Morning Journal - Candidate Critical of President's Stand on Mosque, Congressman's Silence

News Article

By Paul Giambroni

Bill Johnson, the Republican candidate for Congress, criticized President Obama's defense of controversial plans to build a mosque near the site of the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and called on U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson to do likewise.

"… one has to wonder whether Charlie Wilson will once again ignore his constituents or whether he'll do the right thing and renounce the president's support of the mosque at such a sacred site," Johnson said, in a news release issued by his campaign.

The news release was in response to last week's comments by President Obama about the decision of private developers to build a 13-story mosque and Islamic cultural center two blocks from the World Trade Centers, saying it a matter of "religious freedom."

"But let me be clear: as a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan … This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable," he said.

Johnson said the issue is the appropriateness of building a mosque so close to Ground Zero.

"I'm deeply committed to defending the Constitution, but this isn't about religious rights -- It's about respect for the Americans killed on 9/11. Barack Obama was wrong to support a mosque at Ground Zero and his ally -- incumbent Congressman Charlie Wilson -- ought to stand up to the president and tell him he's wrong," Johnson said.

Wilson, a Democrat from St. Clairsville, represents Ohio's Sixth Congressional District. His campaign had no comment.

In related news, Johnson issued another news release critical of President Obama for accusing Republicans of trying to destroy Social Security because of a GOP proposal that would give younger workers the option of placing their money into personal investment accounts instead of Social Security. Obama said it was a bad idea that would add trillions of dollars to the national debt and tie benefits to the vagaries of the stock market.

Unless Congress acts, Social Security is expected to run out of money in 27 years, at which point the system will be able to collect only enough taxes to cover 75 percent of benefits.

Johnson referred to the president's comments as "scare tactics" aimed at helping re-elect Democrats, such as Wilson.

"It's understandable that Democrats would be concerned about retirements because many face the likelihood of forced retirement this November. Really, what they're doing is using scare tactics rather than focusing on real priorities, like fixing the economy because of their failure to create jobs. Here's the truth -- We do need to cut spending and reform our government, but those reforms will help ensure the long-term stability, not elimination of programs like Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare," he said.

Source