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(cartoon by Glenn Foden for Townhall Magazine)
The Democrats' record of failure under the leadership of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid is not just a result of a bankrupt governing philosophy but also of antipathy for a majority of Americans. It's why U.S. voters are ready to send the Pelosi Democrats packing and strip the San Francisco liberal of her post as speaker of the House.
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To understand how out of touch the nation's three top political leaders are with the American public, the controversial Ground Zero mosque is but one illustration.
When President Barack Obama proclaimed, "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," one could almost give him credit for courage to take a hugely unpopular stance.
But when backtracking the very next day on the Ground Zero mosque that has caused so much controversy among families of 9/11 victims, Obama said, "I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding."
The "wisdom" or appropriateness of the location is what the debate was about. Opponents never argued Muslims do not have the right to a mosque, but urged them to build it somewhere else out of respect to victims of 9/11. Does Obama know the difference?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., weighed in, calling for an investigation of those who opposed the mosque construction near Ground Zero. "I join those who have called for looking into how is this opposition to the mosque being funded. How is this being ginned up?"
Unlike Obama and Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is facing a tough re-election fight. His spokesman said in a written statement that the mosque should be built elsewhere, a tepid way of opposing something.
But in a separate matter, Reid -- in an attempt to pander to Hispanic supporters -- said, "I don’t know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican. Do I need to say more?"
The apparent presumption by Obama and Pelosi of a bigoted undercurrent among those who oppose the construction of the Ground Zero mosque -- which would be a majority of Americans -- and Reid's belief that an entire demographic must all think the same show a common thread. The Democratic leaders have "antipathy toward people who aren’t like them," to use Obama’s own words when describing residents of Pennsylvania.
It is little wonder the president's approval rating continues to decline while Congress' approval rating is in the ditch along with the economy they were supposed to rescue. [...]
It is this total disconnect with reality that has led to Democrats facing serious trouble in the 2010 midterms, as even White House spokesman Robert Gibbs thinks Republicans could recapture the House. Other prognosticators even see a slim chance Republicans will take the Senate.
"I think they [Democrats] have demonstrated disdain for what the American people want. That’s the problem. I've been all across this great country and people are just mad," said Georgia Rep. Tom Price, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the conservative caucus of House Republicans. "They don't think the White House or the leadership in Congress is listening to them. What we see is a disconnect between the leadership, those folks running the country, and the American people."
But it was not supposed to be this way.
Read the rest of this cover story in the October issue of Townhall Magazine.