Image via WikipediaMayor’s Stance on Muslim Center Has Deep Roots - NYTimes.comMichael R. Bloomberg is a former Wall Street mogul with a passion for the rights of a private property owner. He is a Jew whose parents asked their Christian lawyer to buy a house and then sell it back to them to hide their identity in an unwelcoming Massachusetts suburb. And he is a politician who regards his independence as his greatest virtue.
That potent combination of beliefs and history, those closest to Mayor Bloomberg say, has fueled his defense of the proposed Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan — a defense he has mounted with emotion, with strikingly strong language and in the face of polls suggesting that most New Yorkers disagree with him.
“Something about this issue just really hooked into him,” said Howard J. Rubenstein, the powerful public relations executive, who is a friend of Mr. Bloomberg. “It deeply upset him.”
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The fundamental principle of a constitutional democracy is that fundamental rights, found in a constitution cannot be voted away. It does not matter how popular an idea is or isn't. These rights are not up for a vote. They cannot be changed because of political feelings at a particular time in history. Bloomberg, a Jewish, Republican mayor in Democratic New York City stood up for both Muslims rights to have a worship center and the U.S. Constitution at a time in New York's history when constitutional rights for Muslims are unpopular. If he had not the courts would surely have ruled in favor of the Muslim mosque but it is wonderful to see a politician exercise such political spine.
John H. Armwood
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