Her Christian District Rejoices

Renee Ellmers, who said the residents of her North Carolina district were "Christian people" and denounced the lower Manhattan Islamic cultural center as a "victory mosque," is going to Congress after a recount.

What Gingrich, Jones, And Ellmers Have Done

Photo by Kirsten Luce/New York Times

Turnout was less than expected for New York City's annual Muslim Day parade yesterday. Some may have stayed away because of security concerns. Too scary to take your kids to a parade because you're the wrong religion. How about that for America? In a New York Times article, this quote stood out:

A lieutenant with the fire department of Elmsford, N.Y., Syed Alirahi, said: “We are public servants. Most of us are born here, live here and die here. We’re going to fight for our country. Today is our opportunity to show ourselves to other people, and our contributions to the country as Muslims.”

Would you spurn his vote if he lived among the "Christian people" of North Carolina's second congressional district, Renee Ellmers? Is he like a Nazi, New Gingrich? And if he came to put out a fire at your houses, would you let him?

Quote Of The Day

Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, interviewed tonight on "60 Minutes":

If 9/11 happens again, I want to be the first to die.

I learned something else from Scott Pelley's report. Hundreds of Muslims have been worshiping in the Cordoba House building for over a year, ever since a nearby mosque lost its lease. Do Newt Gingrich and Renee Ellmer propose to evict them?

Ellmers' Glue

Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan for this paste wad contest between CNN's Anderson Cooper and Renee Ellmers, the Palin-backed Republican candidate in North Carolina's second congressional district who's trying to rescue her sagging campaign against Rep. Bob Etheridge with a commercial equating Muslims with terrorists.

I don't think Cooper did as well as Sullivan suggests. He didn't push hard enough when Ellmers refused to rule out the possibility that Cordoba House's Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf himself was a terrorist. Then he let her get under his skin by accusing him of being anti-religion. Near the end, she goes right over the top by saying that the residents of her district are "Christian people," insulting every non-Christian in North Carolina and the country. Lamely, Cooper just asked if she wanted Muslims' votes. I'd say that's a big no. Jews need not turn out, either.

Afterward, Cooper whined about how mean she was. It was a tie until then, but when you have to get the last word after your subject's camera's been turned off, it means you lost. What the confrontation makes you understand is that if a person has no shame and is willing to say whatever is necessary to win and get power, you can't argue or reason with her. Cooper may believe it's his job to stay neutral and get the facts. But at what point does the obligation to speak truth against ignorance and prejudice take precedence? What if she had said her district consisted of "white Christians"? We'd demand that he denounce her as a bigot. Isn't what she did say also false and incendiary and therefore just as bad?

RCP says the district's still leaning Etheridge's way, but this year, no one can tell.