneasy feeling this trending more 1773 as to views of certain Christians . It sees we are coming full circle. I pray we are not.

In other words this not the time to pick and choose as to the First Amendment.

Update- A few words on the Founding Fathers. It has been said the American Revolution is the logical and last grand act of the Protestant reformation. Well we can all disagree or agree with that. However it must not be understated how real the fear of the power of Rome was at the time. This is partly the reason for the disaster the Continental Congress made in it's Quebec declaration which might have kept Canada from coming to our aid. THE FEAR WAS REAL.

Despite that the many of the Founding Fathers guaranteed the Free Rights of Catholics to their Religion in the USA when we ratified the Bill of Rights

I am hoping that Erick reconsiders some of his positions and becomes more like them.