House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) has come out strongly against the Muslim community center project near Ground Zero in New York, going so far as to invoke the “come on” exception to America’s freedom of religion.
“I think that is the ultimate insensitivity,” Cantor said during an interview with National Review. “Anyone looking at that with any common sense would say, ‘What in the world would we be doing, you know, fostering some type of system that allows this to happen.’ Everybody knows America’s built on the rights of free expression, the rights to practice your faith, but come on.
“The World Trade Centers were brought down by Islamic extremists — radicals who were bent on killing Americans and accomplished that in unimaginable ways. I think it is the height of insensitivity, and unreasonableness to allow for the construction of a mosque on the site of the World Trade Center bombings. I mean, come on.”
Numerous Republicans have spoken out against the project, including Sarah Palin — who called upon “peaceful Muslims” to “refudiate” it — followed by Newt Gingrich, New York Republican gubernatorial candidates Rick Lazio and Carl Paladino, Tim Pawlenty, and John McCain.
In addition to those GOPers, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has spoken against it, and Democratic Gov. David Paterson unsuccessfully attempted to convince its organizers to move somewhere else with an offer of state land.
(Via Media Matters.)
