Are You Ready For Some Football?

Christie Punts On The Ground Zero Mosque. Throws A Block For Pallone

By Art Gallagher

Governor Chris Christie copped out on Monday when he declined to take a position on the building of the Cordoba House mosque at Ground Zero.

His point, that we cannot paint all of Islam with a jihadist brush, is true. Certainly there are some who are opposed to the location of the mosque that are doing that. However, the thoughtful opposition, which I believe is the majority, is not doing that.

It is legal for the mosque to be built at Ground Zero. No one is disputing that.

It is also wrong. It is insensitive, not only to the families of the those who perished on 9-11. It is insensitive to our nation that has not yet recovered from the attack. It sends the wrong message. A message that will last for hundreds of years.

Building a mosque at Ground Zero is akin to building a memorial to Japanese Emperor Hirohito at Pearl Harbor.

That Mayor Bloomberg and the powers that be in New York City are approving of such a travesty is a testament to how soft and politically correct we've become as a nation.

That the Freedom Tower is not built yet on the eve of the ninth anniversary of 9-11 and that the location for the mosque is even available is a testament to how inept we've become as a nation. It is a testament to our leadership vacuum.

This is not a matter of painting all of Islam with a radical brush, as Christie said. It is not only a matter of being sensitive to the families of the victims. It is a matter of American pride.

That President Obama is citing the Constitution in supporting the mosque is laughable given how he has trampled our founding document since his inauguration. That he declines to weigh in on the "wisdom" of building the mosque at Ground Zero is a failure of leadership.

Christie's remarks are either a failure of leadership or an enormous error in judgement.

Christie said the mosque should not be a "political football." He chastised the president, and national leaders of both parties for using it as such. It is not a political football. Mammograms were a political football in last years gubernatorial campaign. Those opposed to the mosque, the majority of Americans, are not distorting an issue for political gain any more than President Reagan was when he said, "Mr. Gorbachev, take down that wall!"

It is not a political football. It is a matter of moral clarity, national pride and leadership.

It is legal for the mosque to be built at Ground Zero. The only way to stop it, and it must be stopped, is through political pressure and public opinion.

Every candidate and elected official should be asked to take a position. That's how poltical pressure works. There should be economic pressure too. Our proud citizenry should stand up and say NO. Workers, union or non-union, should refuse to work on the project. Vendors should refuse to sell materials. Lawyers and bankers should refuse to work on it. Those who do work on it should be boycotted, chastised and ruined.

Supporting the Cordoba House at Ground Zero should more politically and socially unacceptable than using the N word.

Other than public pressure to stop the mosque, the only other way to stop it is to put the Port Authority in charge. They've done a good job stopping the Freedom Tower so far.

So far the political fail out of Christie's punt, is that he gave cowardly cover to Congressman Frank Pallone. Appearing on Fox and Friends this morning, Pallone referenced Christie's remarks as his justification for declining to take a position on the Cordoba House mosque at Ground Zero.

How putrid is that? Pallone, who used Chrisite's Deferred Prosecution Agreements while U.S. Attorney as a political football last year while Governor Corzine's campaign chairman, is declining to take a position on an issue that deeply impacts the residents of his district who lost so many on 9-11 and who view Lower Manhattan from our shore, because Christie said the issue shouldn't be a political football.

In his remarks on Monday Christie said, "We have to bring people together." His right. 60% of America is opposed to the mosque at Ground Zero. That's more together than America is on most issues.

America is crying out for leaders with the fortitude and moral clarity to stand up to the PC pantie wastes who would allow a mosque on that hallowed ground for the next 100+ years. That's the kind of leadership that will bring us together.