A speaker, not a listener

These can’t be easy times for Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But even the prospect of a crushing defeat in November, and the related recriminations from within her caucus (which probably have already commenced), can’t explain her call for an investigation regarding protests against the building of the Ground Zero Mosque.
To believe that opposition to the construction of the mosque at Ground Zero has been “ginned up” requires a level of tone deafness that is shocking in any politician, never mind the Speaker of the House. It is one thing to claim, as the typical hack left-liberal pundit does, that the Republican party is exploiting the fears and prejudices of the masses on the issue of the mosque. But by suggesting that sentiment against the mosque is actually being “ginned up,” as opposed to exploited, Pelosi shows herself to be oblivious to the massive scar left by 9/11.
Most Democratic politicians never internalized 9/11 to the extent the majority of Americans have. But they usually remember to pretend otherwise. Under duress, Pelosi has let the mask drop.
The error will put her under more duress, and may well strengthen the electorate’s desire to have a new Speaker come January. Voters may take particular note that Pelosi’s concern about the source of “funding” for opposition to the mosque apparently is not matched by any curiosity about where the financing for the mosque is coming from.
UPDATE: Pelosi’s office has issued a “clarification” stating that “there is a need for transparency about who is funding the effort to build this Islamic center” and “at the same time, we should also ask who is funding the attacks against the construction of the center.”
The moral equivalency implied here may make matters worse for Pelosi. The need to investigate the financing of the mosque is based on evidence of connections between some of the funders and terrorists. What is the alleged need to investigate the funding of the opposition to the mosque based on? Whom does Pelosi suspect and on what basis?
JOHN adds: The mosque is slated to cost $100 million, so that requires funding. But the opposition? What funding is she talking about? We’ve opposed it for free, as has just about everyone I know. It is typical of Democrats to assume that anyone who goes to the trouble of expressing views on political topics must be getting paid by someone.

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